Bernalillo County’s “electric” firetruck has a diesel engine

Gov. Lujan Grisham continues with her headlong push for electric vehicles. The Gov.’s Environment Department recently touted the purchase of a “zero emissions” firetruck along with Bernalillo County. The problem is the truck has a diesel engine as has been pointed out by both The Center Square and the Albuquerque Journal. NMED’s press release makes no mention of the diesel engine.

The new Pierce Volterra truck will cost $2.1 million which is MUCH more than the lightly used traditional fuel Pierce Pumper that we found online at a cost of $749,000. What would a brand new equivalent to an electric (with diesel engine) firetruck run? We’ve never price checked firetrucks before, but we suspect it would be MUCH cheaper. Also, we certainly wonder what the overall weight of a firetruck with an electric battery AND diesel engine (and all the engine components for both) must weigh and weather this will really be “green” and how long it will last.

On the left is a photo of a Pierce Volterra “electric” truck at a cost of $2.1 million. On the right is the 2021 Pierce Pumper for $749,000.