Young people design future fire engines

07/10/2024

After launching a competition to inspire young people to design the fire engine of the future, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is delighted to announce the winning entries.

To help celebrate its 50th birthday, the Service launched the competition earlier this year, inviting local children to imagine and design their own futuristic fire engine, showcasing their creativity and understanding of what the Service does, as well as thinking about how the technology could advance over the next 50 years.

After receiving more than 60 entries, the judging panel, consisting of colleagues from the Service as well as Scania, the current supplier of the Service’s fire engines, have chosen the winners.

The chosen winners and runners up were awarded prizes and the opportunity to meet their local firefighters and see a modern fire engine up close as well as have a go with some of the equipment firefighters use.

The competition was split into three age categories: 12 and over, 8-11 and 7 and under. The prizes included a toy fire engine donated by Scania, a shopping voucher, a Lego set and The Fire Fighters Charity bears for the runners up.

Listed below are the winners and runners up:

Age 12 and over:
Winner – Harriet, Ely

Age 8-11:
Winner - Noah, Ely
Runners up – Ralp, Cambridge and Luca, Huntingdon

Ager 7 and under:
Winner - Huxley, Wisbech
Runners up – Florence and Joshua

Assistant Director Hayley Douglas, the Service’s Head of Communication and Engagement, said: “We were amazed by the incredible creativity and thoughtfulness of all the submissions. These young designers have provided us with a glimpse into the future of fire engines, so thank you to everyone that entered.”

Graham Wiggins, Head of Fleet and Equipment Services at the Service, added: “It was inspiring to see many of the entries include consideration for the environment with thought put into the materials used to build the fire engine and the inclusion of items such as solar panels.”

David Carter, Specialist Sales Manager at Scania, said: “It was a pleasure to be involved in picking the best entries for this competition, it certainly wasn’t an easy task. Delivering some of these designs in the future will also be quite the challenge.”

The judging panel included:

• David Carter – Specialist Sales Manager, Scania
• Emma White – National Marketing Executive, Scania
• Graham Wiggins – Fleet and Equipment Services Manager, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
• Tracey Stradling – Head of Commercial and Business Support, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.