Fire Brigade Union says new CARP engines are ‘unsafe and unreliable’

Concerns have been raised about the safety of the new Combined Aerial Rescue Pumps used by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services.

The vehicles which cost around £2m have been condemned as ‘unsafe and unreliable’ according to the Fire Brigades Union in South Yorkshire.

Mr Gilliver from the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said: “They’re constantly being repaired and a fire on an appliance had to be extinguished by crews. They’re appalling, they’re an absolute joke. We’re concerned for the safety of the crews going out on these vehicles. Management are saying these are teething problems, that’s simply not true. I’m an appliance driver with years of experience and yes, we’ve had teething problems before, but never to this level. One day I’m sure someone will be killed. They should come off the road, enough is enough, we need to get to the bottom of what’s going on with these vehicles. We are determined to rectify these issues.”

A spokesperson for the fire service said: “We have experienced a number of operational issues with our CARP appliances since they first became available in April. We are currently investigating three incidents which occurred in the past week. Our investigations into the issues reported since April show that some have been mechanical faults and some were due to operator error. Like the FBU, we are concerned about these issues and are working tirelessly to address them to keep the CARPs available as often as possible. The public of South Yorkshire are safer as a result of the CARPs being available since we have four in the service, compared to the three aerial platforms. CARPs are also immediately available upon first arrival at an incident, unlike the aerial platforms, and provide £1m per year in savings. We are determined to rectify these issues to ensure their ongoing availability to keep the public safe.”

Discussions into the fate of the appliances continues.