Did you know that London Taxis were a part of the fire brigade in London during Word War II because of the vehicle’s excellent maneuverability?

The following two paragraphs are taken from the book London by Edward Rutherfurd:

And the vehicle that these gallant firemen were driving was, like the majority of fire vehicles in the Blitz, a London Taxi.

In shape and dimensions it was actually a motorized version of the old horse-drawn hackney cab: roomy inside and highly maneuverable. Fitted up with ladders on the roof and pulling a trailer pump behind, it dodged about the burning streets rather effectively. Anyway, it was all that the Auxiliary Fire Service had.

(Rutherfurd, Edward; London; The Ballantine Publishing Group; 1997; page 1091)