This is cool news out of the San Luis Obispo Fire Department. In an effort to improve rescue response times, the SLO fire department has added a secret weapon. E-bikes!
“It is amazing how much faster our paramedics can reach patients on our city’s trails,” said Fire Engineer and Paramedic Ryan Mason, who led the department’s new e-bike program development. “What used to take 45 minutes to an hour to reach an injured hiker or mountain biker can now take us less than 10 minutes.”
The City’s fire department partnered with the San Luis Obispo City Firefighters Local IAFF 3523 Benevolent & Emergency Assistance (B.E.A.R.) Fund and the parents of the late Matthew Frank, also known as SLO Stringer, to make this possible.
The fire department’s deployment of e-bikes backs up my speed comparison study. If you want to get along a trail really fast, e-bikes will get you there first.