FIREFIGHTERS in Essex hope they are now ready to take on an even wider range of emergencies, thanks to a deal which gives them access to specialist vehicles worth thousands of pounds The leasing deal gives the fire service use of a six-wheeled amphibious truck called a Cat, specialised, tracked off-road vehicles and quad bikes.

They could be vital in dealing with heavy flooding, helping at major events such as the Olympic Games or responding to major terrorist incidents. The vehicles were put through their paces at Ardleigh Reservoir yesterday – though for technical reasons, they weren’t actually allowed into the water.

First, I was given a ride in a Haggland vehicle, a German-built tracked monster which is equally at home on land or water.

In the past, firefighters have had to wade through floodwater, or use dinghies to rescue people trapped by flooding, putting themselves and those they were helping at risk.

The 17-seat Haggland keeps firefighters dry, easily transports them over the water and allows them to rescue more people at a time than is possible with a small boat.

It might not be the most comfortable ride on the road, but the Haggland’s cabin is warm and dry – it even has a heater. A few notches down in the comfort stakes is the quad bike on which I was also taken.

Designed to help firefighters reach people across rough terrain, it can certainly shift, picking up speed so fast, I screamed my head off and nearly fell off the back as it accelerated away.

The man behind the leasing deal, deputy chief fire officer Gordon Hunter, explains: “This contract gives us access to specialist rescue vehicles we would not normally have.

“We couldn’t afford to buy them because they are so specialised.

“They would only be used for the type of incidents which don’t happen very often, if at all.

“They would just sit there collecting cobwebs, so it wouldn’t be a good use of taxpayers’ money to buy them outright.”

The contract with Spartan Rescue, which already supplies several other UK fire services, gives fire crews access to the vehicles when they are needed, along with trained staff from the company to drive them.

For £22,000 a year – roughly a quarter of the price of a modern fire engine – the fire service gets the use of vehicles worth a small fortune. It also avoids the cost and inconvenience of training its own people to drive them.

The vehicles will be based in Cambridgeshire, but are guaranteed to be available at the scene of an incident in Essex at two hours’ notice.

Mr Hunter added: “The reason we are doing this now is because there are more and more of these incidents happening.

“Like everyone else, our budgets are being cut, but we still want to move forward. We can do more now than we could ever do before.”