The Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department has expanded its fleet with the addition of ten new Mercedes-Benz Atego fire trucks, all featuring Allison fully automatic transmissions.
Scheduled for delivery in 2025, these vehicles will support a variety of critical missions, including firefighting and search and rescue operations, enhancing both performance and efficiency for the fire department in Turkey's fourth-largest city.
Urbanization and Industrial Challenges
Bursa, a rapidly urbanizing city with a population of over 3.2 million, faced 21,670 emergency incidents in 2024
Bursa, a rapidly urbanizing city with a population of over 3.2 million, faced 21,670 emergency incidents in 2024. The city stands out due to its dense urban areas and expansive industrial zones. The Bursa Fire Department, staffed by 675 personnel and equipped with 136 vehicles across 30 stations, not only handles fires but also responds to traffic accidents, natural disasters, forest fires, and floods.
The new fire trucks are strategically planned for deployment in these challenging environments, especially where heavy traffic and limited maneuverability present significant hurdles.
Reliable Performance with Allison Transmissions
The decision to invest in the Allison-equipped Mercedes-Benz Atego vehicles follows positive feedback from previous use of similar vehicles. Chief of the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, Canalp Berkdemir, emphasized the user-friendly experience, low failure rate, and high operational efficiency as key reasons for this choice.
The fleet addition includes seven municipal firefighting vehicles and three ladder trucks, all equipped with Rosenbauer superstructures, 6-cylinder Euro 6 diesel engines, and Allison 3000 automatic transmissions. These vehicles boast 300 horsepower, 1000 Nm torque, and a load capacity of 16 tonnes, capable of reaching speeds up to 90 km/h.
Meeting Growing Emergency Response Needs
Bursa’s growing population and expanding residential areas necessitate a more extensive response
Bursa’s growing population and expanding residential areas necessitate a more extensive and rapid emergency response. The Allison fully automatic transmissions provide a significant advantage under these conditions, offering high traction power, rapid acceleration, and smooth gear shifting.
This technology ensures continuous power delivery, allowing firefighters to maintain higher average speeds and focus more on the mission rather than manual gear shifts.
Focusing on Efficiency and Reliability
For Bursa’s fire department, maintaining operational time is critical, and Allison transmissions contribute by ensuring the trucks spend less time in service, reducing the overall cost of ownership.
Berk Gönenç, Sales Director of Allison Transmission for Turkey, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, highlighted the trust placed in Allison transmissions by stating, "Every second is of vital importance in emergency response. Allison fully automatic transmissions, with Continuous Power Technology and rapid acceleration, support the crews reach the scene faster and more reliably. Furthermore, by minimizing driver-related variations and offering superior maneuverability under challenging road conditions, Allison transmissions enhance continuity in fire department operations.” This renewed investment is expected to significantly contribute to both operational efficiency and crew safety.
In Bursa, Turkey’s fourth-largest city, the Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department has added 10 new Mercedes-Benz Atego fire trucks equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions to the fleet. These new vehicles, which are scheduled for delivery in 2025, will be used in a wide range of critical missions, from firefighting to search and rescue.
This new acquisition, made in line with the gratification gained from the previously used Mercedes-Benz Atego vehicle equipped with Allison 3000™ Series fully automatic transmission in the current fleet, aims to enhance vehicle performance and operational efficiency.
Urbanization and industrial zones
With its population exceeding 3.2 million, Bursa, which stands out with dense urbanization and industrial zones, has responded to a total of 21,670 emergency incidents in 2024. Operating with 30 fire stations, 675 personnel, and 136 vehicles, the Bursa Fire Department responds not only to fires but also to traffic accidents, natural disasters, forest fires, and floods.
Covering a duty area of 10,866 square kilometers, the department has planned for its new vehicles to be actively deployed, especially in urban firefighting, search and rescue operations, where there are major challenges such as heavy traffic and restricted maneuverability.
Been Tried Before, Convinced: Decision to Continue with Allison
Canalp Berkdemir, Chief of the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, has stated that based on the positive performance feedback from the previously used Mercedes-Benz Atego fire truck equipped with an Allison fully automatic transmission, they have decided to make the new investment with Allison-equipped vehicles as well. He has added that this choice was reaffirmed due to the user-friendly driving experience, minimal failure rate and high operational efficiency offered by the Allison fully automatic transmission.
The new 7-unit municipal firefighting vehicles and 3-unit ladder fire trucks which will be joining the fleet consist of Mercedes-Benz Atego 1630 vehicles equipped with Rosenbauer superstructures, 6-cylinder Euro 6 diesel engines and Allison 3000 fully automatic transmissions.
With 300 horsepower and 1000 Nm torque, the trucks have a load capacity of 16 tonnes, and they can reach a maximum speed of 90 km per hour. Furthermore, the vehicles have fully equipped features such as pump-and-roll (pumping while in motion), water tanks for firefighting and protection and other advanced systems.
A Solution in Line with Growing Emergency Response Needs of Bursa
Bursa’s quickly increasing population and expanding residential areas oblige fire crews to operate across wider and more diverse geographical regions. This makes swift response even more critical for timely interventions. In such demanding conditions, Allison fully automatic transmissions give response crews —who are racing against time— an advantage with high traction power, rapid acceleration and smooth gear shifting.
Continuous power delivery supports achieving higher average speeds. Without any concern for manual gear shifting, the drivers can maintain superior control over the vehicle and the road, allowing them to focus on the mission with confidence.
Choice Based on Efficiency
For the Bursa Fire Department, vehicle operating time is of utmost importance. Allison fully automatic transmissions help the vehicles stay operational longer, spend less time in service and reduce total cost of ownership.
Berk Gönenç, Sales Director of Allison Transmission for Turkey, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), has underlined that the restored preference of a leading organization such as the Bursa Fire Department is one of the clearest beacons of trust in Allison transmissions.
He has stated: “Every second is of vital importance in emergency response. Allison fully automatic transmissions, with Continuous Power Technology and rapid acceleration, support the crews reach the scene faster and more reliably. Furthermore, by minimizing driver-related variations and offering superior maneuverability under challenging road conditions, Allison transmissions enhance continuity in fire department operations. We strongly believe that Bursa Fire Department’s decision in this regard is an important step for operational efficiency and crew safety.”
