A little over a year ago, Oregon’s Arcimoto revealed a special version of its battery-electric three-wheeler designed for first responders. The company inked an agreement with the Eugene Springfield Fire Department to test the vehicles, and now that pilot program has begun.
“In an emergency, every second counts, and yet, in every major city, large emergency vehicles get bogged down in traffic, wasting valuable time and emitting excessive amounts of carbon,” said Arcimoto CEO Mark Frohnmayer. “With its maneuverable small footprint and ability to go where big trucks can’t, we believe the Rapid Responder can help departments cut carbon emissions and fuel costs while improving response times.”
Based on the same modular platform as Arcimoto’s Fun Utility Vehicle, the Rapid Responder seats two under a canopy roof, has no doors for easy access and comes with integrated light bar and siren so other road users know to make way. There’s also a roof-mounted equipment rack, rear cargo department, and 360-degree lights to illuminate the scene of an accident or incident.
The electric drivetrain can get the three-wheeler to a top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h) for 100 miles (160 km) of per charge city driving range.
“At Eugene Springfield Fire, we pride ourselves on being a progressive organization that is always in search of innovative new ways to improve our services,” added Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Chris Heppel. “In 2019, we responded to more than 40,000 emergency calls, and a large number of those could have been better serviced using the Arcimoto Rapid Responder. We are extremely proud to be the first firehouse in the world to deploy this cutting-edge vehicle, and look forward to working with Arcimoto in this pilot program to create a world-class sustainable EMS solution.”
Eugene Springfield isn’t the only Fire Department in the US to opt for green and quiet emergency vehicles. Last month, Los Angeles Fire Department agreed to buy an electric fire engine from Austria’s Rosenbauer, which will be a custom version of its Concept Fire Truck that will have 100-kW batteries for around two hours of fully electric operation, and a backup diesel generator for extended operations.
Arcimoto is expected to reveal full specs and pricing ahead of Rapid Responder production later in the year.
Source: Arcimoto
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