Warrnambool SES responds with Isuzu

Off-road capable NPS a hit with the volunteers on Victoria's south coast

The Warrnambool SES unit, based on Victoria’s wild south coast, is made up entirely of volunteers who are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Controller Giorgio Palmeri – responsible for fleet procurement – worked closely with the team at Westar Trucks in Melbourne’s west to find a truck that offered the team flexibility and unflappable reliability.

The unit settled on a 2014 NPS 4X4 Crew Cab – a hard-nosed workhorse that could perform across a variety of jobs and environments.

Mr Palmeri says one of the reasons for choosing the Isuzu N Series over its competitors, was the advantage of the crew cab plus four wheel drive: "The 4X4 can be used literally everywhere. We take it to road crashes on urban highways, into country paddocks, and along rugged cliff-top trails.

"This is a replacement for a competitor crew cab model from the mid-1980s, so it’s a massive improvement on comfort, safety and performance – it also has loads of traction and ground clearance," Mr Palmeri said.

The NPS crew cab comfortably seats seven, which means the SES team can travel safely in one vehicle to an incident site which is a huge benefit.

The superior safety suite of the Isuzu N Series also ensures the SES crew arrive safely every time, even when up against challenging and often highly dangerous situations.

Driver and passenger airbags are standard across the N Series range, along with an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), seatbelt pre-tensioners and double side-intrusion bars.

"The other reasons we opted for the NPS was at 6500kg it offered a higher GVM than competitors, all while seating six passengers and the driver – a big plus for us,” Mr Palmeri said.

"With a range of team members getting behind the wheel, it’s definitely easy to jump into and drive. Its overall driveability and the Hill Start Aid function certainly mean that our less experienced drivers feel confident getting behind the wheel in any situation as well.”

With max power of 114kW at 2600 rpm and max torque of 419Nm at 1600 - 2600 rpm, Adam says his drivers can tackle just about any driving situation with confidence.

Warrnambool SES installed a second alternator with a 7000 watt inverter to accommodate the pneumatic light tower with its four 1000 watt floodlights. Built onto the body of the NPS, the light tower is employed in a range of situations, from power outages caused by storm damage to rescue and relief missions.

Additional steps and hand rails have been added in the build, along with an air compressor, an alloy bull-bar and 15000lb winch to make sure every box is ticked for whatever job is thrown their way.

"As we use the truck for road crash and storm emergencies, we need to have all our tools easily accessible. The Isuzu is equipped with plenty of lockers and drawers for stowing rescue and recovery gear.

"We’re very impressed with the truck. It’s ticked all the boxes for us and it’s been an invaluable addition to the team."

Warrnambool SES responds with Isuzu

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