Varley Group has established itself as a premier manufacturer of specialised vehicles, particularly in the emergency and fire appliance industry. Today, Varley continues to set industry standards with their market-leading Aerial Pumper Fire Truck. The group developed this integrated firefighting solution from concept to handover, taking advantage of the latest emergency response technologies from Europe.
“Manufactured at our Tomago (NSW) facility, our Aerial Pumper has been custom designed by our engineering team to tackle a number of functions that would normally be performed by multiple fire fighting vehicles. The vehicle’s multifunctional capabilities means it serves as both an aerial ladder and a fire fighting apparatus, and can operate seamlessly in building, transformer, chemical, fuel and vehicle fires. They have become an indispensable asset for our customer – Fire & Rescue NSW.”
Jeff Honniball, Varley Vehicles CEO.
One of the standout features of Varley’s Aerial Pumper is its robust hydraulically actuated aerial platform that can be raised approximately 25m above ground level. This enables firefighters to combat blazes from a height using a remote-controlled nozzle fitted to the basket, and also serves as a rescue platform for extracting individuals who are stranded or injured in a burning building.
Varley Vehicles team of engineers had to overcome several challenges to achieve the multi-functionality within a single vehicle design.
“Along with the ladder and rescue platform, the truck is equipped with a powerful pump capable of delivering high volumes of water, as well as critical rescue equipment. Hence, our design team’s biggest obstacle was meeting the maximum size and weight constraints permitted for Australian roads. The successful design also required a number of complex inter-related subassemblies, including high-strength structures, hydraulic control systems, complicated plumbing, fluid reservoirs, mixing chambers, electronic panels and operator interfaces.”
To ensure operational performance and reliability, Varley partnered with leading European technology partners EGI Klubb in France and Germany’s One Seven Group to share knowledge, and leverage the latest advanced hydraulic and compressed air foam system (CAFS) technologies.
Extensive testing, from the concept phase through to handover, was conducted on the Aerial Pumper. The testing began with preliminary tests of the aerial platform in France and finished on Varley’s in-house tilt testing machine located at Tomago.
The Aerial Pumpers are the most advanced fire truck in Australia and the Asia Pacific region, and the most versatile fire appliance in the Fire & Rescue NSW’s vehicle fleet. They represent the company’s forward-thinking approach to Australia’s emergency response and reinforce Varley’s reputation as a leading manufacturer of emergency vehicles.