April Fools! The Normal Fire Dept. in Illinois played a practical joke yesterday when it announced it was getting an electric ambulance. (Photo/Normal Fire Dept.)
A Faebook post from an Illinois fire department turned some heads yesterday when it announced the department was buying an electric ambulance.
It turns out the joke’s on you.
The Normal Fire Department played an April Fools’ Day joke on April 1st when announcing car maker Rivian would be delivering a full fleet of electric ambulances to the department by mid-2021.
The fire department let the cat out of the bag several hours after the original post went online and several automotive blogs picked up on the story as if it was real.
“…We wanted to make sure everyone knew that it was absolutely, positively, 100% not real. Thank you, Rivian, for being good sports and playing along,” the post read, which included a winky face emoji. “We hope you enjoyed a moment away from the COVID-19 outbreak news cycle and thank you for your continuing support through these difficult times.”
The post claimed the ambulances would be built on a similar frame as the Amazon Prime delivery fleet and would have a range of up to 400 miles.
The thought of an electric ambulance isn’t science fiction, however. The Los Angeles Fire Department recently made headlines when it announced it would be the first department in North America to buy an electric fire truck from Rosenbauer.
