Feds reject St. Paul $1.8 million grant request for electric fire truck, but it’s unclear why

St. Paul has been left to pay for a $1.8 million electric fire engine after federal lawmakers rejected a request for funding.

City spokesperson Jennifer Lor confirmed the funding shortfall, adding that officials learned their request was denied months into 2024. They hoped federal funding would help introduce the state’s first electric fire truck to departments across Minnesota.

It’s unclear why St. Paul’s request was rejected, but Lor said they heard the news sometime after federal officials asked how the truck would help low-income communities.

“We didn’t get it in writing that our explanation wasn’t enough or qualifying. ... We don’t know why it wasn’t funded. We just know that it wasn’t funded despite us giving reasons,” Lor said. “There were a number of different proposals and applications which were sent, many of which didn’t get funded.”

According to the Minnesota Reformer, which first reported the story, the city began purchasing the truck before an appropriations bill was finalized, which is against federal rules.

Lor said the city paid for the truck through its public safety vehicle replacement budget, “which does not affect funding elsewhere nor impact the city’s services.”

Further reporting by the Reformer suggests that a charging station for the truck could cost up to $48,000, but officials from Rosenbauer America — the company that built the truck — were unavailable to verify that.

State and local leaders like Gov. Tim Walz and St. Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks have supported the electric fire truck as an overdue update on emergency workers’ tools. The truck, a Rosenbauer RTX, seats seven people with a battery-powered engine that can reach nearly 500 horsepower. It features adjustable suspension for driving off-road and across high waters, and emits fewer fumes that are tied to increased cancer risk among firefighters.

“Firefighter health and wellness is a huge initiative of ours,” Inks said in a previous statement. “There may be some skeptics about electric vehicles, but who’s skeptical about improving the health and wellness of anybody?”

While showcasing the RTX last year, Rosenbauer America CEO Mark Fusco said the rig costs almost twice as much as traditional diesel trucks. In exchange, Fusco said fire stations would save thousands a month on maintenance and fuel costs.

St. Paul’s application for federal funds notes that conventional diesel engines travel 1 to 3 miles per gallon. So far, Rosenbauer has built at least five RTX trucks, including two in California and three in Canada.

“This electric fire truck will be the first in the state, undoubtedly paving the way for other departments to follow,” St. Paul’s application read. “Rising fuel prices, increasing maintenance costs, and an annual 5% growth in call volumes, all make this the right time to start a transition to electric fire apparatus.”

The truck will be stationed at a new fire station in Dayton’s Bluff on the city’s East Side, which is expected to open this year. City leaders allocated about $10.5 million for that building, replacing a 92-year-old fire station with new furnishing and equipment that could improve emergency response times across the city. U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith requested and secured the $1.67 million in funding, along with U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum.

Firefighters and residents reeled this January when a St. Paul house fire hospitalized a woman and her six children. Four children died of their injuries, making it one of the deadliest blazes in the capital city’s history.

Staff writers Rochelle Olson and contributing reporter Maya Marchel Hoff contributed to this story.