Muni Buses Become Fire Department Life Savers

Two rehabbed Muni buses have found a way to keep contributing after a well-earned retirement.

The former Muni training vehicles have been converted into one-of-a-kind “AmbuBuses,” each a hospital-on-wheels capable of treating up to 24 victims during catastrophic situations like earthquakes.

The two 40-foot AmbuBuses painted in official fire department red will solve an urgent need of city firefighters by providing a large-scale mobile hospital with ambulance-care capability to be deployed during mass-casualty situations. They were introduced during Fleet Week ceremonies in early October.

“The response from the general public was overwhelmingly positive,” said Project Manager Jeff Myers, assistant deputy chief of emergency medical services for the San Francisco Fire Department. “Hands down, everyone who saw the AmbuBus commented on what an incredible job was done in just six weeks to turn these former Muni buses into multi-casualty transport vehicles.”

Filling a need

They are the first of their kind in the state. Each AmbuBus contains a specially designed set of interior steel frames manufactured by a Virginia firm that can be configured to carry up to 24 patients. Each bus also has room for six emergency medical crew members and their medical support equipment.

It was a need the fire department had been looking to fill for some time.

“This goes back quite a while,” said San Francisco Fire Department Public Information Officer Mindy Talmadge, “We were looking into getting into ambulance buses and having them fitted for multi-casualty incident transport.” That’s when the SFFD reached out to the SFMTA.

“About four months ago [the San Francisco Fire Department] had requested whether or not there were any Muni vehicles that had ‘come of age’ and were about to be donated or put up for auction,” said SFMTA Deputy Director of Maintenance Neal Popp. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much available surplus at the time. Still, the request wasn’t lost on Popp. “Let’s just say that they expressed a great urgency to convert a couple of buses.”

The search begins

Requests for retired Muni vehicles are not unusual; for years Muni vehicles at the end of their service life have been donated and repurposed both locally and abroad to continue to serve the public in various ways. Locally, retired Muni buses have been transformed into bookmobiles and even mobile shower stations for San Francisco’s homeless.

Encouraged by SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin and Director of Transit John Haley, Popp scoured the agency’s fleet in search of two vehicles that would fit the fire department’s needs. With the help of Superintendent of Training Paul Petersen and Manager of Training and Instruction Ken Anderson, Popp was able to acquire two of the SFMTA Training Department’s most reliable vehicles. “Training had begun to ramp down,” Popp said, “Taking two buses was not going to impact them.”

The SFMTA’s involvement didn’t stop there. After transferring ownership of the vehicles to the SFFD, Popp and his Woods Division maintenance team — led by Maintenance Superintendent Louis Guzzo and Assistant Body Shop Supervisor Rich Bernal — met with a number of fire department executives to discuss next steps to complete the conversion process by Fleet Week.

In just six weeks, working side-by-side with the SFFD, the Woods Division team had both AmbuBuses ready to roll. Each vehicle was inspected mechanically from bumper to bumper; Bernal’s body shop team handled all the exterior body work and did a complete gutting of the interior. Bike racks were removed and the SFMTA created additional custom fabrications to further stabilize the manufacturer-installed steel framing to prevent any lateral or forward movement. Each vehicle was then custom-painted by an SFMTA East Bay vendor; additional striping was done by the SFMTA and the SFFD.

San Francisco’s AmbuBuses have already been put to good use.

“Both AmbuBuses were called in to evacuate a convalescent home in Burlingame last [month] and to help relocate a number of elderly tenants after a fire broke out in their building and they lost all electricity,” Popp said.

Renovation of both Muni buses cost one-tenth of the price of two similarly configured, new vehicles.

“We were able to create these two multi-casualty injury transport vehicles for $70,000, which is amazing,” Assistant Deputy Chief Myers said. “It was definitely a collaborative effort on a project that enabled us to recycle city assets and also save the Fire Department money. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the working relationship we developed with the SFMTA, especially the Woods and Islais Creek teams, while working on this project.” The SFMTA’s Islais Creek facility currently houses the new AmbuBuses.

Popp agreed. “I’m really proud of the inter-agency cooperation and the incredible work done by the Woods team. We hope to continue to foster relationships like this with other city agencies.”All in a day’s work for SFMTA’s maintenance team.