Civil Protection gets three fire engines from Lancashire

The Civil Protection Department can at last scrap some of its old fire engines in the coming weeks when three fire engines in very good condition will arrive on Monday.

At present part of the CPD fleet is in a bad state with sources saying that it was likely that the fire enginers would not pass their VRT test.

"Captain Reuben Lanfranco, who is a maritime consultant and marine surveyor and commissioner and corps commander of the St John Rescue Corp was instrumental in obtaining these three fire engines from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service in UK," the source said.

Lanfranco personally had talks with local authorities and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, and finally managed to finalise an agreement.

The three fire engines - Leyland DAF 55 series 230 - are fully equipped and suitable for Maltese roads, and come with brand new ladders. They have already been inspected and green-lit by a high-ranking officer from the CPD.

From Lanchashire, the three vehicles were driven to Merseyside where they were inspected and given a full service. From there they were transported to Southampton and put on the Grimaldi ‘Grande Ellade’ cargo ship that sailed to Salerno.

The three fire engines will now be put aboard another Grimaldi cargo ship which is expected to arrive in Malta on Monday. Our sources said that the Grimaldi Group will provide the shipping for free.