Fire services in Seychelles is now equipped with a brand new appliance, the aerial ladder platform which can be used for high rescue and better firefighting action from above.

Yesterday, the representative of the Angloco Factory, Steve Hodgetts, the creator of this appliance, formally delivered the key to the Designated Minister, Macsuzy Mondon, who then passed it on to the chief fire officer Albert Rose in a ceremony at the Fire Services headquarters on Latanier Road. The ceremony was also attended by the Speaker of the National Assembly Nicholas Prea, members of the National Assembly and the Mayor of Victoria David Andre.

This occasion marks a big step in the development and achievement for the country’s fire services and this is also identified in their strategic plan.

“The particular vehicle meets our needs around operational response and is able to deal with some of the difficulties we will face particularly in fighting fires and performing rescue in high rise buildings. Being a tourism country whose port is patronised by large tourism vessels, this appliance will come in handy for rescue and fire should the need arises,” noted Mr Rose.

He also voiced out that fire services appliances are costly and thus within their allocated budget it is near impossible for them to replace vehicles, let alone buy specialised vehicles.

“That is why we are grateful for the investment made by the government in purchasing this appliance, in boosting our fleet capabilities, we will ensure that we are not relying on the likelihood of needing such an appliance, but on our readiness to receive any challenge,” added Mr Rose.

The efforts to acquire such a vehicle was started by former chief fire officer Andre Morel. In October 2017, the contract to construct such an appliance was granted to Angloco Factory, located in England. The contract included the manufacture of the aerial ladder platform on a Scania chassis cab, testing, acceptance programme and delivery of the finished vehicle to Seychelles. The construction of the appliance was carried out at the Bronto Factory in Finland and further sent to the UK for the finalisation and the installation of the firefighting equipment.

“However, there was a delay in the construction of the vehicle for less than one year due to a shortfall of R2.6 million which was under negotiation for further funding from the Ministry of Finance. Work started in July 2018, nine months after the contract was signed and took less than a year to complete the total investment of R12.6 million funded by the Seychelles government,” explained Mr Rose.

Mr Rose personally visited the factories to inspect the finishing work and also to sign the acceptance certificate before shipment of the vehicle. Then the vehicle was shipped to Seychelles and arrived on September 16, 2019.

This new appliance is quite large and the ladder reaches up to 32 metres.

“Due to its dimensions and manoeuvrability, it will be limited to certain areas, but it delivers the very latest in technology. It is an instrument which will enable our firefighters to resolve incidents quicker and safer,” said Mr Rose.

He concluded his speech by thanking the government for making this investment and secondly, he thanked the members of the National Assembly who fought very hard for the funding for the project to materialise.

Pastor Pascal Payet, a former chief fire officer, blessed the new vehicle and placed it in the hands of God.

A group of 15 staff including six fire-fighters have been identified to operate this appliance.