The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has commissioned its first electric powered fire appliance.
The service has received around £500,000 of funding from Transport Scotland to roll the prototype into production.
The contract to build the low carbon vehicle was awarded recently to Emergency One in Ayrshire.
The E1 EV0 will have the same capability and equipment as a diesel model and it will be able to assist at emergencies.
It has a range of approximately 220 miles with an 80% charge and a range extender for pumping water at a prolonged incident as well as ensuring it can return to the fire station.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Stewart Nicholson said: "There are already more than 100 electric cars within our light fleet, however this is our first venture into low carbon heavy duty vehicles."
Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said: “This is a really exciting, innovative development and I’m pleased to be funding it through our partnership with Scottish Enterprise which is supporting the decarbonisation of Heavy Duty Vehicles across Scotland.
“The public sector should be seen to lead the way on this type of work, which demonstrates that tough operational requirements for service vehicles, often working in challenging conditions, can indeed be met without the sole reliance of fossil fuels.
“I look forward to seeing the electric fire appliance deployed in communities as a beacon not only for the journey that the fire service is on – but for Scotland’s wider transition to a net zero society.”
The prototype is due to be delivered to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service later this year and is expected to go on the run with a crew early 2023.
The host station is still to be confirmed. Suitable locations for housing the charging infrastructure for the electric appliance are being scoped out.
Michael Madsen, managing director of Emergency One, said: “We are proud that the Emergency One E1 EV0 (Electric Vehicle, Zero Emissions) is the world’s first all-electric pumping appliance fully certified to BS EN1846 standard.
“The EV0 exceeds the standard’s requirements for driving range and pumping performance at zero emissions, whilst the optional onboard smart charger provides resilience at protracted incidents.
“The EV0 as specified for SFRS carries the same inventory as a traditional pumping appliance, is one of the first of its kind in the UK, and the first to feature an innovative all-electric rear drive axle installation.
“Some of our staff who also work locally as retained firefighters have been able to work on this project and it’s great to get their practical operational insights throughout the design process.”
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