Ireland’s first electric cardiac emergency response vehicle has been added to the fleet of vehicles at Cork City Fire Brigade. The Renault Kangoo ZE van is the brigades cardiac emergency response vehicle, and will begin its active service this weekend.
Following several days of road-testing, Senior Fire Officers at Cork City are said to be delighted with the vans performance, describing it as a fantastic vehicle for their needs. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Cork City’s Third Officer Edward Buckley said “We were surprised at its performance really. It is surprisingly fast and we can get up to 160km on a single charge of the battery. It’s a fantastic vehicle for our needs” he said.
The electric response vehicle will be based at Fire Brigade headquarters at Anglesea Street in the city. It has been adapted internally and fitted with a range of communication and medical equipment. The van can seat up to five passengers, but it will mostly carry three firefighters who are trained members of the cardiac emergency response team. According to Renault, the van can be fully charged for around €4, depending on the tariffs used. It produces CO2 emissions lower than 120g/km, it includes at least 7% recycled plastic, and has been designed in such a way that 95% of the materials used could have a second life.
Cork City Fire Brigade has installed a dedicated rapid charging point which will allow the vehicle’s battery to be fully recharged in less than 30 minutes. The fire service launched the dedicated cardiac response unit following the success of the Cork City Community Fire Safety roadshows which have being running for four years. The community roadshow initiative has helped reduce the number of call-outs, allowing freeing firefighters to respond to cardiac arrests.
*Pic: (Irish Examiner) Third Officer Edward Buckley and assistant Chief Fire Officer, David Spillett
Published by Declan Keogh: 18.10.14 at 1150hrs
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*Source: Irish Examiner – Eoin English
