West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has chosen Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to replace some of its fleet.

For 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the fire and rescue service provides emergency cover for more than two million people across 800 square miles of the West Yorkshire countryside. 

Volkswagen’s range offered a wide variety of model options, from panel vans and crew vehicles to mini buses and specialist large capacity load carriers.

The fire service fleet has to be ready to cope with a wide range of emergencies, not just fire.  Road, rail or air crashes, floods and chemical spills are just some of the dangers that face the team.

To deal with this, the emergency service to date have purchased nearly 70 Volkswagen vans, including the Caddy Maxi Kombi, which offers seating for five and a large load capacity – crucial for housing specialist equipment. Two five-tonne Crafters were also secured as large vehicle response units.

Glynn Richardson, fleet controller at West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: “It is vitally important that we invest in the most cost effective and reliable fleet we can.

“As a fire and rescue service we rely on our fleet 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Volkswagen offers a versatile range of vehicles that provide excellent durability and reliability, which ensures the whole-life costs of the vehicles are kept to a minimum.”