Firestyle Magazine Issue 3 - Spring 2016 | Page 11

Red Fire Engines
Green Values for new fleet
Fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint,
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has taken delivery
of twelve new electric vehicles to be deployed across
Cheshire for support staff.
The all-electric Nissan LEAF cars, distinctly liveried
with the message Red Fire Engines, Green Values,
underpin the Service’s environmental credentials and
replace some of the existing fleet of petrol cars used
to go from station to station and home visits in local
communities.
Multi-charge posts have been installed at nine fire
stations across Cheshire, ensuring a network of fleet
charging points in each of the four unitary areas.
Four LEAFs will be based at Warrington Fire Station, two
at Chester, four at Crewe and two at Headquarters in
Winsford.
Environment, Energy and Engineering Officer Ella
Schubmehl managed the project. She said: “Some
of the vehicles used by our support staff, whether by
advocates visiting households in the community or
station to station or headquarter to station visits, were
nearing the end of their contracts and would need
replacing.

“The Energy Saving Trust carried out an in-depth survey
of precisely how and where the support vehicles were
used and were able to see that, with the incorporation
of strategically placed charging posts, a large
proportion of the fleet could comprise electric vehicles,
thereby supporting our low carbon aspiration of 40%
carbon reduction by 2020.”
75% of the total value of the vehicles is being grant
funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV)
and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service the remaining
amount over a two year period.
Similarly, charging posts have been 75% grant funded
with OLEV paying £26,593.00 against the Service’s
outlay of £6,648.25.
Cllr Tony Sherlock, Cheshire Fire Authority Environmental
Champion, said: “We launched our Environment and
Sustainability Strategy in 2014 to ensure we achieve
40% carbon reduction by 2020 and have been very
fortunate to be included on the OLEV readiness
project for the procurement of electric vehicles and
the implementation of a charging infrastructure. With
their help we have been able to reduce our carbon
footprint and work towards being an increasingly
environmentally friendly Authority.”

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