Kent Fire Brigade

Fire service historian and author

Roger Mardon

www.romar.org.uk

Link to Kent Fire & Rescue Service

By 1979 the pumping fleet was in need of renewal and the brigade acquired this Bedford TKG / HCB-Angus CSV (crew safety vehicle) (EKM 316T) for evaluation. The following year it was sold to East Sussex Fire Brigade and repainted red for service in Eastbourne.

In 1971 the brigade experimented with what was known as a first-strike appliance, intended for rapid access to narrow and congested areas and to deal with grass, chimney and other small fires. The Ford Transit-based vehicle (AKR 630K) carried 105 gallons of water and was equipped with a 250gpm pump.

Also acquired in 1979 for evaluation was this Dennis RS133 / Dennis (GKK 241V), which proved to be the first of 58 similar appliances put into service over the next eighteen months.