Able to ford water where others start to struggle.

Firefighters need a reliable vehicle that offers a high fording capability, shrinks from no terrain and can safely transport people and equipment. Requirements tailor-made for the Unimog.

Together with Ahlborn, the Unimog general agent also based in Hildesheim, the fire brigade equipped a Unimog exactly to their liking: a highly off-road-capable Unimog U 5023 with 230 hp. The vehicle, with a body by the company Hempelt from Meissen, meets the requirements and standards for GW Logistik 2. The fire-red all-rounder is stationed at the Firefighting Technical Centre (FTZ) of the district of Hildesheim in Groß Düngen.

The Unimog can wade through water up to 1.2 m deep without any restrictions. That was particularly important to the Hildesheim fire service. This means people who are trapped by floodwaters can also be evacuated with the Unimog. A task that would otherwise only be possible from the air or by boat.

The body is built as a flatbed/curtain-sided variant. Thanks to side sliding tarpaulins with a tensioning mechanism and foldable sideboards, the Unimog can be loaded from the side with a forklift. At the rear there is also a hydraulic tail lift from the manufacturer Dhollandia. It is designed as a vertical special lift to achieve a maximum ramp angle in rough terrain. Furthermore, this allows the Unimog to be used as a towing vehicle for trailers and to be loaded and unloaded in any conceivable situation. "A standard tail lift would impose considerable limitations here," explains Reinhard Ludewig of the FTZ.

If required, the Unimog can be loaded flexibly – for example with wire mesh boxes fitted with F-hoses. Such hoses are needed by the Hildesheim fire department for the additionally acquired Börger high-performance pump, which pumps up to 25,000 l/min and is mounted on a tandem trailer with its own diesel drive.

The Unimog brings the heavy equipment directly to its place of operation. An invaluable advantage, especially in difficult terrain. And even under normal road conditions the Unimog proves its worth as a towing vehicle – with high trailer load capacity and driving speed.

Thanks to the body’s flexible loading options, the Unimog can also be deployed for many other missions and is therefore available not only for flood protection but also, for example, for fighting wildfires in difficult terrain.