RICHARDSON – Fire engines, police cruisers, solid waste trucks and most recently, sand spreaders are some of the vehicles on Richardson roads, and there’s a lot of work that goes into keeping all of them running smoothly, every day.
“Generally, we are the department that’s sight unseen. We’re the department behind the scenes, that when you see the police department, when you see the fire department roll up at your address. We’re the department responsible for making sure that they can make it to wherever that incident is,” said Ernie Ramos, Fleet Materials Manager, City of Richardson.
Richardson’s Fleet Service is a centralized operation where vehicles are serviced and maintained. During February’s winter weather event, workers went on 12 hour shifts to meet the need as city crews dealt with ice, cold and dangerous road conditions, even the loss of power.
Fleet technicians installed tire chains on many city vehicles to help keep crews safe while driving in the snow. They also fueled generators that were helping keep the lights on at several city facilities. And when a vehicle broke down, fleet technicians had them back on the road within 30 minutes.
While solid waste services were suspended for the week due to the weather, fleet technicians were taking this opportunity to check every vehicle and prepare them to get back on the road.
Visit www.cor.net/winterweather for more on Richardson’s winter weather response.
