Turning Up The Heat

When the time came to buy a VW the entire family could fi t in, Rob Wigley found an ex-fi re Bus to restore. This one here

- James Peene

All the ladies love a fireman, right? And all VW peeps love a retired Volkswagen fire truck. Fact.

Over the years, VW Transporters were used for all manner of weird and wonderful jobs, so it stands to reason they would also be used by Germany’s police, ambulance and fire services.

Admittedly, ambulances are a bit macabre, as you don’t know what’s gone on, or how many people have died inside one, but fire Buses? They’re an entirely different kettle of sauerkraut…

Pretty much every town, village and even many large factories had their own parttime fire brigade, crewed by volunteers who, truth be told, didn’t see a great deal of action. Neither did their vehicles. Which is why VW people love them today.

When people started buying them, they tended to be low mileage and unmolested. They’re becoming increasingly hard to find because whilst the various German fire services usually kept hold of them for a very long time, that was also now a long time ago and most have now been bought and sold on many times over.

There’s no escaping the fact that they’re still an oddball choice. After all, we can understand someone wanting a Camper, Panel Van or Pick- Up truck, but a fire Bus? What are you going to do with that? You can’t even drive one on UK roads with the blue lights because the police take a dim view to that sort of business. So like we say. A slightly left of field choice and hard to come by. Which is precisely why Rob Wigley, from Bromsgrove fell for this ones charms.

Changing Ghias