A goal is to ensure that emergency service vehicles will be operable and available during a disaster.
The Initiative for Resiliency in Energy through Vehicles (iREV), a project funded by the Department of Energy Clean Cities program to accelerate the growth of the alternative fuel vehicles market, has as one of its objectives to encourage communities to include alternative fuel vehicles in its emergency response fleet.
The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), in Arlington, Virginia, <www.naseo.org/irev or email cpowers@naseo.org> who will administer the iREV initiative with grant funding, notes that emergency vehicles are crucial when communities are preparing for and recovering from disasters. However, NASEO says, in many disaster situations, the vehicles’ operation may be disrupted when petroleum and electricity become unavailable.
Such was the case in the Northeast when Superstorm Sandy struck in October 2012. It was days (and in some cases, weeks) before drivers could obtain gasoline or diesel for their vehicles. In Atlantic City, jitneys, minibuses fueled by compressed natural gas and run by private owner-operators, were used to evacuate people who could not transport themselves, transport clinic patients to medical treatments, and help residents who remained at home to obtain food and water. NASEO explains that having alternative fuel vehicles among the community’s emergency response fleet makes the responders less vulnerable to fuel shortages and disruptions during disasters and enables a coordinated response effort.
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has joined with NASEO and other groups1 on a national task force to promote the addition of alternative fuel vehicles to emergency response fleets. During the past decade, PERC has invested in propane-powered technologies. One result of this effort has been an increase in the types of propane vehicles used in emergency response fleets. The iREV task force will engage in a two-year program in which they will do the following:
- Develop case studies and the iREV-Tracking tool to help emergency planners access needed data and understand the potential benefits and costs of deploying natural gas, propane, biofuels, electric vehicles, and other emerging technology in emergency situations;
- Hold regional workshops in spring 2016 to share key findings and demonstrate the iREV-Tracking tool; and
- Work directly with states and localities to develop customized policy and planning toolkits that incorporate the use of AFVs in emergency situations.
PERC reports that some law enforcement fleets around the country have successfully incorporated vehicles using propane autogas into their emergency vehicle fleet. School system buses and some fire department vehicles are also powered by propane fuel. Among the advantages of using propane autogas over diesel fuel cited by PERC are the following:
- An estimated 80-percent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions compared with diesel-fueled vehicles. (The World Health Organization and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have identified diesel engine exhaust as a carcinogen.)
- Decreased cost to install, maintain, and operate (mainly because the EPA has classified it as a non-contaminant of air, land, and water resources).
For additional information, contact
Gregg Walker
Propane Education & Research Council
202-452-8975
or
Casey Mills
Swanson Russell
402-437-6498
Endnotes
1. Partners include the following: Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition; Center for Sustainable Energy; Concurrent Technologies Corporation; Edison Electric Institute; Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Energy; International Association of Emergency Managers; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices; Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy; Propane Education and Research Council; American Public Gas Association; Clean Communities of Central New York; Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation; Empire Clean Cities; Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition; Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources; National Biodiesel Board;
Natural Gas Vehicles Association; New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition; Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Office of Energy Programs; and Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.
2. Additional information on propane–fueled vehicles is at
<http://www.propane.com/on-road-fleets/case-studies-and-fact-sheets/>
<http://www.propane.com/on-road-fleets/products-that-use-propane/>
http://www.propane.com/on-road-fleets/safety-and-training/
Mary Jane Dittmar is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering and conference manager of FDIC. Before joining the magazine in January 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communications.
