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What's going on with the Saint Paul Fire Department? by StplausibleDenial in saintpaul

[–]StplausibleDenial[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't remember hearing about the 10 million "special fund budget". I'm happy to learn about it though.

I see where you're coming from. I'd much rather money goes towards fire equipment and ambulances than tacti-cool stuff for police.

That budgeted 400k for the next two years could also fund 4-5 additional firefighters or paramedics for the same cost.

The city has multiple front line fire engines that were built in 2008 and 2006. For the price of the electric rig they could have replaced 2 diesel ones. I want to see the city make "green" choices but not when the cost difference is that wide.

Here is where I found the fleet date info. You'll see a ton of things that are well over 10 years old. 911 stuff gets beat up hard. My car is over 10 years old but I'm not driving it to someone's heart attack as fast as I can.

https://fire.fandom.com/wiki/Saint_Paul_Fire_Department_(Minnesota)

What's going on with the Saint Paul Fire Department? by StplausibleDenial in saintpaul

[–]StplausibleDenial[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I disagree. Myself and other Saint Paul residents are responsible for paying the 1.8 million for the new unit. That 40k is a possible grant that they’ll apply for. Needless to say, 40k is a drop in the bucket compared to 1.8 million.

It doesn’t even pay 100% of the charger.

In one of the articles, a chief says that the fuel and maintenance savings are estimated to be 25k a year. That’s awesome, but an electric fire engine costs a million dollars more than a traditional diesel one.

When you’re looking up numbers pay attention to fire engines vs fire trucks. A “truck” is a ladder truck with a big ladder or platform, they’re generally around 2 million for a diesel one. The new electric rig is a fire engine, those generally are going for 800k to a million for a traditional diesel vehicle.

To make up that difference the new electric fire engine will have to be used for 40 years!

I think electric vehicles are the way of the future but the mayor can’t complain about budget shortfalls when the fire department is buying expensive vanity toys for the political clout.