Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has taken delivery of twelve new Nissan Leafs to help minimise its impact on the environment. The new all-electric fleet replaces a number of petrol cars, and will be used for transport between fire stations and for home visits in the community.
Each car has been given a livery saying “Red Fire Engines, Green Values”, underlining the service’s wish to be as green as possible. Charging points have been installed at nine fire stations in the region to maximise the fleet’s usefulness.
Four Leafs will be based at Warrington Fire Station, four at Crewe, and two each at Chester and the service headquarters in Winsford. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has taken on much of the funding for the fleet of Nissans, with 75 per cent of both the vehicles’ and charge point costs being covered by the government office.
Environment, Energy and Engineering Officer Ella Schubmehl managed the project and said: “Some of the vehicles used by our support staff, whether by advocates visiting households in the community or station to station or headquarters 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 per cent carbon reduction by 2020.”
Cllr Tony Sherlock, Cheshire Fire Authority Environmental Champion, said: “We launched our Environment and Sustainability Strategy in 2014 to ensure we achieve 40 per cent 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.”
