Victoria firefighters are excited to hit the road with their brand new electric truck, the first of many to be added to the Victoria Fire Department fleet.
On Friday (May 31) Victoria Fire Chief Daniel Atkinson, along with master mechanic Cory Meeres and Simon Upshon, manager of fleet operations with the City of Victoria, unveiled the new Rosenbauer RTX pumper electric fire engine.
“We’re thrilled to be adding this revolutionary piece of technology which will enhance our service delivery for years to come,” said Atkinson.
The size of the vehicle is about three feet shorter, and about four inches more narrow than the current fire engines so navigating city streets and going through traffic is expected to be easier.
There are also four different ride heights, powered through air suspension, and the water tanks are about the same size as the current diesel apparatus.
According to Upshon, this is the 35th electric vehicle added to the City of Victoria fleet, and another 25 are currently in production for the fleet.
“This is a fantastic and progressive step towards our overall green initiatives, zero emission goals, fossil fuel reliance reduction and clean energy electrification,” said Upshon.
The truck was about $1.7 million, a traditional truck would be about $1.2 million, which was paid for through a number of provincial and federal grants.
“Initially when you look at it, of course we’re going to be reducing our carbon footprint, but even beyond that we probably would have chose this engine to serve the city of Victoria even if it wasn’t an electric vehicle,” said Atkinson. “At the end of the day, this truck can do everything that our old trucks could do that ran on diesel, plus a whole lot more, and it’s a whole lot safer and a whole lot more beneficial to our firefighters and for the public.”
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