Maintaining a state of readiness is an each-and-every day discipline
FOSTER FUELS
Emergency Response as a Business
Maintaining a state of readiness is an each-and-every day discipline
Foster Fuels started in the emergency response business about 15 years ago . Today , the contracted fuel provider for the Federal Emergency Management Agency keeps some 150 tank wagons and transport trucks on continuous standby — “ a dedicated emergency fleet that doesn ’ t do routine business ,” says Will Rohrig , senior vice president , who oversees the Mission Critical Services division of Foster Fuels . The trucks are specially designated to be “ available to us when we need to respond to an emergency somewhere in the country .”
Rohrig acknowledges , “ That ’ s sort of an unusual model . Most companies aren ’ t willing to park 150 fuel trucks — not put them to work every day .” So why does Foster Fuels , based in Brookneal , Va ., do it ?
“ It gives us a way to respond reliably when we have our own equipment , our own people ,” Rohrig says . “ You control your own destiny that way . You ’ re not relying on somebody else .” The emergency response fleet grew to its current size over the years , as that business has grown , Rohrig notes .
About 60 % of the emergency response fleet consists of tank wagons , and about 40 % consists of transport trucks . Some of the tank wagons , it can be said , are not your father ’ s tank wagons . “ We have trucks that are specially built ,” by Amthor International , Gretna , Va ., Rohrig says . The 10-wheel , tandem-axle straight trucks with 4,000-gallon tanks feature a full-size sleeper . “ It doesn ’ t make a lot of sense for day-to-day delivery , but it ’ s a tremendous resource during a storm ,” Rohrig says . They give our drivers a place to recover . You can ’ t always count on a hotel in a hurricaneimpacted area .” Some of the trucks are equipped with dual pumps to allow dispensing of two different products or to allow fleet fueling of two vehicles at a time in the field . By Stephen The business unit was established in 2004 , and the next
Bennett year had a trial by hurricane , when Katrina struck New Orleans and other places in 2005 . In 2010 the company participated in the relief effort after an earthquake in Haiti at the behest of the Department of Defense , Rohrig says .
The names of the hurricanes since are well known , especially three in 2017 that Foster Fuels responded to : Harvey , which made landfall in Texas ; Irma , which made landfall in Florida ; and Maria , which devastated Puerto Rico . Those events and others that preceded and followed triggered recognition , “ for us and in the marketplace that there was a need for specialized service delivering fuel after a natural disaster or power outage ,” Rohrig says .
Private industry recognizes a need for emergency fuel services , Rohrig says . “ We ’ ve had great success building that piece of our business as well ,” Rohrig says . “ Hospitals cannot be out of power . They need a reliable and continuous fuel source .” He adds , “ We
22 JUNE 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com
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