fire support vehicles enhanced by bott

The vehicles, one used by the Fire Investigation Section and the other fulfilling a multipurpose role, visit emergencies and events to help the service fulfil is emergency and community responsibilities throughout southern Scotland. 

“Overall cost and quality were the main factors,” says George Thomson, Operational Support Centre Manager for Lothian & Borders. “We were more concerned about the whole life cost rather than the initial invoice, which is still important.”

Lothian & Borders covers an extensive area of southern Scotland from 36 full time and retained stations. The service selected bott to prepare the new vehicles following competitive tender because the specialist vehicle enhancer was able to demonstrate a complete solution which offered the best combination of overall costs, equipment and service quality, pre- and post-sales support and location of facilities.

bott enhanced a Vauxhall Movano and a Renault Master at its facility in Cumbernauld, convenient for the service. The first vehicle supports the Fire Investigation Section and is equipped with a range of equipment that helps specialist officers to inspect the causes of fires and other emergencies. Although primarily for use by Lothian & Borders this vehicle also supports neighbouring services when they need additional resources for emergencies in their own regions. The second has been configured as a multipurpose vehicle which can be modified for use as a standby Fire Investigation, Forward Command and Control or Community Support vehicle.

both vehicles were equipped with Normline storage modules to create a well-organised interior which allows the maximum amount of equipment to be carried. The multipurpose vehicle has removable cabinets with specialist equipment which can be swapped depending on the vehicle’s intended role. The modular design proposed by bott enables cabinets to be removed and replaced quickly and easily without affecting the permanent fittings inside the vehicle. Another advantage of this concept is that the service will not need to buy a new set of equipment when it replaces the vehicle in the future.