We are now in the market for our new Type 3 appliances

Fire and Emergency has gone to market for the next generation of our Type 3 appliances. 

Bruce Stubbs, Region Manager, Te Ūpoko and Type 3 appliance project business owner, said this was a significant milestone for the project. 

“We are delighted to advise that we have now published a Request for Proposal (RFP) on the government tendering service GETS where it will be live for three months. This should give enough time for potential suppliers to design a fit for purpose solution for the next generation Type 3. 

“We are asking the market to propose two variants of the Type 3 in their response – a pump and pump rescue tender. We have used ’user stories’ to outline our requirements. These were developed after the project working group talked to nearly 1000 operational personnel from across the country to better understand what they needed from a fire appliance.” 

Barry Fox, Assistant Area Manager, Te Hiku and Type 3 Appliance Acquisition Project Working Group Chair said the approach taken by the project was different to what we have done in the past at Fire and Emergency.

 “Rather than looking at what we currently have and trying to make it better we designed a process that essentially places firefighter needs at the heart of the process when defining what we are looking for in the new Type 3 appliance. 

“Previously, we have gone to market for a cab and chassis first and then worked with a specialist manufacturer to install the pump and build the remainder of the appliance to a detailed specification. This time, instead of looking to replace what we have, we are looking at the role performed by the Type 3 and working backwards from there.”

Bruce said publication of the RFP had been made possible with a huge amount of effort over the past 18 months by members of the working group and the project team. 

“The process from here is to evaluate the responses to initially select up to five preferred suppliers and then short list two suppliers who will provide up to four appliances. These will be trialled across the regions with feedback from operational users helping to determine the preferred appliance at the end of the evaluation period. 

“As we are now in the market, we are asking everyone at Fire and Emergency to keep in mind that if you are approached by a manufacturer in a way that isn’t considered part of your daily role, please refer them to the Type 3 project team T3P@fireandemergency.nz”