The Kirchzarten fire brigade puts its faith in the extreme off-road Unimog U 5023.

Fire alarm in the hills of the Black Forest: the men of Kirchzarten’s volunteer fire service race to the fire station and, with well-drilled moves, ready themselves for deployment. Then it’s all aboard the new extreme off-road Unimog, on with the blue light and off at speed to the site of a fire in an area of forest on a steep incline.

Special operations on unmade tracks.

Fortunately this is just an exercise, but in periods of extremely hot weather and drought it could easily become a real call-out scenario. Every second counts when it comes to tackling a rapidly spreading forest fire. Each fireman needs to know his exact role, and this requires the team to work in complete unison with their fire engine.

Unimog fire engines attend a forest fire in Schönau.

All-rounders for special firefighting operations.

When the Kirchzarten fire brigade was looking for a suitable fire tender the Unimog U 5023 TLF 4000 with Ziegler was the obvious choice. The advantages of the Mercedes-Benz 230 hp extreme off-roader with all-round capabilities are clear: the 4000-litre water tank with a 500-litre auxiliary tank for foam concentrate ensures a good supply of extinguishing fluid is available for operations that may take place several miles away from the nearest hydrant.

The Unimog’s high ground clearance – at least 450 mm – and ability to cope easily with large angles of approach and departure make it possible to tackle vegetation fires effectively even in difficult terrain. The new fire engine can even fight flames from its roof using the swivel-mounted water cannon attached there.

Many vehicles can only be used for travelling to the fire or operating the pump. Our new recruit can do both.

Karlheinz Strecker, commander of the Kirchzarten volunteer fire brigade

At the end of the day’s exercise the commander of Kirchzarten volunteer fire brigade is full of praise for his new high-performance fire engine: in the future he will be able to depend on the perfect interplay between the Unimog and his highly-trained team in the event of real emergency.

The blue light flashes through the Black Forest: bumpy forest trails are no problem for the extreme off-road Unimog.

Participants on the driving course in Kirchzarten learn how to work as one with their vehicle during a call-out.

Off-road specialist: the Unimog U 5023 masters even the steepest angles of approach and departure with ease.

Many fire service vehicles meet their match on unmade tracks – not so in the case of the Unimog.

Speed is of the essence. On normal roads the Unimog shows off its pace.

Ready for anything. The TLF 4000 body features standardised equipment.

Curious?

If you want to know more about the Unimog U 5023 in Kirchzarten you can read the full report in our next Unimog Magazine, autumn 2018.

Order your free Unimog Magazine now!

The Kirchzarten fire brigade puts its faith in the extreme off-road Unimog U 5023.

Special operations on unmade tracks.

All-rounders for special firefighting operations.

Many vehicles can only be used for travelling to the fire or operating the pump. Our new recruit can do both.

Curious?

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