Operating across a geographical spread of around 750sq miles, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service relies on its fleet of purpose-built and purposeful vehicles to provide rapid support to ‘999’ emergency calls. The good looking red Kodiaqs will be utilised by Flexi-Duty Officers and put through their paces, coping with a raft of challenging situations that include call-outs to fires, floods, road traffic collisions and animal rescues, among an array of other demands.
To date, the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service has taken receipt of 12 Kodiaqs with a further five due to join the fleet later this year. The all-terrain capability of the Kodiaq was determined as a vital requirement of the Fire Service, in order to get to people in virtually any environment both speedily and safely. As a renowned load-lugger, the Kodiaq also offers ample space for both passengers and equipment, with over 2,005 litres available, when the rear seats are folded down in the five and seven seat models.
The fleet of Kodiaqs has been specially modified to suit the Fire and Rescue Service’s needs and includes covert blue lights, blue light brake enhancements and a fixed load guard in the boot to prevent the shifting of equipment into the passenger compartment, when driving under pressure. Fortunately and another reason for Kodiaq being the vehicle of choice, the excellent chassis dynamics of the estate car ensure that it is more than merely up-to-the-task of working in what can be, at times, a highly pressurised environment.
Andrew Welton, Fleet Manager at Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, told us: “Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service covers a largely rural area and our Flexi-Duty Officers need as much flexibility as possible, with an off-road fleet that is practical for both people and equipment. The Kodiaq’s performance, combined with Skoda’s ability to provide cars fully converted, meets all of our criteria.”
Amazingly, there exists still a small tranche of critics that wonders why national specialist services need to venture to ‘foreign’ carmakers like Skoda to support their aims. Throughout the brand’s history, even prior to it being taken over by the greater Volkswagen Group during the late-1990s, Skoda was a company that traded directly with the UK. During the Communist era in Czechoslovakia, every vehicle shipped to the UK was replaced with goods to the similar value that originated from our market. While the circumstances may be slightly different these days, there is still a lot of cross-border trading that takes place as a direct result of that association.
As far as the Kodiaq is concerned, it is a value-added proposition that combines high levels of vehicle dependability (a most useful asset in the emergency services sector), with good standard equipment and supportive comfort for the mix of drivers that will use the vehicles around their region.
