Video by Natalee Hazelwood


Firefighters have been honing their skills when it comes to tackling accidents involving articulated lorries, thanks to a partnership with a supermarket chain.

Crews from the Bedfordshire & Luton Fire and Rescue Service are having a series of visits from Asda's distribution team, discovering where fuel tanks are kept, how to lift the suspension, and how to release the driver's cab.

The scheme is expected to save precious minutes when fighting accidents involving the vehicles, and that could be crucial in a life or death situation.

Steve Spring, the fire service's driving instructor, said: "It is great for our crews to actually have the time to look at these vehicles closely and talk to experts about how best to make them safe in the event of an accident. They really enjoy the chance to learn from the people who actually drive them.

"Minutes can count in the case of an accident, for instance where someone is trapped in a car which has been involved in collision with a lorry. The quicker fire crews can release a victim, the greater chances of survival."

He added: "Rather than always having to use cutting equipment to remove electrics or separate a unit and trailer, it is more effective and efficient if crews know the tricks of the transport trade in pulling the two apart.

"The lessons we are learning by working with a professional organisation like Asda and its transport experts can be applied to all accidents involving large goods vehicles. You cannot put a price on this sort of partnership."

Because both the M1 and A1 pass through Bedfordshire, the county has more than its fair share of lorry-releated incidents. And the Bedfordshire scheme is the first of its kind.

The Asda depot at Marsh Leys, Bedford, has 100 vehicles.

ASDA distribution manager Jim Wright said his organisation had also benefitted.

"We've both learned a lot," he said. "It has given us a chance to see the problems from the point of a view of a fire and rescue crew who are confronted with a large goods vehicle which has been involved in a road traffic accident.

"For instance, crews are made aware that our drivers will have onboard equipment which may aid them in making a vehicle safe and stable.

"Also the fire crews are shown techniques such as to how to quickly separate the unit, which may be carrying 400 litres of fuel, from a trailer which may be on fire. If they can act swiftly enough, they could prevent the fire spreading to the unit or other vehicles involved in the accident.

"Highlighting that a refrigerated lorry, such as that used to transport food, could have a red diesel tank under the trailer, which is of course a fire hazard in the wrong circumstances, is very useful information to have."