UK Tests Firefighting Motorbikes

Two customized police-spec motorcycles are now being tested as a possible addition to a UK fire department’s firefighting suite.

The Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in England has fielded two firefighting motorcycles as part of a six-month feasibility trial. They used a BMW RT1200 police-spec motorcycle and added two 25-liter water tanks and a 30-meter hose that sprays a mixture of water and a special fire-retardant foam designed to knock back fires quickly.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mike Hagen said that “anti-social behavior fires, such as wheelie bins and skips, account for 62 per cent of our total fire call-outs”. Usually the fire department sends an entire crew to tackle such cases. Now they want to explore alternative ways of tackling such small but potentially dangerous incidences so as to make crews and equipment available for incidences where life and/or property are at risk.

Via Discovery News and GizMag