Firefighting vehicles. Following a review of its special appliances and following detailed technical dialogue with operational crews , Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority (GMFRA), invites tenders for the supply of new appliances to complement and add to the existing fleet. GMFRA is leading and managing this tender for and on behalf of other regional North West Fire and Rescue Services and will be the initial, and in all likelihood, major user of vehicles purchased once the contract has been let.

The contract is open and available for all other North West FRS's to utilise throughout the duration of the contract period, with prior agreement between GMFRA and the successful Tenderer(s).

The other FRS's able to join the contract are listed below;

— Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS)

— Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS)

— Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS)

— Cumbria County Council and Fire Service (CCC)

— Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS)

— Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service (IMFRS)

Whilst all of the above FRS's are able to join the contract and purchase vehicles throughout the duration of the contract period, only the vehicles and associated specifications included within each of the ‘lots' in this tender are available to purchase. The Authority anticipates making a direct award to one supplier within each ‘lot'. This may result in one Tenderer being awarded all ‘lots' or a different Tenderer being awarded one ‘lot' each or any combination in between.

Each ‘lot' will be evaluated individually and the most economically advantageous tender shall be awarded the contract for that particular ‘lot'.

The tender is split into three separate ‘lots' and tenderers are invited to tender and price each ‘lot' they wish to bid for.

The vehicle specification documents for Lots 1 and 2 have been prepared by GMFRA and reflect their specific needs, the specification document for Lot 3 has been prepared by LFRS.

Regardless of the specification author, FRS's listed are eligible to purchase vehicles from any or all of the Lots. Reference to FRS specific crests etc. will be amended to suit the requirements of the FRS placing the order.

The ‘lots' are as follows;

Lot 1 – Water Tower

Lot 2 – Combined Aerial Appliance

Lot 3 – Turntable Ladder (TL) and Aerial Lifting Platform (ALP)

It is envisaged that GMFRA will have an initial requirement for two appliances once the contract has been awarded, however as many as eight appliances, or even more if operational requirements dictate, may be purchased throughout the life of the contract.

Other participating FRS requirements can not be confirmed at this stage.

Tenderers are requested to factor in to their responses any discounts that may be offered based on additional volumes of vehicle purchases throughout the contract period.

The need to increase operational capability through appliance innovation will be critical to the future of GMFRA. The concept of combining a conventional aerial appliance to those of a conventional fire appliance is not new, with some examples of succeeding in providing a significantly more versatile vehicle, whilst reducing the overall running costs.

Research in GMFRA has shown the operational need for a water tower significantly outweighs the demand for an operating platform (cage). This is further supported by the continued availability within GMFRA of Hydraulic Platform Vehicles (HPV), of which we currently have 6.

This HPV availability provides us with an opportunity to embrace new technology and modern vehicle design through a combined appliance water tower, which provides a vehicle that acts in the same way as our ‘standard' fire appliance with the water tower capability of our HPV's.

We also recognise the benefits of combining a conventional aerial appliance (with a cage) to those of a conventional fire appliance and for that reason believe that this type vehicle could also add capability to our appliance fleet.

Within each one of these vehicles there remains standard requirements, which are:

— Be compact enough to meet the challenge of manoeuvring around the streets of Greater Manchester

— Provide an appropriate working environment within the cabs for operational crews who will spend a significant amount of their working day within it

— Be quick and simple to deploy

— Be as simple as possible to operate once deployed, thereby freeing crews to concentrate on other operational demands

— Be intuitive and physically understanding in its design and equipment stowage, thereby minimising the demands placed to crews

— Be innovative in design, construction and operation

— Providing a vehicle that challenges enshrined aerial appliance thinking

In order to obtain a fuller account of our aims and ambitions Tenderers are encouraged to view our Corporate Plan via the following link https://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/about_us/policies_and_publications/corpplan_2013_2016.aspx