14/QAV appliances

[Mike]

I note with great intrest lately, the call for the 'small chasis' based 14/QAVs..... been quite a few incidents where the canters just wouldnt fit.

Hopefully it makes state see the light... as well as the merit behind these nifty little units!....

[Andrew]

QAV type vehicles are Land Cruiser / Land rover based - SMALL vehicle 600 LT water.

The 14 are more a mid size vehicle - 1000 Lt water.

They are two diffrent vehicle types / designs - performing two diffrent operations. They seem to get confused quite a bit. The appliance should not be considered the same.

[Mike]

yeah granted Andrew...

The reason i put it that way is that many many brigades have QAVs labeled as 14s and will never look at it any differently. No fault of the brigades either, as state are putting out appliances like this...

[TillerMan]

We wanted to change our 14 to a QAV as it holds only 400l but were told to leave it as was.
I notice alot of brigades in the hill's have had their small 14's replaced with bigger canter's ( eg: basket range, lenswood, oakbank), i hope this doesn't cause any shortfall's for small QAV's in the hill's

[kat]

A few 14's (and yeah, technically I mean QAV's - a tojo with 400l) would have been damn handy at Cambrai.

Just don't have any our neck of the woods.

[oz fire]

Kat - if people could only see out their office windows (over their huge desk and through their drapes)and see that we need alot more vehicles like the one going into Chaffey Group - it isn't only the Mallee areas that need the QAV's, but a good number there will help 

[firefighter_sa]

Hi there

It was highlighted at the recent Wilmington Fires - the small landcruiser-Landrover based QAV's are invaluable.

In our sort of terrain we rely heavily on the smaller units - especially the private/farmers vehicles.

I would like to propose a trial of building some drop in units for traytops (with all the safety spec's built in).  I know there is allot of negativity to-wards private units within this forum but we all have different terrains & areas (and we rely heavily on them)

I also realize there is allot of issues related to insurance etc - etc - etc. 

Its just a suggestion - throw the cat in with the pigions, as we don't have the luxury of having an abundance of vehicles.

Thanks

Wayne

[rescue5271]

I was over in Heywood(vic) not so long ago and they have two region (4 )QAV that are based on a landrover defender and they are great they went into rocky areas that 24/34 could not go and they where able to be used also as a command car. The group officer was telling me that these QAV will soon be part of most CFA regions that have areas that will not allow the large appliances into,they are on a slip on type system and for what they did I can see use in my own area for them....