Minnesota company helps produce electric-powered firetrucks

WYOMING, Minn. — The sprawling Rosenbauer campus nestled in Wyoming, Minnesota is filled with hundreds of employees customizing massive rigs that will be sent around the world, but you’ll also find something a little more subtle.

“When we came up with our idea of what we wanted the future to look like this is kind of what we came up with,” demo specialist Zach Paul said.

Their electric-powered firetruck is already on the road in Los Angeles and Vancouver. California and Canada will each get one more, and then it’s Minnesota’s turn. St. Paul will hopefully be the fifth.

It doesn’t have the rumble of a traditional red rig.

“We get a lot of grief sometimes that this does not look like a normal firetruck. It’s new. It’s different. As soon as they get their hands on this thing, they completely change their mind,” Paul said.

Traditional firetrucks cost anywhere between $900,000 to $1.3 million. The RTX is nearly double at $1.85 million — but it opens up funding options from cities and governments pushing to cut emissions.

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The sticker price also comes with safety upgrades, like a lower profile height option that Paul says is a game changer.

“It helps firefighters reduce injuries, helps with knee problems, back problems,” Paul said.

Digital mirrors are an important second set of eyes and powerful hose pressure options can help conserve water.

The RTX can go 100-150 miles give or take on a single charge, but if you’re wondering about those busy days when the rig is going from call to call, there’s a backup energy system that’s diesel-powered that can refuel the vehicle so firefighters can keep going.

Paul says the Los Angeles Fire Department can go weeks without refilling their backup diesel supply that recharges the battery on the go — a huge improvement from current standards.

“We get one-and-a-half to, if we’re lucky, three miles per gallon on a normal firetruck,” Paul said.

Workers in the U.S. put the final finishes on the EV shell that’s made in Europe. But if demand picks up, that could change.

The long-term goal is to have an EV firetruck production facility in Minnesota —  paving a path for more green jobs and a made-in-Minnesota product that can help serve communities and save our warming planet.

Paul says their goal this year is to sell 15 RTX trucks. He estimates there are a dozen on the roads in Europe right now.