'Sibby' is a Dennis F109 Water Tender and was new to the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1974. This appliance went first to station 'Foxtrot' in the East end of Newcastle and 3 years later was transferred to station 'Zulu' at Chopwell. Up to the introduction of this appliance, the fleet of the newly formed metropolitan brigade had a wide variety of appliances from many different manufacturers which had been inherited from the smaller local area brigades. The F109 was an ideal machine on which to standardize with a powerful Perkins V8 diesel engine, Dennis No. 2 pump, and a vast amount of locker space. In 1977 Dennis upgraded F109 to the F131 (See STY31S) which had a larger engine and brakes and a revised front grill which was to remain in production unchanged for the next 12 years.