Redesigned for Disaster : Mail Truck Transformed Into Lean, Mean Emergency Machine

The old mail truck had a few dents, chipped paint and a leaking gasket, but school district police Sgt. Danny Battles saw potential.

He persuaded his boss to buy the truck from the post office for $4,000. Then he watched as students, mechanics, cabinetmakers and technicians turned it into a mobile nerve center for the Compton Unified School District.

The result is a new set of appointed rounds for a truck that once faithfully toiled through traffic and smog to deliver mail.

The shiny, dark-blue truck, which looks like a restored paddy wagon, will help the district respond to earthquakes, fires, floods and riots. It has a police and fire scanner and ham-radio connections with county and state emergency services. It also features direct radio links with fire and police agencies, as well as the district administration and police.

During a crisis, the truck will be a mobile command post. Operators inside can establish contact with fire and police agencies as well as various district departments. If a school needs to be evacuated, an operator can radio for district buses on a special frequency. If students are trapped by a collapsed roof, the operator can radio for paramedics as well as call district maintenance crews or members of the district’s 12-person search-and-rescue team.

The cabin contains blueprints of every district building and charts that show locations of potentially hazardous materials.

The truck also has its own power generator and does not need outside phone lines. Officers can create damage reports on the spot, using an on-board computer, and send them to police or district officials.

During quieter times, the truck’s communication devices and directional indicators will help officers control traffic at football games. The vehicle will also roll from school to school as a hands-on exhibit to help officials preach earthquake preparedness.

Battles couldn’t be prouder than if he had molded the truck from clay and personally breathed life into it. And that’s just about what he and some dedicated employees and students had to do.

The truck’s first stop was the auto-body and fender-repair class at Centennial High. Students sanded down, beat out and smoothed over dents. Then they painted the truck a glossy navy blue.

Maintenance workers and carpenters tore out the inside and built shelves, cabinets and a padded bench. Mechanics fixed the leaky gasket and checked for other engine problems.

Meanwhile, Battles went on a far-flung scavenger hunt for a computer, power generators, scanners and communications equipment.

What he couldn’t find, he asked mechanic Chris Franklin to build.

“Last time I saw red lights flashing, they were behind me,” Franklin joked. “Now I put them on.”

Battles believes that the district has built a $50,000-plus vehicle for less than $20,000.

The project impressed the directors of the district’s insurance fund. As a result, they recently authorized Compton Unified to redirect more than $20,000 in premium payments toward refurbishing the truck. The amount covers the entire cost of the work to date.

Even without the financial help, the district would have gone forward with the project, said Eugene Cornelius Jr., the district’s insurance and safety manager.

Cornelius hopes students who visit the truck will be both inspired to learn about earthquake preparedness and reassured that the district is ready to protect them should disaster strike.

The truck is also attracting the attention of other school districts and insurance experts.

The school district “showed us the van and it seems pretty exciting,” said Kemba Olabisi, executive director of a consortium that insures 50 area school districts. “It certainly would have come through during the unrest we had recently.”