By Rich Lord
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Copyright 2006 P.G. Publishing Co.
Get hurt today in Pittsburgh and you might end up in an ambulance bought in 1997, with 140,000 miles on its odometer and balky air conditioning.
Get hurt in a few months and you might be transported in a brand new vehicle.
City Council yesterday approved the purchase of 86 vehicles for $7 million, the biggest such buy in at least six years for the cash-strapped city.
It’s just a start toward upgrading the city’s 1,000-vehicle fleet, but city officials and unions representing workers said it’s a welcome first step.
“The overall fleet of the city was in need of replacement,” said Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert McCaughan. “I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The city spent just $1 million on vehicles in each of the last two years, and around $3 million a year in each of the three years prior to that, said budget director Scott Kunka.
The aging fleet has proved tougher and tougher to maintain and use.
“This is a leftover problem from the [Tom] Murphy administration,” said Jeff Vesci, president of the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics. “The trucks are pretty much in deplorable condition.”
The EMS Bureau will get five full ambulances, two van ambulances, two supervisor cars and a $450,000 rescue truck. That last purchase will allow for the retirement of a 1992 rescue truck that currently serves as a backup to the front-line 1999 models.
The fleet has a total of 26 full and van ambulances.
The Public Works Department will get 18 trucks, for $1.5 million.
The Police Bureau is getting the largest number of vehicles. Its 49 new cars, for $1.2 million, will include 25 cruisers, plus wagons, detective cars, supervisor cars and a K-9 sedan.
The cruisers are “a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound,” said Fraternal Order of Police President James Malloy, who has complained frequently about the condition of police cars. He said he hopes for another round of purchases later this year.
The Fire Bureau is getting the biggest investment, $2.7 million for three pumpers, two ladder trucks and a quint. The quint, which at $600,000 is the most expensive vehicle on the city’s shopping list, is a combination ladder and pumper truck.
The city has a total of 14 ladder trucks.
“We’re struggling with some of our older vehicles,” said Fire Chief Mike Huss. The new purchases, along with a ladder truck due in shortly from a previous allocation, will allow him to sell off some 1984 rigs.
“This is a step in the right direction, and hopefully we can keep this up over time,” said Darrin Kelly, a member of the firefighters union’s executive board and safety committee.
The administration’s goal is to keep spending around $7 million annually on vehicles, said Mr. Kunka. That would get the aging fleet back to the point at which vehicles are replaced before maintenance costs surpass resale value.