Toronto could move into the future with electric fire trucks

Toronto could get a bit greener if a proposal for a new electric fire truck gets a green (or flashing red?) light.

The Toronto Fire Department is looking to go electric, according to Matt Elliott's latest City Hall Watcher newsletter.

Elliot says lobby documents indicate that vendors are registering designs for battery-powered fire trucks as part of a supplier day event.

A Florida-based company, the REV Fire Group, was the first to present its truck, touted as the "first fully electric North American-style fire apparatus."

The truck has 316 kW of battery power "to deliver the longest electric pumping duration in the industry."

It has a backup diesel engine for fires that require pumping power beyond three to four hours on a hydrant or for extended operation in blackouts and natural disasters.

REV says the truck will be ready to deliver in 2022.

Other possibilities include Canadian company Commercial Emergency Equipment, which blogged about the new Volterra platform of electric vehicles for the fire and emergency market.

Other companies registering to talk about electric-powered trucks include Darch Fire and ResQtech Systems, according to Elliot.

Toronto Fire would follow the TTC in going electric.

But European countries are ahead of the game with futuristic fire trucks on the streets in places like Amsterdam and Austria.

A truck from the Austrian company, Rosenbauer, looks like something from the future.

No word yet on how long it would take to get electric trucks on the streets of Toronto, but with world leaders gathered now at the United Nations climate conference, COP, a cleaner future can't come soon enough.