Switzerland: an Atego 1630 4×4 for Kloten’s Fire Service

“Fox chasing duck leads to fire brigade call-out”, “Chilli drier causes fire alarm”, “Storms in Switzerland, fire brigade installs barriers on the Rhine”, “Alarm clock causes fire alarm”. There’s no doubt about it: fire services have a demanding and very varied field of operations and get called out to a good many surprises too. “No day actually resembles another – that’s very true. That said, strange incidents don’t make up the vast majority of our work,” confirms Martin Schwarz with a laugh. Schwarz is Staff Officer with the fire brigade and Head of Technology at the Kloten fire station near Zurich. “We’re mostly called out to deal with accidents, fires or oil spillages nearby,” continues the Swiss firefighter.

Dependent on first-class equipment.

Technical assistance is often afforded, for example, in the case of road traffic accidents, floods resulting from burst water mains or torrential downpours. The teams turn out increasingly often and in greater numbers in the face of storms. But, just as one would expect, the fire brigade in Kloten can rely on some state-of-the-art equipment.

“We need the best machines out there – irrespective of the brand. Mercedes-Benz makes up part of our fleet – their products are a safe bet, over and over again. We’ve put our trust in the three-pointed star for some time now as the vehicles are ideal for the municipal sector. They’re reliable, durable and tailored to our requirements,” praises Martin Schwarz.

New arrival: an Atego with all-wheel drive.

Kloten’s fire service recently invested in a Mercedes-Benz Atego 1630 4×4: “Our rescue vehicle has impressive performance, high quality and optimum handling.” And there’s one more positive aspect that the trained truck mechanic wishes to highlight: “It’s been around 30 years that we’ve put our trust in the Mercedes-Benz 1428 AF. And after a complete overhaul, we’ve even managed to re-use its body.”

Complete overhaul of the body.

Martin Schwarz adds: “Some minor conversion and adjustment work was, of course, necessary. Karl Rusterholz from Carrosserie Rusterholz AG and his team of specialists did some great work. All-in-all, we’ve saved a lot of money as a result and seen that the durability of the product really pays off.”

And of course, the new Atego won’t be sitting back and relaxing any time soon – it’s not just a rescue vehicle, it’s also the universal answer to a lot of people’s problems. “We have to be ready for any eventuality and are called out on a daily basis, together with the Atego. The new addition to the fleet will simplify our work in the coming 25 to 30 years,” says the firefighting and vehicle specialist.

Photos: Robert Aebli