Dymchurch Fire Station has been given the second of Kent’s new slimline engines.

It is among 29 smaller new models for the county and was delivered to the Mill Road base today .

The first went to Sevenoaks earlier this week.

The new machines weigh 12 tonnes, six less than Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s other appliances, and are packed with specialist equipment.

Chris Colgan, KFRS assistant director of response and training, explained: “A number of our fire engines were reaching the end of their life.

“Traditionally we’ve employed a one size fits all model with the 18-tonne engines used for every type of incident but technology and firefighting tactics have moved on.

“KFRS found that it was using 40% of the equipment 80% of the time and that there was an opportunity to carry this equipment on a smaller engine to complement the existing larger vehicle without compromising any capability.”

As well as being lighter, narrower and more manoeuvrable the new vehicles are more fuel efficient and so better for the environment.

They are £50,000 cheaper than existing models and will stay in service for at least 15 years.

Nick Chard, chairman of Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “An important part of our plans to modernise the service was to take advantage of new technology and make sure that firefighters had to right equipment to do the job.

“The new engines and the equipment they carry are a good example of this and the new kit has already proved its worth at many incidents including some major fires.”

Each new engines includes a thermal imaging camera, a compressed air foam system, defibrillators and first aid kits, a light portable pump, and a larger capacity hose.

In addition they have a high pressure ventilator fan and a fog spike, which punches holes through walls or roof tiles to allow water to be sprayed from the outside.