Los Angeles Adds America’s First Electric Fire Truck to the Fleet

It seems like, if the industry can get the technology ironed out, there is a lot of upside to using electric vehicles in certain situations. However, there is definitely a difference between purchasing an electric car for personal use and implementing electric vehicle technology when it comes to saving lives. Sure, some people might say that they feel like they can depend on their Tesla to get them to and from the mall. If it’s a life or death situation, though, do you want an electric vehicle carrying the load?

Apparently, Los Angeles is ready to try to sort that out as it puts in place an electric powered Rosenbauer RTX fire truck.

The electric fire truck is capable of being in operation for up to two hours. Beyond that, it also is a diesel range extender that is able to recharge the batteries in 45 minutes or so. These batteries power a pair of motors that allow for all wheel drive capability along with four wheel steering.

Rosenbauer seems to have laid this monstrous machine out in the most effective and hopefully most practical way possible to be an absolute workhorse. The machine has a spacious cabin for carrying people and lots of thoughtful storage for life-saving equipment. One neat feature is that the body actually raises up and down so that the truck can handle all sorts of different terrain and also makes it easier for the cabinetry on the sides to be accessed.

Back in 2020, Rosenbauer stated that it expected 400 vehicles like this to be operating in North America and 3,200 globally by 2025. As of now, this is the first electric fire truck in the country and Los Angeles hasn’t announced any news to add another to its fleet just yet. Only time will tell how the electric propulsion technology will integrate into emergency services.