Reed Boardall boosts safety with fire truck investment

REED Boardall Group, the frozen food storage and distribution business, has acquired a former airport fire truck to protect staff, vehicles and cold stores on its 55-acre site in North Yorkshire.

The six-wheeled Angloco tender, formerly used at Luton Airport, carries a reservoir of fire-retardant foam which can be blasted more than 70 metres through a roof-mounted pressure jet.

The vehicle is kept on round-the-clock standby and is crewed by staff, mostly ex-firemen, headed up by Frank Appleton, who has been with the company since 1976 and spent much of that time as the retained chief fire officer of Boroughbridge.

Tom Cassells, managing director of Reed Boardall Transport, said: “Our fire precautions have always been comprehensive, but on a big site like ours with moving vehicles, fuel storage tanks and round-the-clock activity, we decided to invest in something that could tackle fires large or small in a very robust fashion.”

When new, the fire engine would have cost around £600,000 but was acquired second-hand for considerably less. As well as the pressure jet, it came fully-equipped with hose reels and other equipment suitable for tackling all types of fire.

Group chief executive Keith Boardall said: “We store and deliver frozen foods from manufacturers across Britain, Europe and further afield to all the UK’s best-known supermarkets, operating round-the-clock, so we need always to keep the safety of our busy people, vehicles and buildings uppermost in mind.

“We handle more than 3,000 stock-keeping units every day, shipped nationwide by a fleet of over 160 refrigerated lorries – that’s well over 11,000 pallets per day, containing foods worth up to £5m, all through our Boroughbridge centre. Buying the fire tender is a sound safety investment.”