Fire Engines

Fire Engine Returning to the 'heap for the first semi-final are Surrey estate agents, Hot Property and Fifties fanatics, Rockin' Rabble. This three-round contest requires the teams to demonstrate the various capabilities of a modern fire-fighting appliance, including rescuing cutesy kittens and battling against raging blazes. Hot Property Ross Lindsay is an estate agent who works for Townends. Craig Smith and Scott House are the company's financial advisors. They are a confident team, great negotiators and have promised to play fairly. Hot Property are as safe as houses and in it to win it! For this fiery task, Hot Property are joined by Yorkshireman Kevin Sedgwick, the laidback engineering manager for Angloco, a fire engine manufacturer that builds anything from tiny water tankers for Guernsey to enormous ladder trucks for Barbados. Kevin has been with them for thirteen years. Many moons ago, he started off as a mechanic, so practical skills aren't a problem. In his spare time, he tinkers around with his two historic racing bikes and the monstrous Guzzi 1100 that rattles the windowpanes in his local neighbourhood. Rockin' Rabble Geoff Bunting, Trevor Cartwright and Philip Lodge are a team of Yorkshire Teddy Boys who intend to bring a touch of retro culture to the 'heap. They are Fifties fanatics and are ready for some rockin' and a rollin'. They've agreed to switch off their jukebox and stop living in the past to concentrate on stepping to Scrapheap success. This time, the Rockin' Rabble's technical consultant is Mike Madsen, the bubbly, youthful technical manager for Emergency One, a leading fire engine manufacturer near Glasgow. He dropped out of school at the tender age of 16 to become a computer programmer but then went back to university to study engineering and business. After his first visit to Emergency One, he fell in love with the big red monsters they build. He tinkers for a hobby and has littered the world with the badly bodged cars he drove as a student. He also used to play bass in a few bands but never made it to the cover of Rolling Stone. The expert This week's expert is Maurice Newbolt. You can't get much more experienced than Maurice in the fire engine department. He has got thirty year's experience working for the fire service, earning an MBE in the process. He's developed, bought and maintained vehicles for various fire departments and knows virtually everybody in the industry, including our two technical consultants. Although retired, he's still doing some work for the government.