Canada's first electric fire truck was in service less than a month before it needed repairs
![Canada’s first electric fire truck unveiled Canada’s first electric fire truck unveiled](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/12/4/canada_s-first-electric-fire-truck-unveiled-1-6673396-1701749407074.jpg)
Vancouver's brand-new, $1.8-million fire truck was in service for less than a month before it was sidelined for repairs.
CTV News has learned the all-electric Rosenbauer RTX has a leaky water tank.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Matthew Trudeau confirms the repair work involves the vehicle’s water tank, but none of the electrical or battery systems, and the cost of the work is covered by the manufacturer, Rosenbauer.
Trudeau says the vehicle was in service from Dec. 4, 2023, to Jan. 2, 2024, and has been out of service ever since.
"As brand new apparatus enter the VFRS fleet, it is routine and expected that mechanical issues come up," Trudeau says in an email.
"We quickly work with manufacturers to resolve them and improve their response capability."
A water leak also sidelined North America’s first Rosenbauer RTX truck, which was bought by the Los Angeles Fire Department in May 2022.
According to a statement from the Rosenbauer Group posted by LAFD, the issue was discovered during testing, and “water tank issues are not uncommon and may happen due to a variety of reasons.”
Vancouver’s all-electric vehicle was unveiled Dec. 4, with VFRS Chief Karen Fry referring to it as a “reinvention of the fire truck.”
The department said the truck is smaller and more maneuverable than a traditional truck, and can go 100 kilometres on a single charge.
At a cost of $1.8 million, it’s $300,000 to $500,000 more than a new diesel engine, but Fry said there are huge environmental and health benefits to an electric truck, as diesel fumes are a known carcinogen.
Trudeau did not say when the truck will return to service.
"We look forward to having the truck back in service as soon as possible," he says in his email.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6953174.1720203193!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'It was pretty intense:' Driver rear-ended by 14-year-old recounts fiery collision on Hwy. 401
John Tzannis says he is lucky he wasn’t more seriously injured after a 14-year-old driver rear-ended him on Highway 401 in Mississauga, sending his work van spinning into a concrete barrier early Friday morning.
Eight-year-old boy pulled from water covered in blood after bite at Montreal beach
Eight-year-old Alex Mandl had a Montreal vacation he will not soon forget when he was bitten by something swimming below the inflatable Aquazilla at Montreal's Jean Dore Beach.
Earth's core has slowed so much it's moving backward, scientists confirm. Here's what it could mean
Deep inside Earth is a solid metal ball that rotates independently of our spinning planet, like a top whirling around inside a bigger top, shrouded in mystery.
Democrats start moving to Harris as Biden digs in
Amid the ongoing fallout from U.S. President Joe Biden’s debate performance, talk in many top Democratic circles has already moved to who Kamala Harris’ running mate would be.
Spina bifida patient says Montreal hospital staff twice offered MAID unprompted
On two separate occasions and without prompting, Tracy Polewczuk says she was informed that she would be eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID) even though she didn't ask for it.
Hungary's Orban meets Putin for talks in Moscow in a rare visit by a European leader
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow on Friday for a rare meeting by a European leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed peace proposals for Ukraine, which triggered condemnation from Kyiv and some European leaders and officials.
Kendrick Lamar drops 'Not Like Us' video
Kendrick Lamar turned the visual of his Drake diss track into a family affair. The song is part of what has become a very public feud between Lamar and Drake.
Large pile of lobster dumped on the side of Hwy. 17 in northern Ontario
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a pile of dead lobster was found on the shoulder of Highway 17 this week in northern Ontario.
Rail cars carrying hazardous material derail and catch fire in North Dakota
Rail cars carrying hazardous material derailed and burst into flames Friday in a remote area of North Dakota, but officials said no one was hurt and the threat to those living nearby appeared to be minimal.