Our fleet, including our emergency service vehicles, are critical in providing an effective fire and rescue service. They provide us with the mobility, equipment, and rapid response capabilities necessary to address a wide range of emergencies. Many of these vehicles are a significant cost so it’s essential we get the most out of each vehicle. During the consultation for this CRMP several responses related to our fleet

We want to offer reassurance that we will continue to purchase, and work with partners, to provide the most appropriate vehicles to meet the risks within our service area. Effective fleet management not only ensures the reliability and readiness of vehicles leading to improved operational effectiveness, but it can extend vehicle lifespans, inform decision making, meet environmental targets and most importantly enhance firefighter safety.

Our Achievements

• We have budgeted over £5 million to purchase sixteen new fire engines in service including clean concept solutions, which will assist in reducing the combined age of our fleet.
• We renewed officer vehicles in 2024 ensuring uniformity across that fleet. This is anticipated to reduce servicing costs and timeframes for repair. The previous fleet have been repurposed and distributed to On-call stations, to support community engagement in our most rural communities.
• We have established a Capabilities working group to provide an appraisal of the suitability, appropriateness and sustainability of fleet and equipment aligned to the community risk.
  • Through our collaboration with North Yorkshire Police, we have repurposed their Incident Command Unit to a dedicated Fire Command Unit. This resulted in savings of approximately £250,000

Areas of Focus

Over the period of this CRMP we will focus on:

• Introducing fleet telematics into our grey  fleet (support vehicles and vans). Modern telematics systems allow vehicle data to be captured which would benefit fleet management and deliver greater efficiency and effectiveness.
• Replacing our oldest Aerial Ladder platform in line with the Capabilities review recommendations.
• Reviewing the usage of all our special vehicles (appliances) to ensure each provides an effective and efficient service to our communities.
• Replacing one of our two water bowsers and redirecting finances towards wildfire training, alternative vehicles, equipment and personal protective equipment to enhance water provision and our wildfire and rural response, in line with the community risk profile.
• Replacing our current Incident Support Units (ISU) with a smaller more efficient vehicle. This is predicted to result in savings of over £750,000.