Fire Engine Driving Experiences

Yes, you will be! All the fire engines used for these experiences are genuine ex-Fire Service. What’s more, the instructors and hosts are often current or retired emergency services too, so you’ll get real insider knowledge on what life as a firefighter is like.

Yes! This is the question everyone asks as soon as they arrive on their fire engine driving day. Once you’re in the driver’s seat in the cab, you will be allowed to press the switches to put the blue lights and those air horn sirens on, all of which is sure to put a big smile on your face!

For these experiences the minimum age is 10 years old, making fire engine driving a fabulous and very exciting gift for kids.

You can, but more as a limousine, for weddings and funerals, events and TV and film work, rather than self-drive hire. Only our fire engine driving experiences give you the chance to actually get behind the wheel and drive a big, red fire engine!

Modern fire appliances such as the Mercedes cost anything from £250,000 to £500,000. They might be in service for as long as 15 years and are regularly serviced and older appliances can be refurbished to extend their working life.

A fire appliance full-laden with water (they can hold up to 3000l), hoses and ladders can weigh in up to 17 tonnes, with most around 12 tonnes. Whilst we’re on stats, a fire engine usually measures 10m long, 3.5 metres high and can reach speeds of up to 80mph. With 8.3l engines being common, expect not much more than 8mpg!

You might think the answer is because the colour red stands out, but this isn’t actually true. In very bright or low light, red does not stand out at all. In the early 2000s several fire services started using white fire engines to stand out more and match the other emergency services, but the vast majority are red. It seems using red is purely tradition, based on a time when most cars on the road were black, so the red fire engines stood out more. You’ll notice the newest red appliances have lots of reflective panels, so they do actually stand out in low or bright light.

Well, that depends on the ladders! Aerial appliances are the specialised vehicles that carry ladders. Turntable ladders are telescopic, one-directional ladders that then turn and can reach up to 32m high. Aerial Ladder Platforms are almost as long, but more manoeuvrable. Hydraulic Platforms work like a crane and have a shorter reach.

Ah the Green Goddess! These dark green fire engines were auxiliary and military fire fighting appliances. The Home Office had a fleet of 900 of these iconic Bedford engines from the 1950s until they finally retired in 2004. You can drive one of them on our fire engine driving sessions in Oxfordshire.

Fire fighters will need to pass their Category C licence (that’s to say HGV) to be able to drive a fire engine on the public roads. For these experiences, all sessions are on private land well away from the public roads, so no driving licence is necessary.

We use the name fire tender to describe the powerful fire appliances capable of dealing with crashes and emergencies at airports and airfields. We use the general term fire engines for appliances used by fire brigades the length and breadth of the country.

Yep. In emergencies the fire and rescue service, police, anti-bomb and explosive disposal squad, national blood service, Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Special Forces are allowed to drive through red lights, when safe to do so.

Many of our venues have Dennis fire engines. In their heyday of the 80s, 50% of all fire appliances in UK Fire and Rescue services were Dennis appliances. Much-loved for being rugged and reliable, the name Dennis is synonymous with fire engines. Some of our operators also offer vintage and military fire engines and airport fire tenders too.

No. There are different types of fire engine. The most common are Dual Purpose Ladder appliances, which are the main first response vehicles for most fire brigades in the UK. They are the ones with rolling shutters on the side and rear, carrying both ladders and pump with hoses. There are also other vehicles in the fleet such as Fire Rescue Units (most often for traffic accidents), Aerial Appliances (ladders), Command Units (tools and logistics) and so on.

Check each individual product page under the ‘Suitable For’ tab, but in general, these fire engine driving experiences are from 10 years old, so they are very much suitable for kids. In most cases, spectators are allowed on site too. That means all the family, including younger brothers and sisters, can watch and take pictures too.

We currently have fire engine driving experiences at the following locations in the UK:

• Loughborough
• Edinburgh
• Bicester
• Birmingham
• Beverley
• Leeds
• Manchester
• Peterborough
• Gaydon
• Elvington