There’s growing interest in battery electric vehicles joining Australia’s existing emergency services vehicles after a recent trial in New South Wales.
The Volvo FM Electric has been put through its paces by the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), as it looks to integrate electric vehicles into its emergency services fleet.
It was put onto a 550km route from the RFS Glendenning NSW logistics headquarters up through Albury, arriving in the small suburb of Thurgoona to be displayed at the NSW RFS Championships.
RFS logistics manager Brendan Doyle was one of the drivers of the Volvo across the route, and said that it gave the fire service the perfect opportunity to get to know what the truck could do.
“This drive presented a great opportunity for us to touch, feel and experience an electric prime mover on public roads,” he says.
“It also allows us to consider where a vehicle like this could fill roles within our logistics fleet in the future.”
Volvo reports that the FM Electric averaged 88.7kmh across the trip with an average fuel consumption of 1.24 kilowatts an hour/km.
It took a total of two hours of charging time to complete the 6.2 hour trip in total, with stops made along the way at Goulburn and Tarcutta.
“The driving experience was sensational,” says RFS brigade captain Peter Duff.
“One of the key takeaways for me was that you could take anyone familiar with an existing Volvo truck and they’d be able to drive this without additional training at all.”
Volvo Group Australia vice-president Cameron Battery says that NSW RFS’ trial of the truck is reflective of the growing interest in electric heavy duty emergency vehicles.
“Fire and emergency services are on the front line when it comes the impact of climate change on our local environment,” he says.
“Many in these services are acutely aware of the need to reduce emissions, not only from a climate perspective, but also from a health and safety perspective for those first responders.
“Emergency services operate in a complex environment and with that a mix of technology types will be required to enable sustainable operational capability. Battery electric trucks are a key part of this mix.
“It’s fantastic to see RFS getting out there and investigating how these vehicles perform in a real-world setting.”
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