Saw a really fab innovation in the news recently. Merseyside fire and rescue service have started using fire bikes. Now, when I first saw the headline, it conjured up images of flaming bicycles streaking down the road in a sort of mad stunt-like manner. Regrettably, this is not the story at all – but I still think it would be lots of fun, so maybe one day…?
No? Okay, back to reality! So, the fire bikes that they are referring to are motorbikes. A BMW 1200 series motorbike to be specific. That is quite a groovy bike at the best of times, I think you’ll agree. But what is even funkier is that this one is equipped with fire fighting equipment. There are two 25-litre tanks attached to the sides of the bike, which contain a water with foam mix. Coming from these tanks is a 30 metre length of hose reel, with a lance attached to the end, which directs the water and foam into the fire.
This is a great innovation, as the fire bike is great for tackling smaller, isolated fires. In the example they show, the bike is used to tackle a car fire. These fires are usually fairly small, and don’t usually spread to surrounding areas. Using the fire bike means that the big fire engines that we are all used to seeing are freed up to go to other emergencies. This is good because the fire engines carry life saving equipment, used when people are injured in fires. This is not needed in the case of a small car fire, so the fire engine is free to attend another fire, where the life saving equipment may be needed. Also, only one fire fighter is needed to use the fire bike, rather than the whole crew that are deployed when one of the big engines is called out. So, those extra people are then free to attend other emergencies.
So, when the fire fighter first approaches the burning car, he can pull out enough of the hose, so that he can get all the way round the car. There is 30 metres of hosing to play with, so that should be more than enough! He then starts off using water droplets through the hosing, to fight the flames, and knock them down with the water. Once the flames have been knocked down, he can change to using a foam mix by using the lance, which buts a blanket of foam over the car, which stops the fire from re-igniting.
The lance can also be used to get into the engine compartment of the car, by smashing through the headlight. This allows the fire fighter to get into the engine compartment quickly and easily, and to ensure that any flames in there are extinguished easily.
All in all, this seems like a fantastic piece of equipment – so if you’re in the Merseyside area, keep your eye out for a funky fire bike!
If you want to see a video of the fire bike in action, have a look on the BBC website.
