The German fire brigade specifies Iveco Trakker construction vehicles with fire-fighting bodywork and an Allison transmission to overcome slippery, dark driving conditions on ever-changing terrain at Garzweiler. There are unavoidable fire risks at the mine, not least 100 km of conveyor belting. The Garzweiler plant fire brigade is required to reach the scene of a fire or rescue situation within eight minutes. It recently added an Iveco Trakker 190 AT 36 W chassis to its fleet. In a first for the site, the vehicle designed for the construction market, is configured as a water-tender that has been equipped with fire-fighting bodywork and an Allison 3200 Series transmission with retarder.

The Allison was a basic requirement of the fire brigade. “For an operation in this rough area an all-terrain vehicle with a fully automatic transmission is an enormous advantage,” says Rudolf Niephaus, Fire Chief Inspector and Head of the Garzweiler plant fire brigade. “The roads change almost every day and we drive in the dark a lot of the time spanning up to 210-m differences in altitude. In conditions like these, it is essential for the safety of our drivers that their attention is not diverted by shifting gears and that they are able to keep both hands on the steering wheel.”