The video starts around 5 a.m. Five engines left Berkeley to the scene of the fires, which the firefighters could see from the distance before getting up closer to witness seemingly endless miles of destruction. They eventually reached some unburnt homes, about 30 of them the narrator of the video estimates they were able to save.

The new pumper truck is a four-wheel-drive, diesel-powered fire engine built by Rosenbauer Fire Apparatus on an International truck chassis.

“The dealer, Heiman Fire Equipment Company in Sioux Falls, sent a training representative out to brief the volunteers on the operation of the truck,” said Tim Eggers, the chief of the Lead Volunteer Fire Department.

The $380,000 pumper is the latest addition to a fleet of 10 vehicles now operated by Lead volunteers.

The new truck replaces a smaller pumper, built in 1987, which had a 300-gallon water tank on board. The new unit is equipped with a 750-gallon tank, and can pump 1,250 gallons of water per minute.

A total of 31 state-of-the-art firefighting appliances have been ordered by fire brigades within the past two weeks with a combined value of £9.8m.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service has ordered 15 12-tonne ‘Compact Line’ firefighting trucks, while Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has put a request in for 11 Rosenbauer ATs, of which the first six will be completed and put onto the front line in the Spring of 2018.

Glasgow Airport Fire Service has ordered three and two have been ordered for Aberdeen Airport Fire Service.

Rosenbauer UK managing director Oliver North said: "At a time when growth is hard in any sector, it really is testament to our excellent team at Rosenbauer UK that we’re able to continue our own phase of growth and increase production in Holmfirth.