🚗 Firefighting and rescue service vehicles — common safety requirements and performance: lateral stability (tilt angle), dimensions, approach and departure angles, masses and axle loads, speed and acceleration, turning circle diameter, axle articulation, noise; PN-EN 1846-2

Automotive PN-EN 1846-2

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013 (clause 1) specifies common safety requirements and (minimum) common performance requirements for firefighting and rescue service vehicles designated according to EN 1846-1 (categories and mass classes — in EN 1846-1). It assumes that the commercial chassis provides an acceptable level of safety of the transport functions within the limits given by the manufacturer, and therefore it does not formulate requirements for the chassis. It covers all significant hazards when used as intended and under reasonably foreseeable misuse (clause 4), and vehicles for operation at temperatures from –15 °C to +35 °C. Additional requirements for aerial appliances and ladders are given in EN 1777 (hydraulic platforms), EN 14043 (turntable ladders with combined movements) and EN 14044 (with sequential movements) — they take precedence over part 2. The standard does not apply, among others, to vehicles intended exclusively for the transport of persons, vehicles with a maximum permissible mass of up to 3 t, boats, aircraft, rail vehicles, ambulances (EN 1789), demountable equipment driven by a power take-off, and airport vehicles covered by ICAO recommendations; it does not cover hazards from portable equipment, operation in explosive atmospheres, commissioning and decommissioning, or electromagnetic compatibility. According to the introduction, it is a type C standard within the meaning of EN ISO 12100, prepared as a standard harmonised with the Machinery Directive; where they differ, its provisions take precedence over type A and B standards. The "Scope" field of the PKN card of PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 (English version, description of the scope in Polish) carries over the scope of the 2024 edition with two differences from the 2013 edition: the operating temperature range is "from -15 °C to +40 °C", and note 2 adds that "Vehicle means vehicles moving on the ground, which may also move on rails, and amphibious vehicles" (our translation); it gives the specific standards with dates (EN 1777:2010, EN 14043:2014, EN 14044:2014), ambulances — EN 1789:2020+A1:2023, and refers the hazards to Annex K.

STRUCTURE (2013 edition, table of contents). Clause 4 — list of significant hazards; clause 5 — requirements with verification: 5.1 safety (general requirements, bodywork, electrical equipment, instruments and control system, noise, mechanical coupling, breakdown and towing) and 5.2 performance (general, bodywork, electrical equipment, instruments, corrosion resistance); clause 6 — information for use (instruction handbook, documents, marking). Annexes: A — general conditions for verification procedures (normative), B — example of an exhaust connection, C — methods for determining slip resistance, D — heights for removing equipment from lockers, E — examples of technical measures for noise reduction, F — noise test code for declaring emission values (normative, accuracy grade 2: emission sound pressure level, sound power for vehicles up to 4 m and longer, mounting and operating conditions, uncertainty, declaration and verification), G — acceptance test on delivery, H — conformity assessment, ZA — relationship with Directive 2006/42/EC. The unladen mass (3.1) includes, among others, the driver (75 kg), all elements needed for operating the vehicle with full tanks of coolant, fuel and oil, and all permanently mounted equipment, and does not include, among others, the spare wheel.

EDITIONS. EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013 (CEN/TC 192 "Fire service equipment"; approved on 3 July 2009, amendment A1 — on 8 December 2012) replaced EN 1846-2:2009; conflicting national standards had to be withdrawn by August 2013. EN 1846-2:2024 (CEN/TC 192 "Fire and rescue service equipment") replaced EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013; the dates of implementation and of withdrawal of conflicting standards — June 2025. The EN 1846 series has three parts: 1 — nomenclature and designation, 2 — common requirements, safety and performance, 3 — permanently installed equipment, safety and performance. Changes according to the foreword of the 2024 edition (selection): updated and dated references; changed definitions (among others, maximum permissible mass, loss of stability, cab, working platform) and new ones (among others, performance level, power take-off, design check, calculation, visual check, measurement, functional test, special verification); the list of significant hazards moved to the new Annex K; notes referring to directives and regulations removed; points on energy sources and hot or cold parts added; verification of gradeability for category 3 vehicles updated; new title and requirements "Main power supply", reversing of the vehicle updated; cab design supplemented with ROPS (roll-over protection) requirements, changed crew protection, cabs for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), seats, access to crew compartments, equipment, roof and platforms, lockers and drawers, electrical equipment, batteries and lighting; control system supplemented with required performance levels (PLr), remote control changed; Table 5 (geometric dimensions) updated and Table 6 (dynamic performance) changed; new titles "Traction" and "Energy storage and range"; heat resistance of sensitive components with verification added; Annexes C, D and F (noise test code) changed; new Annexes I (ROPS tests of the cab) and J (example of a ROPS structure); Annex ZA (Directive 2006/42/EC) updated. According to the introduction to the 2024 edition, the standard does not deal with electromagnetic compatibility, because vehicles approved for road traffic meet EMC requirements on the basis of European legislation. In the iTeh catalogue (read on 27.10.2026) EN 1846-2:2024 has the status "Published" (stage 6060), and EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013 — "Withdrawn".

STATUS (PKN cards as of 27.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 (English version) has no withdrawal label: publication 22-05-2025, 79 pages, Defence and Public Safety Sector, KT 244 Rescue and Firefighting Equipment, Agents and Devices, "Adopts: EN 1846-2:2024 [IDT]", "Directive: 2006/42/EC", "Replaces: PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07 - English version, PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07 - Polish version, PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07/Ap1:2016-12 - English version", ICS 13.220.10. The card of PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07 (Polish version, "Fire service vehicles -- Part 2: Common requirements -- Safety and performance") has the label "Withdrawn and replaced by" PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 (English version) and the line "Date of withdrawal: 22-05-2025"; publication 13-12-2016, 60 pages, "Adopts: EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-EN 1846-2:2012 - Polish version". PKN search, search term "EN 1846" (27.10.2026): all earlier editions and amendments of PN-EN 1846-2 (from 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2013-07) are withdrawn; only PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 in the English version is current.

REGULATIONS. Next to the standard, AB 059 refers in some entries to the annex to the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 1 February 2022 on the preparation of airports for emergency situations and on airport rescue and firefighting services (Journal of Laws 2022 item 453) and to the annex to the Regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 27 April 2010 amending the regulation on the list of products serving public safety or the protection of health, life and property, and the rules for issuing approval of these products for use (Journal of Laws 2010 No. 85 item 553); both acts have the status "in force" in the ELI database (read on 27.10.2026). We do not give numerical requirements from these regulations.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database refreshed from the production server on 27.10.2026 and current PCA documents downloaded on that day). Number 1846-2 appears in 37 records at 5 Polish laboratories: AB 059 (18), AB 128 (8), AB 150 (8), AB 016 and AB 082 (1 each). All 5 current PCA documents contain the standard in these entries; none is suspended (in the PDF the number appears more often because AB 059 gives three editions in each entry). Forms: "PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07" with "PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05" and "EN 1846-2:2024-12" (AB 059), "PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 p. 4.1.1.4" (AB 082), "PN-EN 1846-2:2013:07 pkt 5.1.1.2" (AB 016), "PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07" with or without point numbers (AB 150; for noise — "Annex F excluding p. F.3") and "PN-EN 1846-2" without the year (AB 128, at the test object "Vehicles E" — in the PCA legend "E" is a flexible scope of accreditation). The "Laboratories" tab ("PN-EN 1846-2") shows 8 laboratories: these 5 Polish ones and 3 Czech ones (tab query on labcoda.pl, 27.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 059 — fire service vehicles (rescue and firefighting, with hydraulic platform and with ladder, special, technical and chemical rescue, command, airport), container carriers, trailers and swap bodies, conformity tests (acceptance): limit angle of lateral tilt (range 0.1–45), maximum speed (0.5–150) km/h, time to reach a speed of up to 150 km/h and time to cover a 100 m section, kerb-to-kerb turning circle diameter up to 50 m, approach, departure and ramp angles, ground clearances, linear and angular dimensions up to 100 m, mass (500–36 000) kg and wheel loads (500–9000) kg per wheel, illuminance of the working area (0.5–5000) lx, axle articulation capability (vehicles of categories 2 and 3 according to PN-EN 1846-1). AB 150 — fire service vehicles: dimensions and ground clearances, overhangs, turning circle diameters up to 50 m, limit tilt angle in static conditions, maximum speed up to 400 km/h and minimum speed, acceleration, times to cover 100, 500 and 1000 m, coasting distance, time to reach 65 and 80 km/h, stability during braking, axle articulation, noise (40–140) dB; mass of swap bodies. AB 128 — vehicles: readiness time of the pneumatic braking system, operational fuel consumption up to 150 l/h, axle articulation (steps up to 250 mm), acceleration and maximum speed (20–190) km/h by a non-contact method, masses and mass distribution (5–10 000) kg per platform, stability during braking (deviation up to 100 cm), linear and angular dimensions up to 30 m, turning circle diameters up to 50 m. AB 016 — rescue and firefighting vehicles and platforms on chassis: lateral stability (mass up to 50 t, tilt angle up to 45°, bench tests, with PN-EN 1777). AB 082 — vehicles of categories M, N, O: static lateral stability, tilt angle up to 39° (with UN Regulations No. 107 and 111 and PN-EN 1777).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — edition and numbering: in the 2013 edition the requirements are in clause 5 (5.1 safety, 5.2 performance), and in the 2024 edition — in clause 4 (e.g. 4.1.1.2, 4.2.1.2–4.2.1.3), so the same point number means something different in the two editions; AB 016 and AB 150 give only the 2013 edition (withdrawn at PKN on 22-05-2025), AB 082 only 2025, AB 059 both. Second — changed tables: the 2024 edition updated Table 5 (geometric dimensions) and Table 6 (dynamic performance) and the verification of gradeability for category 3 — comparison with a requirement from another edition gives a different assessment. Third — part 2 and the specific standards: for aerial appliances and ladders the requirements of EN 1777, EN 14043 and EN 14044 supplement or modify part 2 and take precedence (1.1). Fourth — scope: vehicles up to 3 t, ambulances and airport vehicles covered by ICAO recommendations are outside the standard (1.2), and vehicles for operation outside the temperature range of the standard (from –15 °C to +35 °C in the 2013 edition, up to +40 °C in the 2024 edition) require agreements outside the standard. Fifth — noise: AB 150 tests according to Annex F excluding F.3 (sound power), so the test report does not cover sound power.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. From the 2013 edition we read the table of contents, the foreword, the introduction, clauses 1–2 and the beginning of the definitions, and from the 2024 edition — the European foreword with the list of changes and the introduction. We do not give numerical requirements (e.g. tilt angles, dimensions, performance from Tables 5 and 6), verification procedures or the noise test code.

Method principle

A firefighting or rescue service vehicle (categories and mass classes according to EN 1846-1) is checked against the common safety requirements and performance requirements — each requirement has an assigned method of verification (e.g. calculation, visual check, measurement, functional test): among others, the limit angle of lateral tilt is measured on a test bench, as are dimensions, angles and ground clearances, masses and axle loads, speed and acceleration in road tests, the turning circle diameter, axle articulation and noise according to the test code of Annex F (EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013, clauses 1, 5; EN 1846-2:2024, foreword).

Applications

• Firefighting and rescue service vehicles with a maximum permissible mass above 3 t, for operation at temperatures from –15 °C to +35 °C (EN 1846-2:2009+A1:2013, clause 1) or up to +40 °C (2024 edition, "Scope" field of the PKN card)
• Acceptance tests on delivery and conformity assessment (Annexes G, H) — in the scopes: conformity tests (acceptance and functional)
• Together with the specific standards: EN 1777 (hydraulic platforms), EN 14043 and EN 14044 (turntable ladders)
• In accreditation scopes: 5 Polish laboratories; tilt angle up to 45°, masses up to 50 t, speed up to 400 km/h, dimensions up to 100 m

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 (wersja angielska; wprowadza EN 1846-2:2024 [IDT]); poprzednio PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07 (wersja polska i angielska, wycofana 22-05-2025)

Title (PL)

Pojazdy pożarnicze i ratownicze — Część 2: Wymagania ogólne — Bezpieczeństwo i parametry użytkowe

Title (EN)

Firefighting and rescue service vehicles — Part 2: Common requirements — Safety and performance

Step-by-step procedure

1. Identification of the vehicle and the edition

   Category and mass class according to EN 1846-1; whether the vehicle has an aerial appliance or a ladder (EN 1777, EN 14043, EN 14044); edition of EN 1846-2 (2013 or 2024) and numbering of points.

2. Verification conditions

   General conditions for verification procedures according to Annex A (2013 edition). WE DO NOT GIVE the details.

3. Static measurements

   Dimensions, angles, ground clearances, masses and axle loads, limit angle of lateral tilt on a test bench.

4. Road and functional tests

   Maximum speed, acceleration, times to cover sections, turning circle diameter, axle articulation, stability during braking; noise according to Annex F.

5. Result

   Comparison with the requirements of the relevant edition (e.g. Tables 5 and 6 of the 2024 edition); acceptance test on delivery (Annex G). PN-EN 1846-2:2025-05 — current (PKN card as of 27.10.2026; English version); PN-EN 1846-2+A1:2013-07 withdrawn on 22-05-2025.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• TECHNICAL NOTE: the numbering of requirements differs between the 2013 (clause 5) and 2024 (clause 4) editions — a point in a test report must be read together with the edition
• TECHNICAL NOTE: for aerial appliances and ladders the requirements of EN 1777, EN 14043 and EN 14044 take precedence (1.1)

Frequently asked questions