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This week we’re excited to share that we’ve delivered our first RSA/35 double outdoor storage units to Kent Fire & Rescue Service as a trial to collect contaminated kit when firefighters return to the station.
The RSA/35 is a fibreglass storage unit, designed for the outdoors due to its immense durability and hardwearing material. When Wybone started back in 1969 we started manufacturing glass fibre composite bins (GFC) using technology from marine engineering, where a fibreglass coating sprayed onto a timber carcass made a completely sealed, fire retardant and waterproof shell. We adapted the technology to bin manufacturing and now over 55 years later the same technology is still used today!
Across our many years in the sector we’ve made these units for the RNLI to store lifebouys, for hospitality and restaurants to store cooking oil barrels ready for collection, and even large capacity outdoor storage of clinical waste sacks from hospitals during the awful COVID-19 pandemic.
Working with Kent Fire & Rescue Service was a perfect opportunity to match our expertise and experience making this kind of product, with the specific bespoke needs for the end user of the storage unit which was to have individually coloured lids to separate uniforms where some maybe be clean, and some may be contaminated by smoke or fire products and therefore must be kept separate to be cleaned before use once more, and, all the equipment associated with extinguishing fires.
Naturally, fighting fire requires water or even chemicals for electrical fires, and so the storage units must be hard wearing enough to cope with not just the heavy duty equipment and uniforms, but also the water, chemicals, smoke and fire products that are on them. Wybone fibreglass bins and GFC technology is perfect for this as it is literally 100% rust and corrosion resistant and will not be affected by the contents.
Take a look at the amazing RSA/35 double below.
You can clearly see the strong fibreglass body of the storage unit, but you may have noticed that the lids look more glossy. That’s because our GFC department use glass reinforced plastic which too is corrosion proof and incredibly strong; perfect for this job as it allows for a very vibrant and glossy colour which helps firefighters separate the different collection streams. The fire service will be able to add signage and artwork for this trial run, and if we have the opportunity to roll the idea out to more stations we have our own in house print studio here at Wybone where we can take Kent’s learnings from the trial and make custom artwork and signage to suit.
Other features of the bin include a lift up handle, which when lifted the lid actually gets taken over by a gas strut and automatically opens all the way. There’s a hasp and staple style lock for the bins which keeps the unit secure and the dangerous contents within, and the newest feature of the RSA/35 is the fully water and air tight seal that you can see around the apertures. This is vitally important for the Fire & Rescue Service as all the smoke, chemicals and fire products from the uniform and kit need to stay inside the storage unit and not leak out. This is a huge health and safety bonus that Wybone products offer.
Here’s what Greg Board, Station Manager for Operational Capability at Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We came to Wybone to purchase a double external storage unit. We wanted to trial the concept of a storage unit to reduce the amount of contaminant present on station. When crews return from a job when they have been exposed to smoke or the products of fire, they can place their dirty kit in the units without them even going into the station. The cleaning company will then pick up from these locations. They will initially be rolled out to all whole-time stations as a trial and if successful we will be purchasing more for each station.”
We’re eager to hear the feedback from this initial trial and can’t wait to work with Kent Fire & Rescue Service in the future, fingers crossed to initiate the next phase and roll-out a successful unit to more stations!
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Wybone Ltd, Mason Way, Platts Common Industrial Estate, Hoyland, Barnsley, S74 9TF
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