As the ACT government fleet drives toward a zero emissions outcome by 2021 and zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, even its firefighters are being asked to play a clean, green role.
The Emergency Services Agency has formed a partnership with its Austrian vehicle supplier Rosenbauer, which supplies the all-wheel drive fire trucks to Canberra Airport, to develop a plug-in electric fire truck for suburban fire-fighting.
The Rosenbauer concept fire truck technology offers a fully electric drive with a diesel range extender, capable of carrying identical equipment to the current ACT Fire and Rescue fleet.
Introduction to operational duties is still some ways off, with 2022 as a likely roll-out date but even the introduction of a single electric fire truck to the ESA fleet is estimated to reduce the service's diesel consumption by around 185,000 litres over a 10-year period.
No servicing required means engine oil usage would also fall by around 400 litres over the same period.
The vehicle will be ergonomically designed and include a walk-in, walk-out entry to support firefighters' knees and backs as they move in and out of the vehicle.
The Austrian-built electric fire truck was first developed for the Berlin fire department, which will be one of the first in the world to take delivery in about two years.
Getting involved in the program at an early stage will be of benefit to the ACT and other Australian jurisdictions because, as program manager Jason Jones explained, the vehicle technology is developing so rapidly that even the type of batteries the truck will use is still under wraps.
"All the diesel engine pumpers on our fleet are derived from heavy vehicle cab chassis and go through several stages in their build process," he said.
"The Rosenbauer electric fire truck will be a turn-key operation, not derived from an existing platform. And the truck we get in Australia will be built to the ESA's needs and specifications."
Some of the changes from German to Australian specification will be driven by local compliance requirements and heavy vehicle regulations but will also change how much water is carried on board - from 2000 litres in German guise down to 1300 for the ACT - and the cabin accommodation for the firefighters.
"What we're seeking to achieve is a like-for-like replacement outcome in this project," Mr Jones said.
"So the truck which we will receive won't be compromised in any way from the current diesel pumpers in terms of cost, range, performance or capability".
ESA currently has nine front-line pumpers on its fleet, and five in reserve. Each costs around $1 million to build and equip. They are usually replaced every 10 years or 200,000kms.
Using batteries to drive an electric fire truck will bring health and safety benefits for the firefighters too because it won't emit diesel particulates during start-up and the vehicle is a lot closer to the ground, which means firefighters won't need to clamber up and down to reach the cabin.
However, the arrival of the electric fire truck will also require ESA to conduct a feasibility study into the recharging requirements. While most fire stations have solar panels on their roofs and these can feed into on-site battery storage capacity, a front-line pumper would require a fast-recharge capability so that it can quickly top up its batteries in the station and be ready to get on the road when duty calls.
