Fire Service Water Tender Ladder

[Tim_w]

Hello  All   

Following on from my recent water carrier post here is one of my fire engines. This particular model forms the backbone of my fleet and is the most versatile Playmobil has made to date. The added bonus is that it can carry 6 fire fighters although my fire appliances have a crew of 5 as standard. Another bonus is that you can stow a very large amount of equipment on board.
There are two specific versions of this vehicle in my fire brigade and each of my stations has both versions. This example is classed as a WTL or Water Tender Ladder and carries an extra triple extension ladder. The other vehicle is classed as a WT or Water Tender and only carries one triple extension ladder. However it also carries an additional high pressure hose reel connected to the vehicles pump. Although in real life fire some brigades use these designations there are variations between brigades. The West Midlands fire service for example refer to their appliances as PRL’s or Pump Rescue Ladders due to the addition of cutting gear for use in motor vehicle accidents.

Kindest Regards  Tim 

[Tim_w]

Here is a picture of the pump bay.
This pump bay has been customized using various Playmobil parts. It has 3 pick up’s which can be used to fill the tank and 4 delivery’s used to empty the tank under force through hoses. There are various pressure gauges and buttons, which are used to operate the pump and as with the water carrier in my other post there is a throttle control and radio handset.

[Tim_w]

INTERESTING INFORMATION:

Here are pictures showing the equipment. I carry these vehicles up and down my stairs regularly and I can feel the difference in weight when they are fully loaded as opposed to empty. So today I decided to weigh one on our scales and I was quite surprised with the results.

Weight Loaded:   1.440g
Weight Unloaded:   1.080g
Weight of Equipment: 360g

Due to the large amount of equipment carried my WTL’s and WT’s do not carry any hydraulic cutting gear. This is left in the hands of another special appliance, which attends any road traffic accident in addition to a WT.
As for the equipment carried here there is too much to list individually but if you would like any information just ask and I would be more than happy to help.

[playmofire]

Nicely done, Tim.  The weight figures are interesting - you certainly make the most of the machines.

[Little Jo]

Wow, the pumb bay looks quite cool and impressive.

[Tim_w]

Hello  Gordon, Little Jo

Thank you both for the very kind feedback to my post as allways it is very much appreciated. It was quite a suprise to find out the actual weight of the equipment and as you can imagine it is a difficult task packing it all away again  !!

Kindest Regards  Tim

[Meg]

Its very cool even if i dont know what its all about

You have a nice array of tools.
and a hydrant?

[Tim_w]

Hello  Meg 

Thank you very much for your kind reply to my post and for asking the question about the fire hydrant. I will try my best to answer your question without confusing either you or myself  .
In the UK we do not have fixed hydrant's like the type in the USA. Instead our hydrant's are hidden below ground under a metal cover and most of the time you don't realise they are there. To access them our fire engines carry what they call a stand pipe and for all intents and purposes it is similar to US hydrant but thinner and less bulky. The difference in the UK is that the fire fighter lifts up the metal cover and attaches the stand pipe to the hydrant. The only trouble is the Playmobil version is a proper hydrant and is a little too large for the job. There is a better picture of what a stand pipe really looks like on the back of Gordon's water Carrier .

Kindest Regards  Tim 

[Meg]

Tim,
You explained it beautifully

In the US, we have laws to prevent parking in front of a hydrant, so that it can be used in an emergency.

I would think that without a hydrant, you dont have such parking laws.
Do parked cars get in the way of the stand pipe?

M

[playmofire]

I hope you don't mind, Tim, but I've picked up on Meg's question and posted some pics of a hydrant team at work I took some years ago.  They are here:

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=438.msg5910#msg5910