By Nino Williams
The South Wales Evening Post
SKETTY, Wales — Fire chiefs have admitted their frustration with a controversial fire engine after it emerged it had been out of use since the beginning of the year.
The 23-tonne Aerial Rescue Pump (ARP), which is based in Sketty, had just been returned from the manufacturers in Finland at the end of last year, where it had been sent for repairs.
But the engine, which cost around £450,000, has yet to return to full service because of continuing problems.
It had previously been out of action for more than a year with ongoing problems.
Now, fire chiefs have admitted they share some of the concerns of firefighters, and say they are “considering their options” over how to deal with the ongoing situation - and the financial impact it has had on the service.
Richard Webborn, head of Swansea County Command, said: “The ARP is a very good vehicle and it does broaden the options available to the incident commander when it responds to various types of incidents, in terms of equipment and capabilities.
“It is actually able to manoeuvre some areas that normal appliances cannot access, because it has rear wheel steerage.
“But I understand the frustration of colleagues, because I know they are keen to make it work. There have been many issues, which is why it was sent back to Finland and its UK agents. We did not pay for that because it was under warranty, so there was no expense to us there.
“However, we have had to pay officers overtime as a result of it being out of use to ensure cover.
“We do have insurance, and we do have back-ups in place, but we want to get it up and running, and make sure it is used to its maximum capability.
“We are watching what is going on with it very carefully, and working with managers and personnel at Swansea West and the manufacturers Vema.”
The ARP is one of two owned by the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the other being based in Haverfordwest.
That vehicle has not experienced the same difficulties, but Mr Webborn admitted it had also experienced “issues”.
It had to be called for, along with another vehicle from Llandrindod Wells, to tackle the blaze which destroyed the Afon Lido in Port Talbot last December, because of the ongoing difficulties with the Sketty ARP.
Some firefighters have argued the ARP is not suitable for purpose, and is too big for some Swansea roads.
Mr Webborn also admitted that the service had been considering buying a third ARP, but a decision had been put off in light of the troubles with existing vehicles.
“Should we decide to purchase another aerial applicance, we will look at what the various manufacturers are producing and see what is available,” he said.
“We share the frustrations of officers, and we are looking at the options available to us to progress the matter and resolve it.”
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