BOLTON firefighters will be amongst the first in the country to use a new "cutting edge" piece of equipment that will help them tackle fires like never before.

The new ultra high pressure lance is an innovative piece of kit that pierces through walls and doors and sprays water into burning buildings from outside.

The technology, from Sweden, uses a combination of water and cutting agent, which is ejected through a special nozzle at extremely high pressure and can reduce temperatures from 700 degrees to about 85 degrees in seconds.

It rapidly cuts through materials including wood, metal and even stone cavity walls to get water onto building fires.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is the first in the UK use the equipment and, as one of five key brigades in the area, Bolton’s crews will be given the lances in the next few months.

On Tuesday, crews carried out a series of controlled live burns inside derelict flats in Manchester during a training exercise, and Bolton News reporter Liam Thorp was able to test the new equipment out as well.

Chair of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, Cllr David Acton, said: “This is an extremely exciting project and fire and rescue services across the UK are looking at GMFRS with great interest as we put the lance into action alongside a range of other innovative firefighting methods.”

“Over the next few months, all our frontline fire engines will be fitted with the lance, which will provide a much safer environment for firefighters and limit the water damage often caused by traditional techniques.”

Guest firefighter for the day, Liam Thorp, said: “I must admit getting dressed up as an actual fireman in the full kit helped me to realise a bit of a childhood dream.

“I was amazed by the sheer power of the lance when I fired it — It nearly took me off my feet and I’m not exactly light as a feather.

“But the guys were really good at demonstrating exactly why this innovative tool will make their lives much safer when they go out on jobs.

"As one crew member said - entering a house with temperatures of 85 degrees rather than 700 degrees has got to be preferable.”