BERLIN: One feature that sets the Unimog, Daimler Truck Holding AG’s extreme off-road vehicle, apart from competitors is its ability to drive straight into a wildfire. As the truck moves through flames, jets spray the front windshield and wheels with water to lower their temperature.
A specially insulated cabin protects firefighters from intense heat, and a hatch in the roof enables them to operate a firehose from relative safety.
With fire, flood and war ravaging Europe, Daimler is seeing a surge in orders for the Unimog, dubbed the Swiss army knife of vehicles that can cost as much as EUR250,000 (US$264,040).
While standard fire trucks struggle to deal with blazes away from surfaced roads, the Unimog, an abbreviation of Universal-Motor-Gerät, or equipment, can cut through unforgiving mountain and forest terrain.
Originally designed to help Germany’s post-war recovery by assisting with tasks like potato picking, it has turned out to be well-suited to more challenging endeavours.
Climate change is behind the increase in wildfires and other disasters linked to extreme weather events.
Hot and dry conditions gave way to fires that burned through 800,000 ha of land in 2022 – more than two-and-half times the average area burned in the previous 15 years, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.
Europe is also experiencing more intense downpours, with extensive flooding reported in recent months in Bulgaria, Greece and parts of Italy.
To cope with a wrathful climate, hard-pressed fire and rescue services are turning to the Unimog.
“We believe that the number of fires will continue to increase in the coming years,” said Zigmunds Jaunkikis, deputy commander of the National Forestry Corps of Latvia, explaining why the organisation is expanding its fleet of Unimogs to 35 from 27.
Stuttgart Fire Department has made the same bet. The Unimog’s ability to traverse the mountains, valleys and narrow roads of Southern Germany were “a decisive factor during our procurement process,” said fire chief Georg Belge. — Bloomberg
