CHARLOTTE — The future home of Station 30 is going to be electric and more than just in looks. The city of Charlotte’s budget includes funding to build a new Station 30 in southwest Charlotte.
The newly constructed fire facility will be on Beam Road and will be “all electric,” complete with the city’s first electric fire truck.
“We are a climate change city, so we are going to try these things,” Mayor Vi Lyles said after the budget presentation.
The electric fire station is included in the budget as part of the $20.8 million set aside for building new fire facilities. The city’s budget says Charlotte will be one of the first cities in the country to make this investment. The electric fire station, complete with the necessary infrastructure, is one of at least three fire facilities that is slated to be built. The $20.8 million is part of an estimated $48 million investment over three years.
A spokesperson for the Charlotte Fire Department declined to comment.
A city of Charlotte spokesperson said limited information is available at this point.
“The budget is for one fire truck, charging apparatus and additional building elements to make it fully electric, and we are happy to share more details as we get closer to design and development,” spokesperson Cory Burkarth said.
UNC Charlotte Sustainability Officer Michael Lizotte said electric fire trucks aren’t farfetched.
“We would have had this same conversation 5 or 10 years ago about buses. Is this realistic? Would we really run electric buses?” Lizotte said. “Now of course they’re on the streets.”
A few electric fire trucks are already on the market, including a Rosenbauer RTX made for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The exact make of Station 30′s vehicle and its operational ability is unclear at this point. It likely will be several months before that information is available. Charlotte City Council will have to hold another vote after the budget passes to officially authorize the purchase.
Sustain Charlotte’s Meg Fencil said the city will ensure whatever truck is purchased is capable of serving the Station 30 area.
She calls electric fire trucks the future.
“It was sort of in the realm of science fiction a while ago, but the technology has really improved,” she said. “It’s really important that that Charlotte invest in these innovative solutions.”
In addition to the electric fire truck, the city of Charlotte’s budget includes funding for CMPD’s first electric pursuit vehicle and a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck.
(WATCH BELOW: Electric vehicles: What you need to know)
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