Future of Fire Engines: Saving Lives with Technology

Overview

For this project we are redesigning fire engines using modular parts that can be mass-produced, which should help cut down on manufacturing costs and production times, while still meeting safety and performance standards. Right now, fire engines like the Quintus aerial ladder truck are custom-made, costing between $1.6 and $2.0 million, and can take up to five years to build, really slowing down how quickly cities can be ready for emergencies. We believe that by using mass-produced materials and a modular part instead of a complete custom design, we can bring the total cost down by at least 30%. To test our idea, we took a close look at current fire engine designs and their costs, comparing them to a proposed modular system that swaps out the traditional aerial ladder and water pump for a firefighter drone setup. Our new design has a framework made of aluminum and carbon steel, and an attachable drone that can help with fire suppression and analyzing situations ahead of time. Cost comparisons show that an aerial ladder truck with a pump can run $1.5 to $1.8 million, while one without a pump sits around $1.0 to $1.2 million. On the other hand, our fire engine with the drone attachment comes in at about $300,000 to $400,000, plus an additional $100,000 for the drone, making it at least $1.1 cheaper than the Quintus. This also leaves tons of leftover money for other things that might have been missed and still exceeding our goal of 30% cheaper. The results back up our hypothesis, indicating that this design can significantly lower costs and production time, while also boosting efficiency, safety, and emergency response times. This approach gives us a promising path for making fire engines more affordable and quicker to deploy.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Applied Mechanics (Junior Division) · Entry J-02-02

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