Firefighters in Cary, North Carolina, just rolled out a first-of-its-kind fire truck that could bring emergency response departments a more sustainable edge.
The Cary Fire Department recently announced putting a Pierce Volterra electric pumper into service, the first one on the East Coast, after successful testing with crews. The new truck promises all the reliability firefighters need to protect the community while also cutting down on air pollution and saving on fuel.
Equipped with a 500-gallon water tank, 155-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and a backup diesel engine, the Volterra gives firefighters the opportunity to cover most daily responses entirely on electric power — and there's the backup option available to ensure they can handle high-intensity calls with no interruptions should there be any issues with the battery. That means fewer tailpipe pollution in neighborhoods and far lower fuel costs for the department.
"Reliability is non-negotiable when it comes to public safety," said Fire Chief Mike Cooper in a press release. "That's why we chose the Pierce Volterra EV. It delivers the performance and dependability we require while supporting Cary's broader goals around sustainability and resiliency."
Cary has already been working to cut pollution by using Pierce's Idle Reduction Technology across its fleet, which powers critical functions without running the engine. But this new pumper just adds to those efforts. "More than 90% of our calls will now be powered by electric response," said Chief Cooper.
Electric and hybrid setups like this fire truck are helping us get closer to the green energy transition. For everyday drivers, making your next car an EV can save on fuel and maintenance (forget about scheduling oil changes), while also slashing toxic air pollution and offering a quieter driving experience.
And while EV battery production has its own environmental footprint, the numbers show that traditional gas-powered engines create nearly double the pollution over their lifetimes compared to EVs running on today's power grid, according to MIT Climate.
So far, the electric pumper has been a great addition to the Cary Fire Department's emergency response. "The batteries were at about 87% when they responded to the call," Chief Cooper said to North Carolina Public Radio about a recent fire. "They pulled three lines and flowed water for just over three hours, and it only reduced the batteries to about 42%."
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