CA Fire Officials Narrowly Pass on Electric Apparatus

Dec. 22, 2019
The Menlo Park Fire District's board of directors voted 3-2 not to hold one of ten slots for a $1.1 million all-electric apparatus that would've been used for rescues.

MENLO PARK, CA—After much fanfare from fire officials, the Menlo Park Fire District won’t be moving forward with plans to buy a new all-electric fire truck largely due to its $1.1 million price tag.

In a 3-2 vote at last week’s Board of Directors meeting, fire officials decided not to hold one of ten slots for Austria-based Rosenbauer’s new electric fire truck which the department would have used for rescue purposes.

It was the proposed use of the truck that gave Director Chuck Bernstein pause, saying last week that he would not be able to justify buying a $1.1 million vehicle when a $75,000 pick-up truck could do the same job.

“I like the idea of the technology, but I’m concerned about the staff’s commitment to this piece of equipment,” Bernstein said. “Rescue isn’t a good test of the equipment. A couple of years ago we didn’t have any rescues. I like rescues, I’m not against them. But it should be used more than a couple times a year. This is 15 times more expensive.”

In what was a contentious board meeting with frequent back-and-forth arguments between President Virginia Chang Kiraly and other members, fire officials questioned whether putting down a deposit of $200,000 for a piece of equipment that firefighters could end up not wanting is the right thing to do.

Many board members felt rushed into a decision, and did not want to move forward without the approval of front-line firefighters on the district’s apparatus committee.

But frustrated with the course of the conversation before the motion was defeated, Kiraly frequently reminded members that the deposit to hold a slot for Menlo Park would start a three-month process of review, meetings, community input and final consideration from the board.

“This is a letter of intent, we’re voting to buy time,” Kiraly told board members. “We are not buying a truck tonight. We’re buying time to explore what this piece of technology means for the fire district. This is a total risk free situation, so it’s extremely shortsighted not to look at this opportunity.”

Kiraly added that Menlo Park has built a reputation of trying new things and taking on a leadership role in testing technology like Rosenbauer’s electric truck.

Bernstein, who frequently interjected to voice his concern for the speedy nature of the process, said he would be much more comfortable continuing the conversation to Jan. 21, when the apparatus committee would be able to present its findings to the board.

For Rosenbauer representatives in the room, however, the vote needed to happen then and there, adding that the company would not be able to guarantee Menlo Park a slot if board members did not approve the letter of intent.

A visibly upset Kiraly again told board members that the vote was not to buy a truck, and directing her comments at Bernstein said that “to sit there and say we’re buying a truck is a lie.”

Still, the board failed to garner support for the letter of intent and three board members voted against the motion — excluding Kiraly and Vice President Robert Jones.

Rosenbauer America CEO and Chairman John Slawson told the Mercury News there is still hope for Menlo Park.

“I think we’re still optimistic that they’ll order a truck, and we look forward to continuing to work with them,” Slawson said, adding that given the truck will tour through other communities in the west coast, Rosenbauer can’t guarantee a 2021 delivery. “If a slot opens up though, we’ll do everything we can as far as getting them a truck in 2021.”

Slawson added that he understands that purchasing the truck isn’t an easy decision.

“From an overall understanding of the truck, it takes a process and an understand from the community to fully grasp all the changes as far as the vehicle,” Slawson said. “We appreciate their time and consideration and look forward to continuing to work with them. We felt very positive about the whole experience in Menlo Park.”

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©2019 the Palo Alto Daily News (Menlo Park, Calif.)

Visit the Palo Alto Daily News (Menlo Park, Calif.) at www.paloaltodailynews.com

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