West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) has signed up EV charge point operator Zest to help power its growing fleet of electric vehicles.

L-R: District commander Lee Miller, WYFRS’ head of estates Richard Young and Robin Heap, Zest CEO, at Leeds Fire Station

The first two charge points are running at its Leeds station, with work also underway at Bradford. Further charge points will follow at multiple sites and each location will offer up to six charge points. The new charge points will ne

WYFRS serves a population of more than two million people across 800 square miles. Its ranking as the top fire and rescue authority in the region means it’s one of the best in the country and the service has a strong focus on sustainability.

Earlier this year WYFRS published its Environmental Sustainability Strategy, setting out how it will improve the way its resources are used to protect the environment and reduce its carbon footprint where possible.

Head of estates Richard Young commented: “Working with Zest to bring electric charging to our sites is an important step in our overall efforts to become a more sustainable organisation.”

“Having onsite charging facilities enables overnight charging and accommodates vehicles returning to base but needing a quick charge – which is critical in our line of work and supports our public protection duties as well as our sustainability targets.”

Zest CEO Robin Heap said: “We are delighted that WYFRS chose to work with Zest to support their ambitious EV rollout. With one of the UK’s largest teams of EV charging experts, and providing a fully managed service, we can provide the long-term dependability that is essential for blue light services.”

Zest worked with Yorkshire-based contractors Downtown Electrical and Devitech to complete the installation work.