Less than a month after the Vancouver fire department took delivery of a new electric fire truck, the $1.8 million unit is already on the hoist for warranty work.The all-electric Rosenbauer RTX was in service from December 4, 2023 to January 2 and has been out of service ever since.But it’s not the battery components that are at issue, it's something more profound and potentially debilitating to its performance: a leaky water tank. .A Fire Rescue Services spokesman confirmed with the local CTV News outlet that the truck is under warranty for the repair."As brand new apparatus enter the VFRS fleet, it is routine and expected that mechanical issues come up," spokesman Matthew Trudeau said in an emailed statement. “We quickly work with manufacturers to resolve them and improve their response capability." Apparently a similar leak also sidelined the first electric fire truck in North America that was delivered to the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2022..When Vancouver’s was unveiled last December it was touted as “the reinvention of the fire truck” at a cost of $300,000 to $500,000 more than a comparable diesel powered unit. The department said the EV truck is smaller and more maneuverable than a conventional truck and can travel 100 kilometres on a single charge.The short range is compensated with a 300-horsepower auxiliary diesel engine.The City of Calgary has reportedly been testing out EV fire trucks of its own since July of 2022.
Less than a month after the Vancouver fire department took delivery of a new electric fire truck, the $1.8 million unit is already on the hoist for warranty work.The all-electric Rosenbauer RTX was in service from December 4, 2023 to January 2 and has been out of service ever since.But it’s not the battery components that are at issue, it's something more profound and potentially debilitating to its performance: a leaky water tank. .A Fire Rescue Services spokesman confirmed with the local CTV News outlet that the truck is under warranty for the repair."As brand new apparatus enter the VFRS fleet, it is routine and expected that mechanical issues come up," spokesman Matthew Trudeau said in an emailed statement. “We quickly work with manufacturers to resolve them and improve their response capability." Apparently a similar leak also sidelined the first electric fire truck in North America that was delivered to the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2022..When Vancouver’s was unveiled last December it was touted as “the reinvention of the fire truck” at a cost of $300,000 to $500,000 more than a comparable diesel powered unit. The department said the EV truck is smaller and more maneuverable than a conventional truck and can travel 100 kilometres on a single charge.The short range is compensated with a 300-horsepower auxiliary diesel engine.The City of Calgary has reportedly been testing out EV fire trucks of its own since July of 2022.
