Electric vehicles first hit the streets as slow little microcars and concept demonstrators built by major automakers. Eventually, technology improved, and more regular vehicles started using electric drive. Now, we’re seeing EVs move into more specialty applications, too. A great example is the new electric fire truck doing the job down in Australia.
The truck goes by the name EVIE—an acronym for Electric Vehicle for Incident and Emergency. Operated by Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), it landed in the country in mid-2024. Since then, it has undergone trials and crew training and is now shadowing other fire trucks in the FRV fleet on real operations.
EVIE is based on the Rosenbauer RT line of electric pumper trucks, but customized specifically for the FRV fleet. The one-off “concept electric pumper” truck is intended for use in the primary firefighting role, as well as handling emergency medical and road accident responses to boot.
As the third-largest manufacturer of firefighting apparatus, the Austrian manufacturer has been a pioneer in electrification in this space. In the case of EVIE, it built the truck around an EV drivetrain supplied by Volvo Penta, and equipped it with a pair of 66 kWh batteries. There’s no word on range or duration of operations, but we are given some interesting figures. The drive motors can deliver a mighty 3,687 pound-feet of torque, and accelerate the vehicle to 60 mph in approximately 30 seconds. No surprise given we’re told it weighs somewhere under 16 metric tons (~35,000 pounds).
Fire Rescue Victoria hasn’t published detailed specifications anywhere, but limited specs are published online. Pattern matching suggests that EVIE is most likely closely related to the Rosenbauer RTX. The RTX has a peak power output of 490 horsepower from its Volvo drivetrain, and a continuous output of 350 hp. The RTX spec also includes a 3.0-liter BMW diesel engine as an auxiliary power unit, which can deliver 300 hp to run pumps and equipment as needed if battery power is not available. The RTX line has been proven in service with the Los Angeles City Fire Department since 2022.
Despite its size, it’s plenty maneuverable. EVIE features all-wheel drive from its dual motor system, as well as all-wheel steering. It actually has a turning circle of just 41 feet—better than a contemporary Ford Ranger, which needs 42.3 feet to turn around. Not bad for a vehicle that measures 26 feet long.
The new electric fire truck isn’t just about saving the environment from carbon emissions. The new truck has also been designed from the outset to be a more effective fire fighting apparatus, too. As covered by Pump Industry, EVIE features a critical “pump-and-roll” capability that lets it drive and pump water at the same time. This is a major contrast to many traditional fire trucks, which use the same engine for driving and pumping and can’t do both at the same time.
EVIE can roll up to a fire incident and begin spraying water immediately from its internal tanks before the crew has even left the cabin. It achieves this without having to perform any complex switchover, since it has independent drive and pump systems. According to Craig Brownlie, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at FRV, it’s a “game changer in terms of efficiencies in getting water, ultimately, on the fire.” It’s also no slouch in raw performance, either—it’s capable of flowing up to 1,585 gallons per minute (6000 l/min), versus 1056 gpm (4000 l/min) for Victoria’s conventionally-powered fire trucks. At that speed, it doesn’t take long to dump the entirety of the 1,500-liter water tank and 200-liter foam tank on board.
Other features aim to provide for the health and safety of firefighting crews. The truck features an air scrubbing system to keep the cabin environment safe and free of contaminants. Entry to the truck is via a stair at ground level, intended to reduce injuries compared to conventional trucks with higher entry points. The electric drivetrain also provides additional fringe benefits. “It’s much quieter, with no diesel engine running underfoot, which gives us a better communication environment,” notes Brownlie. Crews also sit sideways in the back of the truck, facing each other, making it possible to run briefings face-to-face while en route to a call.
EVIE is a striking sight on Victorian roads.
Note the sideways-mounted seating for the crew in the rear.
The truck has regularly been captured en-route to jobs by various YouTubers that film outside fire stations waiting for something to happen.
While EVIE is perhaps the most openly visible firefighting EV in Australia, it’s not exactly the first. Volvo notably provided an electric vehicle to the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service earlier in 2024. However, that was a prime mover rather than a traditional all-in-one fire truck. A similar vehicle is currently in trials with the New South Wales Regional Fire Service.
Meanwhile, the ACT Fire & Rescue fleet has been operating a plug-in hybrid fire truck, also supplied by Rosenbauer. While it still features a diesel engine, it’s capable of all-electric operation when on-site at an emergency, reducing noise and emissions while the crew fights the fire.
In the ACT, a Rosenbauer plug-in hybrid fire truck is the latest eye-catching addition to the fleet.
As the technology develops for larger vehicles, it makes more sense that we’ll see EVs populating more roles in the heavy vehicle space. It’s also a no-brainer for government agencies to adopt them, as they look to cut their own carbon footprints and purchase the most capable vehicles on the market. Expect to see electric fire trucks become increasingly normalized in the decades to come.
Image credits: Fire Rescue Victoria, Volvo, Rosenbauer
I’m always amused by bureaucratic language. “Hi 911. I would like to report an incident.” “It’s probably just a minor flesh wound.”
A 300 HP 3 liter Diesel still kind of blows my mind. 100 HP/Liter is impressive enough, but from a fully warrantied diesel used in an industrial application is pretty amazing.
Rescue equipment makes a lot of sense as an EV. Generally speaking, every municipality will have its own fire and rescue service, so the times you would be going more than, say, 30 miles are few and far between. And even if you do end up leaving your area, you’re probably headed to help out a neighboring area so it’s still not going to be that long a distance.
Plus, you know, the whole “not killing people with diesel exhaust right after they escape a fire” thing.
Plus, you know, the whole “not killing people with diesel exhaust right after they escape a fire” thing.
uhh. wut?
REX firetrucks will probably be the standard in alot markets within a decade. Quicker quieter still have the range. If you have ever been on site with a pumper you can’t hear anything.
I’m not sure ‘quieter’ is a something anyone is looking for in a fire truck.
Siren no but engine noise on site sure. Or when checking routes might be nicer in the cab. Can’t hear anything in there.
That is the coolest f**king firetruck I have ever seen! I would definitely run out to the street to watch this race by! (sorry VW)
“The truck has regularly been captured en-route to jobs by various YouTubers that film outside fire stations waiting for something to happen.”
Is how people enjoy spending their time? Standing outside fire stations hoping for an incident?
I guess it’s not much different than railfans or avgeeks who do the same thing around train stations and airports.
Or just plaintiffs’ attorneys waiting to drum up some business…
There’s a lock and dam not far off one of my fun weekend driving routes and I always make a point of stopping in hopes of catching a barge going through or possibly a train passing under the tiny passenger bridge over the tracks (which is an intense experience). So I get that.
But who’s watching this stuff? The reason I stop is that I want to be there in person to experience it. Watching someone else’s video is not the same.
It’s not the tedious waiting for something to happen that I have a problem with (I watch F1) it’s that fire trucks going in a call is always bad news for someone. So looking forward to it seems a bit off.
Putting aside the value/productivity of YouTubers for a moment…
It doesn’t sound like anyone is celebrating the fire (they aren’t exactly recording the moment of ignition here). They’re capturing the moment the rescue effort begins.
It’s ok to get excited about fire trucks, right? Or should we just start telling kids that someone’s house is probably burning down so they won’t get too excited?
Bruh. Nobody is celebrating the fire. I can kind of entertain your logic regarding people who yank it over tanks and fighter jets- Those machines were designed to hurt people. Even then, I think most folks just appreciate impressive machinery. It’s human nature.
Fire trucks though??? We’re talking about a large, majestic piece of equipment, painted in heroic colours, on its way to save someone’s life. How is that not something to be celebrated? You’re witnessing the good guys at work. Yes, somewhere off screen, a citizen’s day is going badly, but that’s not what is being filmed, and it’s about to potentially get a lot better thanks to the subject of the video.
Think of it this way- Fire codes and drastically improved firefighting equipment are the reason cities and towns don’t burn to the ground multiple times a century like they used to. Getting excited about a firetruck doing its job is objectively a good and moral thing.
Our EV transit buses have diesel onboard as well. To run one of the two auxiliary heaters, in order to hit minimum range targets.
So our buses are Zero Emissions, as in there’s ZERO emissions controls on the diesel burner. Just chooching raw diesel exhaust, while the rest of the bus is shuttled about with electrons.
The Austrian manufacturers later admitted that the truck was intended for domestic usage prior to a clerical error, and those reponsible for shipping it halfway around the world have been sacked.
I drove by one of the Rosenbauer facilities here in the US and they had a cool firetruck out ready to go to the Navajo Nation out front.
The rural people I know are terrified by EV firetrucks they just see them as impossible “what if there are 2 fires” or some other scenarios. These are the same people that see all EV, wind, solar, Etc as rural cultural genocide.
I’m probably one of those people you’re thumbing your nose at. But my reasoning is, when my local fire department buys an EV, I hope it is for good financial reasons. Fire and rescue is a substantial portion of the thousands of dollars I pay each year in property taxes. It’s easy to go green when you’re spending someone else’s money.
Wait, is the Navajo Nation deep-pocketed enough for that, considering their population is really spread out without many major population centers? Just spitballing, but I would think that (if an accurate assumption) would be one of the worst possible use cases for an EV fire truck.
I drove through the NN a few months ago. There isn’t much to burn.
I just read the side of the truck from the highway. I do not know if it will even be delivered there.
In a Simpsons-esque moment, there was probably dust on the side obscuring:
US Government Navajo Nation Crowd Control Vehicle
Is there a “/s” tag but for “cynical”?
I was thinking it was actually just a sales pitch that they did not want so it was sitting on the side of the road like a billboard 1400 miles away.
https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/fire-apparatus/rescue-trucks/rosenbauer-delivers-seven-apparatus-to-navajo-nation-az-fire-and-rescue-services/
It sounds like they’re diesel, 4wd units, following up on an order from 2021. (Last paragraph of the article.)
Also I don’t know what half the things they’re talking about are but they sound extremely cool in a way that makes the inner 6-to-10-year-old me very very happy. “Task Force Tips Monsoon deck gun” and “Elkhart Brass Sidewinder monitor” – yes, those belong on my futuristic battlemech, please.