A Rescue Van for Collieries
Page 52
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A WELL-EQUIPPED Leyland Cub 11.rescue van, with a body by Messrs. Wilson and Steckell, Bury, has recently been commissioned for use by the Howe Bridge Rescue Station, Atherton, Lanes, which is one of the central rescue stations provided and maintained by Lancashire and Cheshire colliery owners.
The design of the body is such that a corps of trained rescue men and a good range of equipment can be carried. At each side of the central door at the rear are six lockers, each containing a complete suit of Proto breathing apparatus. Each locker has sliding doors on the inside, whilst eight of them can be reached through doors on the outside. Seating accommodation for six men is provided in the van, whilst two additional persons can be accommodated in the driver's cab.
_tacks over the seats are intended for carrying canvas haversacks, containing the pit clothes of the corps, thus enabling the men to change while travelling to a colliery. Below the seats are lockers in which are stored a collapsible bath for water testing, life lines, blankets, oxygen cylinders, etc. There are also several roomy lockers which open from the interior, the equipment accommodated including fire-extinguishers, safety lamps, reviving apparatus, etc.
The rescue van is equipped throughout with Triplex glass, the side and rear windows being neutral tinted.
Certain modifications to the standard Leyland Cub chassis have been made, these including the use of dual ignition, shock absorbers at both front and rear, and the positioning of the petrol tank ist the off side instead of at the rear.