British firefighters using motorcycles

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the BMW motorcycles, which each cost about $46,000 to buy and outfit with water and foam canisters, have the ability to extinguish a car fire in about 20 seconds and the hoses will operate for 2 to 3 minutes at a time, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"About 60 percent of what we do is putting out 'rubbish fires,'" a Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said. "These are fires that don't pose a threat to people or buildings. If approved, this trial would enable us to buy more bikes and have them in stations where they have the highest incidences of these kind of fires."

Similar fire bikes are in use in Sweden, Hong Kong, Denmark, Singapore, Turkey and Italy.

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