National Headquarters
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
National Headquarters
Spark Central, Level 7
42-52 Willis Street
Wellington Central
Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 496 3600
Ref: 13101
7 February 2024
John Homer
[FYI request #25396 email]
Tēnā koe John
Thank you for your request of 14 January 2024, to Fire and Emergency New Zealand requesting the
following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA):
•
I would like to request any information in regards to implementation of Electric Fire Truck
into the National fleet and the expected timeframe for this.
As noted in our previous responses to you of July 2021 and 31 January 2022, The EV (electric
vehicle) fire truck market is relatively new. We are identifying options to migrate our fleet to low-
emission alternatives where we are confident they can meet Fire and Emergency’s unique
operational requirements.
Fire and Emergency’s response vehicles, including our fire trucks, need to operate during all major
emergencies including those resulting in power outages. The resilience of the power supply and
the availability of emergency power supply is an important factor for us when considering how
quickly we can migrate to low-emission alternatives. Therefore, in respect of your request for any
information regarding the implementation of EV fire truck’s, this is being refused pursuant to
section 18(e) of the OIA, as the document alleged to contain the information requested does not
exist.
We have sought a proposal from a vehicle manufacturer to trial an electric fire truck. Most of
these vehicles are too heavy for there to be a viable electric alternative at present. Other
firefighting organisations internationally are trialling electric, hydrogen or hybrid fire trucks, and
we will continue to monitor their progress, and work with vehicle manufacturers, to consider
trialling a zero-emission battery-electric truck prototype.
You may be interested to know there is an ongoing trial of a Rosenbauer Hybrid Electric Fire Truck
in the Australian Capital Territory You may be interested to know there is an ongoing trial of a
Rosenbauer Hybrid Electric Fire Truck in the Australian Capital Territory. At this stage, we have
been invited, as an Australasian Fire Authorities Council partner, to monitor the trial only. You can
find more information by following the link below.
www.esa.act.gov.au/about-esa-emergency-services/fire-rescue/plug-hybrid-electric-fire-truck
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA, to request an investigation
and review of Fire and Emergency’s decision to refuse information by the Ombudsman.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
I trust that the contextual information being provided is of assistance. If you require further
information, please email [FENZ request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Aidan Saunders
Manager, Information Requests
