Mesa City Council approves purchase of first all-electric fire truck in North America

October 19, 2021 at 6:07 am

Mesa City Council has approved the purchase of an all-electric pumper truck for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department. The truck is manufactured by E-ONE and is the first of its kind made in North America and put into service in the United States. The action supports the City of Mesa's Climate Action Plan and goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

"I'm an advocate for electric vehicles--it's a better technology and this is one of many steps we can take to bring us closer to our Climate Action Plan goals," said Mayor John Giles. "We look forward to this as a study in the potential cost-savings and efficiency of electric vehicles in City operations. This is further testament to Mesa's investment in public safety and our Mesa Fire and Medical Department's strong tradition of innovation and leadership in the state and the nation."

The unit will have low to no carbon emissions and will match specifications of the existing fleet of Mesa fire trucks. The truck also has considerably less noise pollution, range extension for prolonged power needs and long-life batteries, and can pump four hose lines at 750 GPM for four hours on a single charge.

"As a former fire fighter, I fully endorse putting these types of fire apparatus into our city operations--it's a great turning point," said Councilmember Mark Freeman. "Mesa was the first to provide paramedic service to our residents in the late 1970's, the first to establish a hazardous materials team and an immunization team. We've been leaders in technology with paramedic and medical response for some time and this is another step toward the future, helping the city to reach its sustainability goals."

Mesa is the second municipality in the United States to be in the process of acquiring an all-electric fire truck and will be the first to put a North American style electric fire truck in service. The truck will be assigned to Mesa Fire and Medical Department Station 221 which is opening this November and will be equipped with electric charging. The truck is projected to be in use by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Contact: Ana Pereira
(480)-644-2069
Ana.pereira@mesaaz.gov