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| The ‘Supporter’ brings a whole new level of safety and versatility to vehicle rescue and extrication |
Following extensive trials, Warwickshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service has become the first UK brigade to opt for the new Paratech ‘Supporter’ Vehicle Stabilisation System from Vimpex. Twenty-five sets were purchased allowing a pair of ‘Supporter’ struts to be carried on all front line vehicles.
The ‘Supporter’ brings a whole new level of safety and versatility to vehicle rescue and extrication and allows crews to safely stabilise not only passenger vehicles but also trucks and HGV tractor units. The ‘Supporter’ is fully rated at its maximum of 9 tonnes through the entire stroke length. This means that rescuers are no longer left calculating strut integrity during a rescue and can instead apply the ‘Supporter’ knowing that it is working well-within its capabilities.
Commenting on the procurement process, Technical Support Officer Graham Vann-Turner noted that, “Paratech’s new ‘Supporter’ gave us a real dilemma when deciding which strut to purchase to refresh the fleet. As soon as we first used the new Paratech system we were keen to put it on trial alongside the other contenders. It fast became clear that the ‘Supporter’ was the best choice for us with respect to ease of deployment and safety features”.
