Under the bonnet is a standard 3.5-liter
Rover V8 carbureted engine, delivering its power through a manual gearbox to
the three axles. It's a heavy vehicle, especially when fully laden with men and
water, but it has a useful turn of speed.
"You have to make sure you don't turn
too sharply at speed, though," says Joe. "With 990 liters of water
sloshing around in the tank, it can be very unstable. There isn't a rear
anti-roll bar on this vehicle. We've heard of tenders at other airfields that
have rolled over on the way to incidents."
There
are two tanks in the Carmichael. One holds the aforementioned water, the other
60 liters of foam
There are two tanks in the Carmichael. One
holds the aforementioned water, the other 60 liters of foam. What ratio of foam
and/or water is directed at the fire depends on what sort of fire it is. It is
expelled at high pressure through the great, roof-mounted funnel, known as a
monitor, which is controlled from inside the cab. It has a range of about 20
yards and both tanks can be emptied in about one minute if the monitor is
operated at full power. The pump, incidentally, is driven from the gearbox, via
a power take-off (PTO).
If the firemen are able to get closer to
the blaze, they can also affix hoses to the pump, mounted on the front bumper.
There are throttle controls inside and outside the vehicle to control the speed
of the pump.
Once the pump has exhausted the two tanks,
the crew can fight on thanks to eight fire extinguishers (CO2 and powder)
stashed in the back of the truck. The three rear lockers also hold the tools of
the fire fighter's trade, including axles, saws and sledge hammers. There are
ladders stowed on the roof and there is even a tool that looks suspiciously
like a giant tin opener - it comes as no surprise to learn that it is used for
cutting through mangled wreckage to free trapped occupants.
Joe
(with furry dice) at the controls of the Carmichael. The heavy metal plumbing
by his head controls the monitor.
Heavy-duty twin springs at the rear help
support the heavyweight vehicle, which weighs in at 4.5 tons. When fully laden
with the paraphernalia of fire- fighting, including protective clothing,
helmets, first aid equipment, stretchers, blankets and sirens. The furry dice
hanging from the interior mirror are Joe's - a welcome light-hearted touch in a
vehicle that has such a serious role to perform.
"We are aware that we have to get it right,
both in our fire training and our maintenance work, which is 100 per cent
preventative" says Jim. "If your aircraft conks out up there, there's
no layby to pull into - no AA to call.
"If you get it wrong in our job and a
fatal accident is found to have been caused by the engineer, we end up in the
dock.
Body
roll is serious when cornering
"Every aircraft here gets a 50-hour
annual inspection, which includes a big strip-down. There is also a massive
amount of paper work, because safety is so important." It's a message
that's all too obvious when you are in the looming presence of XJA 86S. Of all
the millions of Land Rovers in all the world, I can't think of any one that has
saved as many lives as this remarkable fire tender. If machinery could talk,
this Land Rover would have a salutary tale to tell.
To the uninitiated, a parked fire engine is
a big, red heap of machinery that is doing absolutely nothing at all. But all
that can change in an instant - a cruel snap of the fickle finger of fate -
when dozens of lives depend upon that machinery and the men in control snapping
into action and tackling the ferocity of a raging fire.
This Carmichael has already more than done
its duty, almost 28 years ago. But it's ready to do the same again.
Bomber base
During World War II the airfield was known
as RAF Glatton and was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air
Force as a heavy bomber airfield.
Bomber
base
It was first used by the 457th Bombardment
Group (Heavy), which arrived in what was then part of Huntingdonshire in
January 1944.
Flying B17 Flying Fortresses, the airmen at
first concentrated on dangerous daylight bombing raids over Germany, aimed at
shattering Hitler's aircraft and ball bearing industries.
By June, they had switched their attentions
to targets in France in preparation for the Normandy invasion and attacked
coastal defenses near Cherbourg on D-day.
The 457th continued bombing raids on German
targets through to the end of the war in 1945, including the Battle of the Bulge
from December 1944 to January 1945.
After the war, the RAF Bomber Command was
stationed at Glatton, flying Lancasters, until the base's military operations
ceased in 1948. Much of the base was returned to agriculture and many of the
buildings demolished, although two runways were retained for the civilian
airport.
1985 disaster
The Boeing 737 in which 54 passengers
perished that fateful morning in 1985 was piloted by Captain Peter Terrington.
When he heard the engine explode, he thought a tire had burst and steered the
aircraft into a taxiway. It wasn't until the plane had come to a halt that the
crew realized there was an engine fire.
1985
disaster
The subsequent investigation revealed that
the engine part that caused the explosion had previously been repaired by
welding.
The surviving cabin crew and two members of
Manchester Airport Fire Service were awarded the Queen's Gallantry medal for
their individual bravery, as were two female flight attendants, Sharon Ford and
Jacqui Urbanski, who lost their lives in the incident and received the same
award posthumously.
