TFS Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

By Laurance Yap

A fire chief driving a hybrid?

Well, the Toronto Fire Services asked themselves, why not? If it’s fast enough, tough enough and versatile enough to meet the demanding needs of a force that supports over 170 vehicles - and if it’s cheaper to run than any alternative - then why shouldn’t a hybrid vehicle be the vehicle of choice? Earlier this year, the service, which is the largest in Canada and the fifth-largest in North America, marked a large step away from the traditional emergency-service car to a fleet of nine Toyota Highlander hybrid SUVs.

Unlike your typical emergency-response type car, the Highlander hybrids that Toronto Fire Services use are pretty much identical to the civilian version. They have the same durable cloth upholstery; a full range of power assists for the windows, locks and mirrors; the same double-spoke alloy wheels and even the same hybrid badging. The chassis and drivetrain are unchanged:

TFS Toyota Highlander Hybrid; photos by Jil McIntosh. Click image to enlarge

Sean Pearce, the executive officer in the office of the Toronto fire chief, says the stock Highlander had to meet the same tough durability and performance standards as any other car, but passed without any modifications.

The first hybrid-powered response vehicles to be used in North America, the Highlander hybrid was chosen after an intensely competitive bid process that included the typical full-size North American sedans as well as the Honda Accord hybrid. The Toyota won out because of its high performance (with better acceleration and braking than the big sedans), its high ground clearance (which allows it to climb curbs if not actually jump them), its all-wheel-drive (which will be of great use in the winter) and its versatility (it has a rear hatchback and a large cargo area that’s easy to load). The Highlander is also easy to drive - with electronic stability control and ABS - and its footprint is smaller than the large sedans the service had previously used.

TFS Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

There are some differences between the Fire Services version and the Highlander you can buy. TFS has added of a set of very subtly-integrated strobe lights built into the roof rack, grille, side pillars and rear lamps: at night, the thing lights up like a Christmas tree, and is visible from very far away, even though the LED units are actually tiny. Controls to operate the lights fill the switch blanks on the left side of the steering wheel, while a small Motorola multi-function unit on the right of the shifter not only controls the sirens and air horn, but also operates the PA system and works as a communications device. A couple of the TFS’ nine Highlanders are fitted with a platform that holds a Panasonic ToughBook laptop; it, the lights and the Motorola unit are powered by a second battery that sits underneath the load floor in the rear cargo area. “We added the second battery only because we’re running the electrical systems all the time,” says Pearce. “Even when the car is turned off.”

One other thing: the Highlanders are painted a dark red not available on the hybrid version in Canada; the production line in Japan was stopped so that the nine units bound for Canada could be sprayed in the Toronto service’s signature colour.

TFS Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

Look carefully and you’ll notice the “stealth” markings on the side - dark red reflective stickers that are nearly invisible during the day but which are impossible to miss at night.

In addition to the performance benefits provided by the Highlander’s hybrid powertrain, its other major advantage to TFS was a lower cost of operation. Fuel consumption for the nine vehicles has averaged 9 L/100 km - which is impressive, given that these vehicles are often driven hard in order to make it to an emergency situation in a short amount of time. Spare parts are cheaper, too, says Pearce: other manufacturers building “fleet” vehicles often charge three times as much for a “heavy-duty” spare part as they would for a civilian version; he says the Highlander’s tough enough that it can use the civilian parts - and do so far less often than the full-size sedans the service has operated in the past. As well as being cheaper to operate, the Highlanders are cleaner, too, reducing emissions by 70 to 75 per cent compared to the Crown Victorias they’re replacing.

TFS Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

The reduced emissions and improved fuel economy are an important part of the TFS’ mandate to not only provide the best service to the citizens of Toronto, but also to be a progressive, innovative organization that leads the way in the development of new technology. Since the service first implemented the Highlanders, says Toyota Canada managing director Stephen Beatty, several other fire services from across the country have expressed interest in adding hybrid vehicles to their fleets, impressed by their economy and improved usability.

Fire chief William Stewart is quick to point out, however, that the Highlanders - or, indeed the service’s spanking-new Spartan/Seagrave pumper trucks - aren’t merely technology for technology’s sake. In a typical year, TFS will respond to over 140,000 calls, which generate over 380,000 vehicle responses. “All of the equipment we’ve chosen is here so we can respond faster and work safer.”