The Sand Springs, Okla., fire department has bought a bi-fuel compressed natural gas (CNG) truck.
Last year, the City of Sand Springs was awarded a grant from INCOG and the Tulsa Area Clean Cities Coalition to help with the purchase.
Justin Hall, deputy chief of the Sand Springs Fire Department, tells NGT News the city bought the truck and had it converted to run on CNG locally in Oklahoma.
The city ordered a Ford F-250 from Tulsa-based Bill Knight Ford in June. Claremore-based CASECO Manufacturing then converted the truck, and the city received the vehicle at the end of December.
According to Hall, the truck features an Altech-Eco bi-fuel CNG conversion system with a 21.2 GGE storage cylinder.
The truck will replace Hall's current incident management and command vehicle. He says the city saw the purchase as an opportunity to both save on fuel costs and reduce “dangerous emissions.”
Although this is the fire department's first CNG vehicle, the city's public works department has a dedicated CNG car that Hall says is used for local transport and short trips throughout the state.
“Departments are urged to consider alternative fuel vehicles as viable options when vehicles need to be purchased or replaced,” he notes.
Hall also explains why the city decided to opt for a bi-fuel truck rather than a dedicated CNG one.
“Because this vehicle serves as a fire command vehicle, we thought it best to not rely solely on CNG, as fueling locations are limited – which could hinder operations/response,” he says. “Our conservative estimates project an 80 percent reduction in miles powered by gasoline.”
Hall adds the truck will refuel on CNG at one of two nearby quick-fill stations in Tulsa.
Now that the F-250 has been converted to a CNG vehicle, Hall says his department is working on converting it to an official fire command truck. Fire Chief Mike Wood, with help from Hall and other colleagues, is installing the necessary lights and siren, communication equipment, and department insignia in-house. The department hopes to have the new truck in service by mid-February.
