Canberra is to be the first place in Australia to have an electric fire truck. The ACT government is set to take delivery of the million-dollar vehicle next year.
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There are only thought to be a handful of the revolutionary vehicles operating anywhere on the planet - two in Europe and one in Los Angeles.
The ACT's Emergency Services Agency has been working on the design with the Rosenbauer company which started making fire-fighting equipment in Austria 150 years ago.
The resulting vehicle is set to hit the streets of Canberra (because it's battery powered, very quietly).
The vehicle is hybrid. It can run on diesel to extend its range if necessary but the main propulsion will be electric, with the truck plugged in whenever it's not on duty. It will also have solar panels to recharge the batteries.
The combination of systems would give it about eight to ten hours of driving time with a recharge doable in 30 minutes.
On top of that, it will be fitted with a drone which can assess damage to a roof on fire, for example.
It will have a small diesel engine to power pumps during operations rather than using the batteries.
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The ACT Emergency Services Agency studied how Canberra's busiest fire truck, at Ainslie, was deployed and concluded that the new electric vehicle would only have needed to switch to the diesel back-up at six incidents in a year.
Fire and Rescue Chief Officer Matthew Mavity said the truck would deliver "massive efficiencies" and make an "incredible difference".
It will be entered from the side, like a bus, and that would cut down knee and back injuries to fire-fighters who currently have to clamber and scramble with heavy equipment in difficult circumstances.
The ACT's Emergency Services minister Mick Gentleman said it would make a big contribution saving fuel, for the good of the economy and the good of the environment.
"Transitioning just one of our existing trucks to an electric fire truck is forecast to reduce diesel fuel consumption by about 185,000 litres over a ten year period," he said.
Electric vehicles have fewer moving parts so they are easier on oil. The truck is expected to use 400 litres less engine oil a year.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
