Product Page Title: 

Design

The Zodiac Milpro Emergency Response Boats – ERB - inflatables are very easy to lift and fold. The fabric used in the construction of the ERB tubes is very light, but robust.
 
The inherently simple ERB boat design still allows regular deflation and rapid unfolding.
 
A key feature of the Zodiac Milpro Emergency Response Boats - ERB - is that they are light enough to be carried by two or three people.
 
The hull and integrated decks on the Zodiac Milpro Emergency Response Boat – ERB - are strong floors, which are both very shallow and are suitable for stowage of a variety of rescue equipment. There is  choice of rigid, roll up or airfloors floor, all designed to optimise the role of the ERB boat to a specific situation
 
All in all the Zodiac Milpro Emeregency Rescue Boat is highly suitable ifir inland river amd inshire rescue work 

The Zodiac Milpro ERB Emergency Response Boat is used by numerous fire brigades throughout the UK, including many fire services based around here in Northern England.
 
Operators of the Zodiac milpro ERB boats are the the fire and rescue brigades in South Yorkshire (who's 4x4 vehicles are pictured), Lancashire (always hard-working boats: because it always rains a lot in Lancashire), Cumbria, Northumberland and Greater Manchester.
 
If you saw the BBC news video's on Christmas Day in 2016, when all of northern England flooded (yes: even the hilly parts), you will have seen several older Avon and newer Zodiac Milpro ERB (emergency response boats) boats on the telly news. We know these fire crews who worked so hard  that year to rescue stranded Northerners. We understand that things were so serious that even the pre-dinner drinks and Christmas dinners of devout Yorkshiremen were left behind in the rush to escape the rising floodwaters.
There is a very funny tale of what happened when the fire crews in the ERB's went to rescue two cashiers who were trapped in the petrol station on Kirkstall Road in Leeds - however you need to be here for us to tell you that story.
 
However, all joking apart, the Zodiac Milpro ERB Emergemcy Reponse Boat is well proven over many years- always the key issue when lives are at stake.
 

The Zodiac Milpro (formerly Avon) Emergency Response Boats “ERB” are available in three model sizes;
 

1. Zodiac Milpro ERB 310 Boat - 4 persons – 10hp
2. Zodiac Milpro ERB 380 Boat - 6 persons – 20hp
3. Zodiac Milpro ERB 400 Boat – 8 persons - 30hp

 
Thesedays we find that the most popular Zodiac Milpro ERB boats are the Zodiac Milpro ERB 380 boat model.
 
However the smaller ERB 310 is ultra-lightweight for maximum portability and these largest emergency response boat, the ERB 400 has a great casualty carrying capacity and will take a more powerful outboard engine. Therefore both these two models of the Zodiac Milpro ERB  flood rescue boats are still very popular.
 
All three Zodiac Milpro boat models are extremely robust, being built to withstand the rigors of working in a hazardous urban environment, such as seen here in the Calder Valley (Yorkshire) in 2016. Local rumour has it that much of this rainwater came from Lancashire: where things were worse!
Mind you, the Calder Valley can be a tough environment - even when it is not raining....
 
(footnote. The shape and style of the Zodiac Milpro Emergency Response Boat ERB is very similar,  but considerably heavier than, the Bombard Aerotec 380. Please see the leisure range for details of the Bombard Aerotec 380 inflatables).

Pennine Marine can supply ERB's fire and flood rescue boats either separately, or as part of a package: 

• Boat(s) only.
• Engine(s) only (modified to fire brigade specs). 
• Boat(s) and engine(s).
• Boat(s) engine (s) and boat trailer(s).
• Boat trailer(s) only

 
We are flexible with ERB prourement options.....after all you are the customer... and you probably know what you want with a flood rescue boat ....our minimum order is one boat or engine ....maxmimum order is "how many ERB boats do your want?"  ...sir
 
We advise ordering your new ERB flood rescue boat well before the peak Christmas sales season. The risk is always that - rather like this bloke in York (the one wearing the green wellies)  there is a big risk that all our rescue boats will be sold. Therefore you and your mates could easily be very disappointed by not to have a new boat to take out and operate in the floodwater on the afternoon of December the 25th....
 
Please note that we do not supply green wellies....ever. They are a sign of being ill-prepared. Green wellies are however suitable for the foothills of the Cotswolds; a small series of little bumps in the otherwise flat landscape of southern England.

Speed is a necesssity when it comes to flood rescue...
 
Whilst some first responders do use the ERB in the fully portable role: other deploy with the emergency response boat and engine mounted "ready to go" on a boat trailer towed behind a 4x4
 
This is the scene in Whalley, East Lancashire, again in December 2016. I am told by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS: i.e. our long-term customer) that their boat trailer -  which Pennine Marine look after and service - is here in this photo.
 
However you have to understand that Bob, of LFRS, has a very different sense of humour from what we are used to here in Yorkshire  (note: because Bob comes from Lancashire....where it is always known to rain a lot.....even on dry days). 

Specially modified "fire brigade specification" outboard engines are available to be purchased with flood rescue boats. Zodiac Milpro “ERB” inflatable response boats are used with tiller-steering outboard engines. Engine types on these Emergency Response Boats are: 
 

• Zodiac Milpro ERB 310 boat - short shaft outboard max 40kg -10hp
• Zodiac Milpro ERB 380 boat - short shaft outboard max 68kg - 20hp recd. 25hp max.
• Zodiac Milpro ERB 400 boat - air or roll floors- long shaft outboard - max 75kg - 30hp
• Zodiac Milpro ERB 400 boat - rigid floor - long shaft - max 95kg - 40hp max.

 
Please note that two-stroke outboard engines are often specified by emergency responders using Zodiac Milpro ERB’s - so as to minimise the weight of the boat and engine combined - thus improving the ERB boat's portability. These light weight two-stroke outboard engines allow quicker deployment by the emergency services, especially fire brigades,  over flooded or uneven ground.
 
This is the application where the Zodiac Milpro (was Avon) ERB rescue boat excels: having been designed, as the boat name itself suggests, especially for Emergency First Responders. 
 
We here at Penine Marine can offer a complete package of modified two-stroke fire brigade specification outboard engines: specially modified for flood rescue. This modifieed engine includes post-immersion restart systems; stainless steel prop-guards: hour meters; carry handles etc. Please contact ourselves for quotes and technical details of flood rescue engines.
 
Penine Marine can supply - either separately or combined with us supplying a new Zodiac Milpro ERB boat -  any new outboard engines (Yamaha or Mariner) that will meet the fire brigade's onerous requirements for reliability.
 

Please contact ourselves for full technical details of emergency response / flood rescue boats. Specifications include design catagories; dimensions and sizes; weights; capacity; materials, engine, lifting and towing points etc
 
We have an e-mail version of the full Technical Data Sheet (TDS) for all three models of Zodiac Milpro ERB boats. This data sheet itimises each and every aspect of the boat hull specification. 
 
However lets be clear about this: the Zodiac Milpro (previously developed as Avon) fire and flood rescue boats are some of the toughest and most robust flood rescue boats ever built.