CONTROVERSIAL vehicles used by fire and rescue crews have replaced standard fire engines at a North Yorkshire fire station.

Tactical Response Vehicles (TRV) have been installed for use at Northallerton fire station, replacing the standard day crewed fire engines and have this week started to attend call-outs.

The vehicles are crewed by three staff, rather than four or five on a standard fire engine. They have the same standard pump as a normal fire engine, but also carry new equipment that is designed to be operated with fewer staff than previously required.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) say the vehicles are unsafe because they cannot perform firefighting or rescue operations at incidents where there is a risk to life, such as house fires.

Last month two firefighters in Scarborough followed union guidance and refused to crew the vehicle – but were then sent home leaving Scarborough without enough crew members to operate one of its fire engines or specialist equipment used to for high rise rescues.

Steve Howley, secretary of the FBU in North Yorkshire, said: “If these vehicles were the first ones to respond to a major fire, as management has indicated they could be, all they could do is survey the scene. They cannot perform rescue operations and have limited firefighting capabilities."

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Owen Hayward, said: “These vehicles combine the use of modern equipment and new techniques, along with well trained and highly skilled staff, to deliver a response to emergencies, which is appropriate to the current risk in these areas whilst also being more cost effective."

The vehicles will respond to, and be able to deal with, small incidents, such as bin fires, on their own and will be sent along with standard fire engines to larger incidents such as house fires and road traffic collisions.