Mesa Fire Department officially puts All-Electric Fire Truck into service!
January 4th, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., Mesa Fire Dept. Station 221 held a public unveiling and ceremoniously put the all-electric fire truck “Vector” into service. The Mesa City Mayor, council members and other City officials, as well as representatives from REV Fire Group spoke about the new technology and its benefits before the exciting announcement from the emergency radio communications dispatcher officially broadcasting the electric 221 into service.
Speaker topics included reducing environmental impact and improving crew health by reducing exposure to harmful diesel exhaust. The electric fire truck is also a significant benefit to on-scene emergency operations as it allows rescuers to communicate more easily without loud engine noise. The truck is virtually silent when it is operating.
John Martinson, Rachel Culin, Peter Culin and I attended, and I was fortunate to get to talk with Roger Lackore, the senior director of product development, about some of the details of the new fire truck. Roger has 40 years of fire truck design experience and this is the first electric fire truck he has worked on. Roger told me it was exciting to learn all about electric vehicle propulsion and apply it the fire apparatus while making multiple electric systems and equipment work together from one control unit.
The Vector gets the distinction of first “All-Electric” fire truck in Arizona because it’s not just replacing the diesel propulsion - all of the systems and equipment are powered by electricity. Although the City of Gilbert was first to deploy an electric fire truck in Arizona, that one used a diesel motor to power some of the truck such as the water pump.
The Vector is equipped with a range extending Cummins diesel engine that sits in the same place as a diesel fire truck’s engine, however the difference is the engine will only run to generate electricity if the main batteries run low; it does not power any equipment. This allows it to operate continuously regardless of duration or location of deployment.
Some of the specs:
· 3 battery packs total of 354kw.
· 120 mile range at continuous highway speeds.
· Up to 6 hours pumping on battery power (average time of major fire).
· Electric components IP67 rated. Tested in 20+inches of water for 30 minutes.
· Paid for by a voter approved bond in 2018 and general fund. Reported cost of $1.4 million.
· Battery packs are equipped with nitrogen sensors that serve as early detection of any problems preventing thermal runaway/potential fire within the batteries.
The day before the event the new truck spent the day responding to calls. It left the station with 70% charge and cleared 7 calls for service. When it returned to the station it had 40% of the battery remaining. It can fully recharge in 2 to 3 hours.
Station 221 is located where the GM proving grounds used to be, and was the location of where the popular and successful EV-1s had been destroyed. Video and further info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajrEVViRloA
Mesa Unveils Arizona's First All-Electric North American-Style Fire Truck
Write- up by Shaun Barnette, Board Member
Photo and video credit to Shaun Barnette
