BROMSGROVE Fire Station has taken delivery of a new fire appliance that will help firefighters 'handle callouts more rapidly'.

The new Scania ‘CAFS’, or Compressed Air Foam System, model is replacing the station’s previous appliance.

CAFS can carry 300 litres of foam and 2,400 litres of water each - significantly more than previously .

Designed for maximum versatility, they can deploy equally to more routine incidents as well as those requiring bulk foam.

Group Commander Jon Butlin said: “This is great news. The new CAFS will really boost the Service’s firefighting and incident handling capability.

"Not only does it have considerably greater foam and water storage and pumping capability, but it will be far more versatile, offering a wide range of incident responses from large buildings to water and agricultural callouts.

“The lighter hoses and high pumping capacity also mean that we can handle callouts more rapidly, resulting in less fatigue and risk for our crews as well as reduce damage and environmental impact on the local area.”

Due to improved technology the system can simultaneously deliver water through both their main jets and hose reels at the same time as producing compressed air foam, offering a significant upgrade on existing appliances

Deployable to any kind of incident, and especially effective where there are poor local water supplies, CAFS will have particular advantages for tackling basement, large building, hazardous material, watercraft and agricultural incidents, as well as thatch and fuel/oil fires.