PHOENIX — The Phoenix Fire Department has started using e-bikes to reach injured hikers faster on valley mountain trails, deploying its first teams in September with a goal of cutting rescue response times in more rural reaches of the city.
The bikes can carry medical supplies and rescue equipment so firefighters can begin care and manage the scene while waiting for additional crews, KJZZ reported Sunday. Spokesperson DJ Lee said Phoenix’s mountain ranges often put people on trails that are “not super technical or steep, but they’re a long ways away.”
The department currently fields two e-bike teams — one in north Phoenix and one in the southern part of the city — and may expand to more stations if needed, Lee said. The tools are not meant for every call. “If you take for instance Camelback Mountain, an e-bike would not be a good tool for that mountain to do rescues, just because you couldn’t ride the bike up the trail,” Lee said. “So it kind of depends on the terrain that our rescues take place on.”
Initial tests show the e-bikes can go up to about 15 miles before needing a charge, Lee said, though summer heat performance is still being evaluated.