By Bill Adams
In the August 2022 Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Viewpoints column, the editor asked me and fellow Advisory Board member Ricky Riley: “Is the fire service ready for electric fire apparatus?”
One view was the fire service should be open-minded on the topic. The other was the fire service is not ready for electric fire apparatus (EFA).
The Viewpoints piece was based on a miniscule number of electric rigs sold in proportion to the total number of fire apparatus manufactured. It only addressed a specific apparatus size and application—a full-size pumper. It may not have been representative of the full potential of EFAs in the fire service. While electrically powered trucks may be new to the fire service, they are not new to the commercial truck industry.
CLASS 8 FIRE CHASSIS MARKET
Fire apparatus manufacturers (OEMs) and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) keep the yearly numbers and types of apparatus ordered and delivered close to the vest. Articles in fire service trade magazines indicate approximately 6,000 fire trucks were ordered in 2022. Best guess estimates are that about 50 to 65% were built on custom cabs and chassis, which are specifically manufactured for the fire service. Most custom fire apparatus cabs and chassis are Class 8 trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 33,000 pounds and over.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) classifies trucks as light duty (Classes 1 and 2), medium duty (Classes 3 to 6), and heavy duty (Classes 7 and 8). A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is generally required to operate heavy duty trucks. Following are truck classes and GVWRs according to www.arrowtruck.com/truck-classifications:
- Class 1 and 2 trucks have a 10,000-pound or less GVWR.
- Class 3, 4, and 5 trucks have GVWRs between 10,001 and 19,500 pounds.
- Class 6 trucks have GVWRs between 19,501 and 26,000 pounds.
- Class 7 trucks have GVWRs between 26,001 and 33,000 pounds.
- Class 8 trucks have a GVWR of greater than 33,000 pounds.
OEMs’ literature, Web sites, and news releases indicate probably a dozen or so electric fire apparatus have been sold or ordered since their introduction just a few years ago. For simplicity’s sake, consider that all of the them were sold or ordered in 2022. The OEMs do not make the GVWRs of EFAs sold or ordered readily known. However, in reading the sold EFAs’ published capabilities, I venture they are all Class 8 vehicles.
Of the 759,000 Class 3 to Class 8 trucks sold in the United States in 2020, 192,000 were Class 8 (https://bit.ly/3DHjQcI). Conjecturing 2020 figures are close to 2022’s, out of those 192,000 Class 8 rigs, an estimated 3,000 to 3,900 were custom fire apparatus cabs and chassis. And, only a dozen or so of them were electrically powered. The domestic fire apparatus manufacturers may not be significant players in the electrically powered truck industry.
CLASS 3 TO 7 FIRE CHASSIS MARKET
It is unknown if the 2,100 to 3,000 Class 3 to 8 fire apparatus ordered or delivered have been addressed in any analysis or discussion about EFAs by the fire service or the fire apparatus manufacturers. They should have.
Any quantifiable discussion or prediction of the future of EFAs should include all fire apparatus that could be electrically powered. Mini and midi-pumpers, initial attack apparatus, wildland apparatus, medium and light duty squad trucks, as well as trucks with GVWRs of greater than 10,000 pounds used as chiefs’ buggies could be prime candidates to be electrically powered. Automobiles used by fire department administrative staff, including fire inspectors and fire prevention personnel, definitely are.
OEMs AND THE NFPA
The current literature and Web sites of the three domestic EFA OEMs have only mentioned electrically powered pumpers, which undoubtedly meet and require a GVWR range within the scope of most full-size pumpers. No data appear to indicate minimum or maximum GVWRs or compliance to any National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. This article considers all current offerings as Class 8 heavy duty trucks. However, there is nothing to preclude Class 7 heavy duty trucks with a FHWA rating between 26,001 to 33,000 pounds from being compliant.
Hence, there is the presumption that all three OEMs’ EFAs meet, at the least, NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), Chapter 5 Pumper Fire Apparatus. In addition, there’s a presumption they will meet, at the least, NFPA 1900, Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicles, Automotive Fire Apparatus, Wildland Fire Apparatus, and Automotive Ambulances, Chapter 8.5 Pumper Apparatus.
Many commercial chassis manufacturers also supply Class 7 and 8 cabs and chassis for fire service OEMs—including those that build their own EFAs. Many of those commercial builders also supply chassis with lower GVWRs. Electrically powered commercial cabs and chassis may soon be available to all apparatus OEMs. The domestic commercial truck manufacturers are experienced in electrically powered vehicles. So are automobile manufacturers.
EFAs AND COMMERCIAL TRUCK OEMs
Looking at only a handful of one EFA class from just three apparatus OEMs is analyzing and comparing through a very small prism. The current EFAs sold or on order do not reflect the capabilities and experiences of domestic truck manufacturers in supplying all classes of electrically powered trucks for the fire service. The following abbreviated comments are paraphrased from online links reflecting the depth and scope of commercial truck manufacturers currently manufacturing or investigating electrically powered trucks.
Mack Trucks has an agreement with global electric commercial vehicle maker SEA Electric to supply Mack Class 6 and 7 models with its SEA-Drive power system. From SEA Electric’s Web site: “Since 2017, SEA Electric has released medium and heavy duty commercial electric vehicles including delivery trucks, garbage trucks, tipper trucks, tilt tray trucks, reefer trucks, cherry picker trucks, school buses, shuttle buses, cargo vans, and passenger vans. Its power system is adaptable to most OEM glider chassis platforms from Class 3 to Class 8” (https://bit.ly/3rTtV3I).
The United States Postal Service has increased its electric truck order to 40% of its new fleet. It signed a 10-year contract with Wisconsin-based manufacturer Oshkosh Defense to buy just 5,000 battery-powered trucks. It later raised the number to 10,000 electric trucks, plus another 40,000 gasoline-powered trucks, in a $2.98 billion deal (https://bit.ly/3KrxNz0).
Kenworth has unveiled its first U.S. Class 8 electric truck designed for a GVWR of 82,000 pounds. It also presented small Class 6 and Class 7 electric truck variants. Kenworth is a PACCAR company (https://bit.ly/3qdhpeT).
Volvo Trucks spent a week at its customer center in Dublin, Virginia, to showcase the work it has done to lead the electrification of the heavy trucking space. Its flagship effort in North America is a Class 8 semi truck that carries forward the same look and feel of its predecessors to make it easy for drivers to hop in and go but with a fully electric powertrain and battery system under the hood (https://bit.ly/3KpeJSa).
Orange EV, founded in 2012, says it has deployed more than 370 trucks to some 100 fleet customers in 24 states. According to a recent report from CALSTART, Orange has the most electric trucks in service of any currently active manufacturer. The CALSTART report also notes that as of the beginning of February 2023, there were around 1,215 medium and heavy duty zero-emission trucks on U.S. roads and 140,000 more on order. Some 145 models are currently available for purchase from at least 30 manufacturers (https://bit.ly/3QoXEM4).
FEDERAL HELP FOR RESEARCH
From a trucking industry Web site: “The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced it will spend $127 million over the next five years to help advance commercial truck electrification technology. It will provide funding to five vehicle manufacturers to pioneer electrified medium and heavy duty trucks and freight system concepts to achieve higher efficiency and zero emissions (https://bit.ly/3rSkOA5). Some abbreviated and paraphrased examples follow.
Paccar, parent company of Kenworth and Peterbilt, will develop 18 Class 8 battery electric and fuel-cell vehicles with advanced batteries. A megawatt charging station will also be developed (award amount: $32.97 million).
General Motors will develop hydrogen fuel-cell and battery electric Class 4 to 6 trucks. It will focus on developing clean hydrogen via electrolysis and clean power for fast charging (award amount: $26.06 million).
Daimler Trucks North America will develop Class 8 fuel-cell trucks with a 600-mile range, 25,000-hour durability, and equivalent payload capacity and range to diesel (award amount: $25.79 million).
Ford will develop five hydrogen fuel-cell electric Class 6 Super Duty trucks targeting cost, payload, towing, and refueling times that are equivalent to conventional gasoline trucks (award amount: $24.95 million).
Volvo Group North America will develop a 400-mile-range Class 8 battery electric tractor trailer with advanced aerodynamics, electric braking, EV-optimized tires, automation, and route planning. A megawatt charging station will also be developed (award amount: $18.07 million).
TREPIDATIONS
Most press releases and online research directly from manufacturers probably show a degree of favoritism. That’s marketing—live with it. Commercial truck OEMs as well as fire apparatus OEMs participate. There are always two sides to a story. Some in the fire service view EFAs with skepticism. There may be some validity to their concerns. The commercial trucking industry may have already addressed some of them in the following:
Hopefully this article has addressed all classes of electrically powered trucks for the fire service from a nonfirematic and nonbiased perspective. Commercial truck manufacturers with names such as Mack, Oshkosh, Kenworth, PACCAR, Volvo, Peterbilt, General Motors, Daimler, and Ford are familiar to almost all fire apparatus purchasers. Their experiences in, and willingness to explore, electrically powered trucks could be an asset to those in the fire service contemplating a change.
BILL ADAMS is a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board, a former fire apparatus salesman, and a past chief of the East Rochester (NY) Fire Department. He has 50 years of experience in the volunteer fire service.
