Fire and Rescue Service

The Museum’s in house fire and rescue team is probably unique amongst aviation museums. Crewed by a small yet dedicated team who train regularly towards CAA fire safety standards, their presence on Museum event days such as Thunder Days and Rolling Thunder days means that we are able to operate our classic jets and propeller driven aircraft in such a way that visitors gain a unique, close up perspective of their operations.

Without the safety presence of the crews and their associated equipment, it would be impossible for the Museum to bring you many of the live aircraft events we know you all love.

Visitors would often like to know more about the team behind the helmets, so here’s a few facts about the crew and the machinery that they operate.

The in house team is manned by volunteers, many of whom have decades of experience of professional fire and rescue
The team trains regularly, a minimum of twelve times a year and works towards CAA CAT2 / H2 Certification
The Pathfinder rescue vehicle is one of two resident here at the Museum. It was formerly one of the main vehicles at Manchester International Airport
The Range Rover TCAR2 six wheel is designed for rapid intervention across rugged terrain
Both vehicles are fully operational and provide support to the Museum’s live aircraft events.

Some comments from the Fire Team

“It’s totally different, very interesting and unlike any other experience in my decades of fire fighting career.” Leon – professional firefighter for 30+ years

“I have a deep interest in the history of the Pathfinder, plus a desire to continue to show this important area of aviation and support the live aircraft events” Rob – Museum fire-fighter

We Are Recruiting.

The Museum fire team are currently looking for additional members. You can find out more about the specific requirements of the role on our recruitment page here.

You can read more about the support vehicles below.