This is part of a first responder program, occasionally saving lives. Plenty of cities across the US do this sort of thing. If you have an emergency - especial

This is part of a first responder program, occasionally saving lives. Plenty of cities across the US do this sort of thing. If you have an emergency - especially a medical one - whoever is closest is the right person to respond, be it fire department, ambulance, or police. 3 to 10 minutes in an emergency can make a huge difference. Like it or not, a drunk homeless person is generally a health and/or safety issue. Coming in trucks that they would usually drive also means that if there happens to be a fire call while they are out helping someone with possible first aid, they can leave from the scene, keeping more people safe. For auto accidents, sometimes the fire truck is one of the better things to have at the scene for visibility purposes. I would also like to add that many - but not all - fire departments also drive ambulances. Does it cost money? Sure. But if it helps folks, I'm for it. There are other options, but I'm not convinced they will cost less money (more ambulances of different sorts, more manpower for first responders positioned in places across cities, and so on... all have their costs). I'd fully recommend actually looking into the reasons for some of this, and what other options are for similar outcomes.