London Fire Brigade 1980s-Kensington with Dennis Pump & Turntable Ladder Appliances/Fire Engines

A short London Fire Brigade vid now, from the late 1980s. The AEC TL's had gone by now by the Dennis Pumps are still active and new Dennis Camiva Turntable Ladder appliances are in use. See them at work at Kensington High Street and Fire Station. If you liked the video please subscribe to my channel, there are lots more transport & quirky vids to upload!

[@Tazkoodenec47]

3:52 what a nice firefighter waving into the camera :D

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My mate filmed this one and he may well have chatted to the crews on this day.....

[@YelpBullhorn]

The last time London FB ran decent appliances. Beautiful old station, great appliances, two-tone horns, a nice friendly wave and a bit of sarcastic hand clap! What more could you ask for? Great trip down memory lane.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My plaesure....My mate was the fire brigade enthusiast, and got me to come out & film the appliances at work. I'm pleased we did now....

[@Stargazzer811]

You call a 2-man truck decent? Over in North America (not just the US, Canada too) truck companies are 4-6 guys, sometimes up to 10 depending on staffing, appliance and department. There's a reason for having so many guys, because so much has to be done at a scene to save lives and put fires out. A pair of guys cannot do it all, even if you got 4 more on the pumper.

[@YelpBullhorn]

@@Stargazzer811 well I was commenting on the actual truck, not the men inside it!!! But to address your point, there's a reason why North American trucks have 4 to 6 crew members on-board: it's because they are multi-role vehicles. 'Truckies' are responsible for entry and ventilation, and destroying the parts of a burning building that the flames haven't yet destroyed. Plus they carry rescue equipment, amongst lots of other kit. And don't forget the several crew members whose sole duty, or so it seems, is to stand around and do nothing, but try to look cool! (We've all seen the videos here on KZbin.) In the UK an aerial appliance is purely a high or low reach tool, simples. They don't carry water, they don't have a pump, and they have very little equipment on-board. They can rescue people or provide a water tower at a fire, and that's it. And for these two roles you need only a crew of two - one at the bottom and one up top!!! Do the math!

[@Stargazzer811]

@@YelpBullhorn Well I appreciate you finally explaining all the wasted potential of a European truck.

[@joelwhitaker2274]

@@Stargazzer811 Wasted potential? All of the equipment you carry on your ladders is carried on our version of an 'Engine'. Only one vehicle needed, not 2 or 3. European fire vehicles are well designed and have intelligent stowage systems to accommodate equipment. US vehicles are just big for literally no reason. The US is a long way behind the times in firefighting.

[@crusinclassicslucas6218]

3:49 best siren yet

[@samcaban7229]

Awesome fire appliances, they don't make them like they used to

[@gerardmccuskin8199]

One of the greatest fire engines in the wourld very smart great video

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure.....

[@firefighterfan2010]

1:09 Turntable Ladder got hit by a cone when it backing in.

[@michaelearith3184]

The TL is one of only a handful of Camiva Ladders manufactured in France with the LFB having no fewer than 3 and a single set each for Staffordshire,Devon,North Yorkshire and Merseyside between 1985 and 1991 all were mounted on the Dennis Low Cabbed Chassis with the exception of the North Yorkshire machine which was based on a Scania chassis.The UK franchise for the Camivas was I think John Dennis. The Paris fire department had (and probable still does) several based on a low cabbed Renault Chassis and the equippment was also used by brigades in Germany (Mercedes),the Benelux countries (on DAF) and Spain (on IVECO). Many other UK brigade turning in the direction of the German Ladder makers of Magirus and Metz especially after Merryweather had dissapeared.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

I remember the Camiva at York fire station after the beautiful ERF/ Metz TL was put into reserve.

[@YelpBullhorn]

Staffordshire's Camiva TL was based on a Dennis F chassis. It served its entire life at Hanley fire station, central Stoke-on-Trent.

[@fuoco13]

I remember those Dennis pumps. The front doors were bulky and heavy. I think they were the last appliances to have two tone horns.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

They were certainly built well that's for sure.....Dennis makes good kit!

[@robv7340]

1:09 splat goes the cone

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, he didn't notice that one! I think the LFB put them there due to cars or vans parking up....even though it's marked in bright yellow not to!

[@NeilM01989]

Nice one 👍🏻🧑🏻🚒

[@tl50camiva]

TL50- the last ever Dennis fire appliance bought by the LFB.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Wow! I didn't know that. Caught a bit of history back then and didn't even know it.....

[@contactacb]

Seems that even by the 80's LFB appliances were outgrowing the older stations and streets (not as bad as some in NYC though!).

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, the appliances got larger but not the buildings they were housed in. I think some of the very small stations may have been closed over time, at Waterloo, the old station is a resturant (or was, now who know's?).....

[@iainv4092]

Listen to those lovely engines. To What rubbish they have now.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

These were new then, and the crews had prefered the old AECs as they had great road hamdling due to the heavier chassis. What they'd have made of today's appliance i'm unsure.....

[@jameo20]

Can’t get over how high pitch the siren of the TL is! Later in life it had more of a normal commander 3 siren.

[@iainv4092]

Probs just a different brand speaker but same amp unit

[@BlackieFoxxless]

​@@iainv4092 No it's def a different model

[@peterharvey1762]

By god that fire station was getting to small for those appliances

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes it was a tight squeeze back then. I'm not sure if it is still open......

[@Charlzey1998]

Still is! Only 1 pump now though and has been for some time. Far left bays now the watchroom, middle bays staff parking and the TLs bay is for the Pump Ladder

[@JoeStudd96]

Is it DPL 785 or 795? I'm assuming 785, as I believe 795 was based at Soho around this time.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

It's hard to tell, my mate (who was the one who was actually into the LFB) filmed this one and didn't spin round with the fleet numbers. Although 795 was allocated to Soho, from what i know of the AEC TLs, a fair amount of re-allocation was carried out along with works visits.......

[@JoeStudd96]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Also, was there a reason you took down the Xmas 1985 video of the lads at Kensington going out on the TL dressed as Father Christmas?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

@@JoeStudd96 Yes, the music they played when colecting fell foul of copyright. The non Santa sections of that film are back up.....

[@mortgagewizard40]

3:05 is that a white shirt (station officer) driving that

[@BlackieFoxxless]

2:58 which siren model is that?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I have no idea as i'm not an expert on LFB matters but perhaps some of my viewers might know?

[@BlackieFoxxless]

@@crusinclassicslucas6218 no, i was asking about which model that hi-lo is

[@crusinclassicslucas6218]

@@BlackieFoxxless I think it is a woodway commander 3

[@BlackieFoxxless]

Or could be haztech

[@BlackieFoxxless]

Idk about the ladder, but i do know the pumpers use whelen Woodway commander 3