Menlo Park Fire Protection District Donates Surplus Fire Engine to Maui; San Mateo Harbor District Helped Facilitate Shipping Connections

PREPARED BY: Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen

Chief Lorenzen contacted Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura on August 21, 2023, to determine if there was a need by their department. Deputy Chief Gavin Fujioka responded that an actual need for a replacement engine existed.

DISCUSSION

The Menlo Park Fire District has a history of donating surplus equipment that still has value to entities with a need. Two examples are donations of medical supplies to Brothers without Borders and defibrillators to two different community college programs.

In this instance, the District Board authorized the purchase of six new engines and declared six older ones as surplus, which are in the process of being sold at auction. This provides the Board with the opportunity to identify a surplus fire engine and donate that engine to the Maui Fire Department. The recommendation is to consider donating a 2009 Pierce Velocity fire engine, previously designated as Engine 77.

Providing the fire engine to the Maui Fire Department furthers the District’s mission and purpose by using a piece of equipment that is no longer needed in the service of a fellow public agency currently operating in a declared national disaster area. Such action is consistent with the District’s role in sponsoring California Task Force 3 – Urban Search and Rescue and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Providing the engine to the Maui Fire Department is also in keeping with the District’s long tradition of service during national disaster events, having previously aided in the recovery efforts after Hurricanes Dorian (2019, Charlotte, North Carolina), Lane (2018, Honolulu, Hawaii), Irma (2017, Eglin AFB, Florida), and Harvey (2017, San Antonio, Texas), as well as the Camp Fire (2018, Oroville, California).

In considering the recommendation for this engine, after conferring with District mechanics as well as MFD mechanics, it was determined that E77 is in good mechanical condition, with reasonable mileage, and has a number of years of useful life remaining as well as meeting the needs of the Maui Fire Department. The District’s Fleet Supervisor estimated the value, based on previous auction sales, at between $45,000 -$72,000. The midpoint of that range is $58,500, which is our current fair estimate of what we would realize on the sale. There are no selling expenses associated with the auction. GovDeals, the auction site the District uses, does not charge a commission to the seller but does charge a buyer’s premium.

We are currently working with two different parties to navigate the shipping of the engine to Maui. Initially, we received a quote from Matson, a shipper of significance to the Hawaiian Islands, of $20,130 for shipping costs from the Port of Long Beach to Maui. Director Kiraly, through her relationship with the San Mateo County Harbor District, was able to place us into direct contact with a high-level Matson executive who suggested they might be able to make an in-kind donation or, at a minimum, offer a discount on shipping. Matson also suggested contacting the Port of Hueneme, where they have ships that go directly to the island of Maui rather than through Honolulu. We have been in contact with the CEO of the Port of Hueneme and are discussing options that include an in-kind donation for the shipping costs.

Should the District incur shipping costs, we will attempt to recoup some or all of those costs through a fundraising effort through our partnership with Philanthropic Ventures Foundation.