PRINCETOWN Fire Station will be one of the first in the South West to receive a special rapid intervention vehicle (RIV) this month.

The newly-designed vehicles have been purchased by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and over the coming year will be presented to stations that qualify for the specialist appliances.

RIVs have undergone extensive testing and one has been on trial in Princetown over the past year.

One aspect of what makes them so special is that only three firefighters are needed to attend an incident in the RIV, compared to the four crew a standard fire engine requires.

Last Monday (February 26), local councillors and interested parties, were invited to Princetown Fire Station to see the brand-new piece of equipment which will soon be based at the village.

Dave Marsh, West Devon group manager for the service, said that the new vehicle would offer improved accessibility, enhanced resources and better response times, which are particularly relevant to the remote moorland areas.

‘The Rapid Intervention Vehicles provide a new dimension to the resources available to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue. The vehicles’ compact size offers improved access capabilities for both rural and urban environments whilst still retaining the capability to have a five person crew.

‘The vehicle also offers improved attendance times typically taking two minutes off a stations normal response time. This represents a major improvement in being able to respond to our community in life critical situations.

‘Each RIV is equipped with a full sized firefighting pump and 800 litre water capacity. This is further enhanced with the provision of new firefighting equipment, including fog spike which enables crews to tackle compartment fires externally.

‘The vehicle represents excellent value for money in reducing our fleet costs and ongoing maintenance — this enables the service to offer even better value for the communities we serve.’

Chair of Dartmoor Forest Parish Council Gregg Manning, who attended the open visit last Monday, said: ‘The parish council has followed this evolution of change in vehicles for the last 18 months having several opportunities to comment. Both our comments and those of the staff themselves seemed to have been taken on board and what we have now, as seen last week, is indeed a vehicle that I feel we can accept knowing that it is capable of looking after our welfare.

‘Of course the real test is how the staff feel about it as it will not only be taking over from the old vehicle but will be instrumental in keeping them safe — they are not only confident but enthusiastic about it.

‘This vehicle is almost the finished product with just the 4x4 capability to be added later in the year. I now feel confident that I can recommend this vehicle to our members of the parish knowing that this vehicle is fully capable of completing the tasks asked of it. My own personal view is that this vehicle is not just a replacement but a massive improvement on what we had before.’

• Princetown Fire Station has nine personnel, but there are vacancies for a further five people. Princetown watch manager Triston Barrett invites potential new joiners from any background to the station enabling individuals to get a flavour of the role of firefighters in the community.

The station’s drill night is held every Monday evening from 7pm to 9pm. Pictures by James Bird.