Fancy a fire engine? French firefighters launch online auction
The unusual lots include a working fire engine on sale for just over €1,100 and a Land Rover Defender with a starting price of less than €10,000
The vehicles at auction are all former emergency or pompiers support vehicles, including a Land Rover Defender, a Renault fire engine, and several smaller vansJacky D / Shutterstock
A fire engine, ambulances and a range of former emergency vehicles are on sale at auction in Hautes-Pyrénées (Occitanie) until March 8 after firefighters launched a call for bids online.
The firefighters of the SDIS 65 have put 41 lots of their old material on sale. As well as the vehicles, there are also Michelin tyres, two Samsung printers, and even a professional cooking grill.
Currently, a fire engine is available for just over €1,100; and a 1997 Land Rover Defender with just 35,000km on the clock is up for sale with a tag of less than €10,000. The model usually sells at €25,000-€35,000 second-hand.
The auction does not specify any rules for the use of the vehicles once bought but fire engines and trucks have become popular for campervan conversions in recent years.
A quick search on YouTube finds many people who have converted old fire trucks into campervans, either for an unusual holiday vehicle or as a full-time, moving home.
This German former fire engine has been converted into a campervan home by Glenn Jobson Pic: Glenn Jobson / YouTube / screenshot
The auction will remain online until March 8, and many bargains remain available to bidders so far.
