Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, New York City implemented an equipment resiliency initiative to increase its fleet of emergency-related equipment, such as light towers, generators, and water pumps. As part of this initiative, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services also doubled the city’s fleet of fuel trucks, according to the city’s fleet newsletter.

This month, the emergency fuel plan got put to the test. Due to the extended cold spell, the winter storm, and the requirement for facilities to interrupt natural gas and use backup oil tanks, the city’s fuel vendor reported a major backlog in deliveries and asked for help.

City agencies including Sanitation, Fire, Transportation, Police, Administrave Services, and Emergency Management answered the call, completing more than 70 fuel deliveries on Sunday, Jan. 7 to keep the heat on at city schools and fuel running to emergency response vehicles. The agencies continued to work together to provide 24-hour per day fueling support throughout the week.