Gilbert Fire & Rescue Department unveils state’s first electric fire truck

The Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department is hopping on the electric vehicle trend and adding the state’s first electric fire truck to its fleet. On Friday, Gilbert Fire unveiled the shiny new electric truck.

The department teamed up with Pierce Manufacturing to create the truck. It has all the same features as a regular fire truck; however, it’s much quieter and better for the environment. Gilbert Fire Chief Rob Ruggan says going electric will help keep firefighters healthy by helping remove cancer-causing chemicals.

“Cancer reduction is something that every fire chief in the country right now is focused on. It’s an unfortunate fact that my generation of firefighters is impacted by industrial cancers as a result of doing this job,” said Gilbert Fire Chief Rob Ruggan. “This truck eliminates one of those known causes which is the diesel particulates that we can remove now from our stations and removes from our pump operators when they’re on scene, and removes from the front of someone’s house when the truck arrives on the scene.”

It is the first electric truck in Arizona and one of a few used across the country.