First HVO-powered fire engine put into service in Carlow

Ireland’s first fire engine powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) has been put into service by Carlow Fire Station.

The €462,000 engine was built locally over six months in Tullow by HPMP Fire Ltd. It is also claimed to be the first fire engine in the world that combines state-of-the-art software with HVO.

The vehicle has solar panels on the roof to provide power to onboard auxiliary batteries which power the blue lights and charges road traffic collision cutting tools.

Cloud-based software enables fire officers to track the vehicle’s information on fuel usage, carbon and cost savings to improve performance in real-time.

Fire officers can monitor and improve battery levels over time, while the intelligent solution can monitor and aggregate total water and foam used at each fire scene to ensure optimal performance and reduce waste.

A key safety feature is the Vehicle-to-Vehicle Digital Alerting, which signals other road users to the presence of a fire appliance attending an emergency. This provides other road users with more time to slow down, move over and avoid the scene.