Falck wins a new fire contract in Southwestern Jutland

The local fire service and Falck have entered into a new 10-year agreement on fire prevention in Esbjerg, Fanø and Varde municipalities

Since 1939 Falck has extinguished fire in Esbjerg and Fanø (Nordby and Sønderho) municipalities and in Varde Municipality since 1954. With a new 10-year agreement with Sydvestjysk Brandvæsen/SVJB (the local fire service) the long-term cooperation continues.

"SVJB has made a great process and the cooperation getting a new agreement in place has been very constructive. We are looking forward to be continuing the good cooperation with SVJB for many years to come,” says Lars Vester Pedersen, Executive Vice President at Falck.

"At Falck we are very pleased to be able to offer our experience from the longstanding cooperation, but also the capacity and know-how to implement the fire equipment for the future."

For the benefit of the citizens
Falck will make good use of the knowhow, because almost all vehicles will be replaced during the contract period. The fleet will undergo a development and consist of modern and powerful units where SVJB has chosen to strengthen Ribe and Varde with Cobra cutting extinguisher and Esbjerg with CAFS – a compressed air foam system used in firefighting to deliver fire retardant foam for extinguishing a fire or protecting unburned areas.

"Today you can buy much more efficient equipment that extinguishes fire faster and at the same time allows us to use special equipment. For example, to cut under high pressure into cavities with smouldering fire that we previously would have had difficulties to reach," explains Jens Mølgaard, emergency response officer in SVJB.

The new agreement for the three municipalities is coming into force in the years to come for the benefit of the citizens in the area.

"The contract with Falck in Varde is the first to expire by the end of 2018. Therefore, I am pleased that we have been able to enter into a new agreement with Falck. It creates a safe environment for our citizens and ensures that old equipment is now upgraded,“ says Erik Buhl, mayor of Varde Municipality.

Competitive offer
The agreement is based on an ordinary tender and therefore Falck has been forced to be attentive and competitive despite the longstanding cooperation.

"We must be on our toes every time we make an offer on a tender. We know that our skilled and experienced firefighters deliver a very high quality of daily work, but we will also be competitive, and with this agreement we demonstrate that we are," says Falck's Lars Vester Pedersen.

The agreement entails the operation of vehicles and equipment, control center, one-minute emergency in Esbjerg (where the first emergency must be less than one minute after the fire alarm), part-time fire services, and delivery of new extinguishing units and equipment.

For further inquiries contact the media depart at Falck at comms@falck.com or +45 70 22 03 07.