FIRE SERVICE RELATED
Changing the
world through
innovation
Q: Alisdair, what is the current thinking behind the
new vehicle products at Terberg?
AC: In the ever changing world that we now live
in none of us are immune from change, neither
do we want to miss out on the opportunity to
learn, develop and make best use of new and
innovative concepts and ideas. We often see
solutions and work on projects which are either
out of our financial capabilities or are unworkable
in our own environments. Over the 150 year history
of Terberg and its subsidiary companies we have
had the opportunity to view a global customer
base and to engage with many innovative
ideas, desires and specialist projects. Terberg
DTS through its relationship with its customers
often sees similar concepts being discussed and
tries, where possible, to share those experiences,
knowledge and desires.
Q: How was the Telstar vehicle developed?
AC: This desire for shared knowledge brought
about the birth of the Telstar concept vehicles.
Terberg DTS identified multiple agencies who
are striving to engage in the new emergency
services environment of joint collaboration and
budgetary constraints. It became clear early on
that the fire services had achieved fantastic results
with the proactive nature of their activities which
have dramatically reduced the number of fire
incidents in the UK. At the same time, a number
of fire services were developing co-responding
arrangements with Ambulance Trusts on a local
arrangement basis, which was clearly making a
difference within the communities where these
projects were being utilised.
Q: Can you explain the Telstar concept?
AC: Having presented the Telstar concept to a
number of fire services, from a drawing board
perspective in late 2014, it was apparent that it
would be more appropriate to actually design,
manufacture and make available to the services
a fully functional concept vehicle as this new
vehicle was a radical change to what had been
seen before. With the risk of a fire station losing
a second appliance, being replaced by a coresponder car meant that the fire service had
lost a capability asset. Terberg DTS felt that the
fire services required the retention of a firefighting
asset whilst still being able to deliver an additional
and flexible co-responding capability.
12
Alisdair Couper, Managing
Director at Terberg Fire &
Rescue explains the recent
developments at the
company, in terms of its
new vehicle plans for the
fire and rescue industry.