Not so fast there, chief. You have to read quite a ways down into
the announcement to learn the uncomfortable truth about this purchase. The supposedly "all-electric" fire engine has a diesel engine in it. The pumps that actually deliver the water to put out fires run off of the diesel engine and the truck itself can run off of diesel when the battery inevitably runs out. So the entire description of "all-electric" is a farce. (MSN)
So why would these fire trucks still have diesel engines? They're supposed to be eliminating fossil fuels to save us all from climate change, aren't they? The answer should be fairly obvious. These are emergency response vehicles. If your neighbor's EV can't make it out of the driveway one morning because they couldn't find a charging station or there was a blackout, they might miss a day of work. If the fire truck can't do its job, buildings will burn down and people may die. It's simply not worth the risk.
The water pumps on the fire trucks are massive. They have to be to move that much water so quickly over a sustained period of time. Also, the engine that powers the vehicle is far larger than the ones in most consumer vehicles, on par with the ones in big rigs. If there is a significantly large fire taking place, the pumps may be running for hours on end. EV batteries simply are not up to the job. If a conventional fire truck begins running low on diesel, a refueling truck can be brought over to fill up the tank in a few minutes. You can't accelerate the battery recharging process.
Here is another fun fact about these trucks, as pointed out by Larry Behrens, Communications Director for Power The Future. Those "all-electric" fire trucks cost 40 to 50 percent more than conventional, diesel models. The one that Bernalillo County purchased cost $1.8 million. That's roughly $600,000 more than standard diesel truck costs and that bill was saddled on the taxpayers of the county as well as the entire state thanks to the Governor's "generous" grant. (It's funny how these politicians are always able to be so generous with your money, isn't it?)
hotair.com
