Lancashire Fire and Rescue unveil new engine designs

The newly wrapped engines highlight the dangers of wildfire fires and certain types of batteries.

Already in the fleet is a fire engine with an LGBTQ+ design.

Darwen has a new fire engine depicting the fire service’s wildfire prevention imagery and key messages.

Blackburn with Darwen is regularly among the top four districts in the county in terms of wildfire incidents and two of the county’s risk sites are located within the borough.

Darwen Moor was also the site of a large fire in 2020 which burnt across 5km of moorland. It was caused by a spark from a barbeque that members of the public could not extinguish.

The area is now protected by a public space protection order that bans the use of barbecues, campfires, stoves, fireworks, and paper lanterns.

At Nelson, on-call recruitment is the focus of their new fire engine.

At Nelson, on-call recruitment is the focus of their new fire engine (Image: LFRS)

This fire engine is one of the many workstreams linked to the on-call duty system review, which aims to improve recruitment, development, retention and ultimately pump availability.

The fire service has also introduced a bespoke on-call recruitment van which is used by crews in local areas to drive recruitment at on-call stations.

You should see the vehicles out and about in the coming weeks during the service’s spring recruitment campaign, ahead of applications opening on 17 June.

Blackpool has received an e-charging-themed fire engine as part of our new campaign on the risks associated with rechargeable batteries.

In Lancashire, there has been a year-on-year rise in battery-related fires over the last three years, and three-quarters of them involved a charger.

Blackpool had the most incidents in 2022-23 and sadly experienced a fatal fire involving an e-scooter battery.

The e-scooter was left charging in a home and exploded, blocking the escape route and causing the death of one person and injuring two others.

The prevention campaign on this issue began in 2022 and has developed each year since.

In Lancaster, 43 bin wagons also display the same artwork following a collaboration with Lancaster City Council.

These pumps join our existing wrapped vehicles which include the LGBTQ+ fire engine located at Bispham.

Preston’s remembrance pump has also been replaced with another in the same design. The vehicle is designed to demonstrate support for all members of Lancashire's armed forces community both past and present.

The fire engine features the image of four soldiers stood within a poppy field paying their respects.

The silhouettes represent soldiers from the British, Indian and West Indian Armies, and the Gurkhas. It also features a warship and aeroplanes paying tribute to those who have served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

The phrase 'We will remember them' is displayed in homage to the Lancashire poet Laurance Binyon's poem 'For the Fallen', from which the famous verse beginning 'They shall not grow old' is taken.

A fire service spokesperson said: “Have you spotted our newly wrapped fire engines around Lancashire?

“This year, we've added 13 new fire engines to our fleet, including three featuring unique graphic designs. They are:

“Darwen has a new fire engine emphasizing wildfire prevention. Blackburn with Darwen is regularly among the top four districts in the county in terms of wildfire incidents and two of the county’s risk sites are located within the borough.

“Based at Blackpool, this fire engine promotes the safe e-charging of lithium-ion batteries. In Lancashire, there has been a year-on-year rise in battery-related fires over the last three years, and three-quarters of them involved a charger

“At Nelson, on-call recruitment is the focus of their new fire engine. You should see the vehicles out and about in the coming weeks ahead of our spring recruitment.

“These eye-catching wraps join our existing wrapped vehicles which include the LGBTQ+ fire engine located at Bispham and the remembrance pump at Preston’s.”