The City of Astoria considers ways to conserve fuel because of today’s escalating costs. City manager Paul Benoit says smaller vehicles rather than fire trucks may be used to respond to medical calls, leaving the driver/engineer back at the station. Fire trucks only get about six miles per gallon “on a good day” according to Benoit. Chief Lenard Hansen says medical calls are in “the high seventies” of the total calls that are received.
Rental cars may be used for long distance travel on city business. And the system used to dispatch public works vehicles may also be revamped to reduce costs.
