Milwaukee area firefighters check out an electric firetruck made by a Brookfield company
A fully electric firetruck stopped by the Wauwatosa Fire Department Wednesday.
The 32-foot long Vector is the first North American-style firetruck that’s completely powered by an electric engine instead of diesel. The electric truck was launched in 2021 by REV Group, Inc., a Brookfield-based company that designs and manufactures fire, emergency, commercial and recreation vehicles.
Crew members and chiefs from West Allis, Waukesha and the City of Milwaukee fire departments gathered at Wauwatosa Fire Department #51, 1601 Underwood Ave. Wednesday to learn about the electric truck, ask questions and, mostly, to test it out.
“It really is a different environment,” said Wauwatosa Fire Chief Jim Case from the jumper seat on a test drive around the block.
Different because it is quieter ― Case and his crew are used to the loud engines that hum between the front seats on their diesel trucks. In the battery-powered firetruck, passengers can talk without shouting over the engine, said Roger Lackore, the senior director of product and development at REV Group, Inc.
“It’s like a very, very large electric golf cart,” Lackore told crew members in a presentation on the truck. The truck is designed to function almost identical to the trucks found in most fire stations, just electric.
“All the other parts you’re used to seeing on other trucks are the same,’’ Lackore told crew members.
The Wauwatosa Fire Department won’t get an electric firetruck anytime soon
The Wauwatosa department is due for a new fire engine in the next five years, but it likely won’t be electric, according to Case.
“The reality for us is it is close to twice the cost of our current trucks,” Case said.
The Vector truck costs an average of $2 million, while a new diesel truck costs around $800,000, Case said. Still, he’s interested in an electric firetruck someday and thinks that’s where other departments will start leaning in the future.
The Wauwatosa Fire Department requested a full-time office assistant and an emergency medical coordinator in its 2024 budget proposal to the City of Wauwatosa.
How long does the Vector electric firetruck battery last?
Lackore said the fully-charged truck would last for about 142 miles in a city and 100 on a highway before the range extender engine would kick in. This feature is optional and it automatically recharges the electric batteries and is EPA compliant.
That means crews could do about 12 typical emergency runs without the electric battery running out of charge, according to Lackore.
“You can easily drive on a 12-hour shift back-to-back without charging,” he said.
Lackore estimates the batteries themselves last about 10 to 15 years. There’s a five-year warranty on the batteries, and it would cost about $200,000 for a battery replacement. A thermal battery system keeps the truck’s batteries warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
In 17 years of use, the truck would save about 425 tons of CO2 and $233,300 on diesel expenses, according to Lackore.
Madison has an electric firetruck made by Pierce Manufacturing
The Madison Fire Department was an early adopter of electric firetrucks. In 2021 the department purchased its first electric truck, the Voltera zero-emissions pumper made by Pierce Manufacturing.
Departments in Mesa, Arizona, and Charlotte, North Carolina, have already purchased the electric firetruck REV Group brought to Wauwatosa. Learn more about the electric truck on the manufacturer's website.
Contact Bridget Fogarty at bfogarty@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Firefighters test electric fire engine made by Brookfield's REV Group
