ACT to get Australia’s first plug-in fire truck in 2022
Austrian fire industry supplier Rosenbauer will provide the ACT with Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric fire truck in the first half of 2022.
The ACT Government announced in August 2019 it would work with Rosenbauer to engineer its Concept Fire Truck to suit the needs of Australian fire services, and confirmation comes it’ll see action from next year.
Similar plug-in hybrid Rosenbauer fire trucks are currently on Germany’s Berlin fire brigade’s fleet, with an impressive all-electric range of approximately 100km.
While just one vehicle – a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with diesel range extender engine – will be trialled in the ACT at first, the partnership said: “after a successful practical test of the first vehicle, the corresponding series vehicles can be purchased,” showing this could be the first of many.
It’s the latest electric vehicle move from Canberra; the nation’s capital leading the way in plug-in, BEV and hydrogen vehicles, including the ACT Government taking delivery of 20 Hyundai Nexo fuel cell cars as part of a trial.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said the arrival of the plug-in fire truck was a crucial component in the ACT achieving its emissions reduction target of net zero emissions by 2045.
While there was no confirmation of the size of the electric motor, battery pack, all-electric range or charge times, Mr Gentleman – in true politician style – espoused the potential eco benefits of a single PHEV truck on service.
“Transitioning just one of our existing trucks to an electric fire truck is forecast to reduce diesel fuel consumption by about 185,000 litres over a 10-year period,” he suggested.
The Canberra Times newspaper suggested the new truck would set the ACT Government back $1 million, and that it’s thought to be one of only very few such PHEV fire trucks in action globally – apparently two operate in Europe and one in Los Angeles, USA.
It also said the ACT Emergency Services Agency’s research showed even Canberra’s busiest fire truck, had it been a PHEV, would only have needed to switch to the diesel back-up at six incidents in a year.
Rosenbauer says its Electric Fire Fighting and Emergency Vehicle (eLHF) – a similar unit to the ACT’s version – has been tested by the Berlin fire brigade since September 2020, and has been in regular service since February 2021.
It claims to have been involved in over 600 missions so far, and: “the majority of these missions could be carried out with the hybrid vehicle operated entirely on electricity.”
