The ACT's $1.6 million hybrid electric firefighting vehicle is off the road again due to battery issues, after being taken off the road in January due to an issue with its main water hose pump.
00:00Out with the old and in with the new, the $1.6 million Rosenbauer hybrid electric fire truck was officially unveiled back in May 2023 to much fanfare.
00:12The first right-hand drive electric fire truck for Australia and of course the world.
00:17You might notice that there's no mirrors for example, everything's done by cameras.
00:21It was another 18 months before it went into operational service with mirrors added to meet road worthiness standards.
00:28But not for long, the vehicle is back in the workshop due to a mechanical issue affecting its battery pack.
00:34While the newly built Acton station, where it was meant to be based, is instead using diesel pumpers.
00:41The really unfortunate thing is that there was no value for money assessment done.
00:47Its viability over its lifespan was not assessed.
00:50The Auditor General had great concerns over the procurement process and it cost about twice as much.
00:56Meanwhile, a fully electric Volvo breathing apparatus truck, which arrived a few months after the hybrid truck in late 2023, was taken off the road due to an intermittent fault and still hasn't been used operationally.
01:10The Emergency Services Agency insists backup diesel trucks are up to the task, with no impact on response times or capability.
01:18When you start to take delivery of a new vehicle, especially a specialised vehicle like a fire truck, there's absolutely some teething problems that you need to go through.
01:28The ESA says it's working with Rosenbau to get the hybrid truck back on the road as soon as possible, with the Volvo fully electric truck expected to be handed to Fire and Rescue for commissioning in the next couple of weeks.
01:39And while the agency insists it's learnt lessons from the procurement processes, the union is less optimistic, arguing it wants better consultation with fire crews on the ground about the purchase of equipment.
01:50The Canberra community expects fire protection. It doesn't expect trinkets.
01:56It's absolutely one way of reducing the exposures to diesel particulates that they are faced with, so it's absolutely something that we would continue to look at into the future.
02:08ESA sees workshop mechanics having had plenty of practice as another silver lining.
