Heavy Hazardous Material Response Unit

Well, I just got back from the Woodford brigade (about ten minutes up the road) where one of the guys is also a member of the NSW Fire Brigades and he arranged to bring their new Heavy Hazardous Materials Response truck up for a viewing and training.

The guys approximate that the truck is worth close to a millions dollars, and having seen it, that is easy to believe. It has every bell and whistle you can imagine. It even has football stadium style lights that extend and can be moved to any number of settings all via remote control and when they are not in use, tuck in neatly behind the cab. It carries 38 cylinders for breathing apparatus, fridges, a microwave, computers, one of those whiteboards you can print out, its own weather station and more buttons and touch screens than you can point a stick at.

The photos below show some of the bells and whistles....

This is a photo showing the main work area. This contains half of the breathing apparatus cylinders, fridges, some pumps and water among other things.

This is a view into the truck from the back. All of the crates you see contain various equipment required for response such as boots.

These two photos are of a control panel just inside the door to the back of the truck. It gives a constant update on what is happening, including oil pressure, what doors are open and a general overview of what the truck is doing.


The tour wouldn't be complete without a view inside the cab. The screen at the top of the photo is a massive GPS unit and the buttons below control all of the lights and sirens. The truck is fully automatic with push button selections for drive and reverse and so on.

Well, that is about it on the big toy. Hope you enjoyed. I did!