A Menlo Park fire chief unveiled the world’s first all-electric fire engine and added that more will be introduced to the department’s fleet towards the end of 2021, according to CBS San Francisco.
“Electric vehicles are not new — it’s only new to the fire service,” said Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman.
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The fire engine looks more like a bus with its black and yellow paint scheme as opposed to the traditional red. Austrian company Rosenbauer manufactured the vehicle. But the burning question on everyone’s minds is whether or not the fire engine has enough juice to last throughout a call.
In September, a Tesla patrol car in Fremont, California, almost drained its batteries while on a chase because someone had neglected to charge it. The low battery warning forced the officer to break off from the pursuit.
“I’m not concerned about that and I’ll tell you why — because we, in the design phase, we’ll make sure that we don’t have a single point of failure,” Schapelhouman said.
In addition, while the fire engine is all-electric, it does have a backup generator that runs on diesel so that it can charge its battery in a pinch. The generator is rated to last for around eight hours. If the engine is still at the scene of a fire after eight hours have elapsed, firefighters can add more diesel fuel in order to keep the power supply running.
Depending on the department’s needs on the field, changes to the truck may be implemented, said Schapelhouman. But before it’s sent to fight fires, it will first be used and tested as a rescue truck.
At $1.2 million per electric engine, it’s on par with the cost of a traditional tiller ladder truck. But because the electric engine has no need for filters, fluids, or fuel, it will end up saving the department money in the long run.
Rosenbauer representatives presented a draft contract to the Menlo Park Fire District Board relating to the logistics of buying an electric engine. A $200,000 deposit is needed to get one.
But as far as Schapelhouman is concerned, the bottom line is that the environment will be better off with the use of electric engines and it has a good chance of becoming the future of firefighting.
“The emissions on diesel are carcinogens and so that’s not good for the environment, it’s not good for the health and safety of our personnel and it’s not good for the public to breathe,” the chief said.
Replaced!