The cost of fire trucks is climbing, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters, and local departments in Connecticut say they’re feeling the spike.
“There are fire chiefs in this room right not that have been forced to put folks in pickup trucks just to go to call, because we don’t have enough fire trucks,” said East Hartford Fire Chief Kevin Munson in a room full of colleagues.
In late December, Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation into three companies that make fire trucks for antitrust violations, price spikes, and production delays.
“It is no longer the kind of competitive market that existed before,” said Blumenthal. “What we need is the Federal Trade Commission to intervene here and make sure there is competition in the market.”
Those companies are Oshkosh Corporation, Rosenbauer, and the REV Group, which the International Association of Fire Fighters says controls two-thirds of the market.
In a statement to NBC Connecticut, Oshkosh Corporation said, “The allegations in this lawsuit are without merit, and we are defending ourselves in court. Oshkosh remains focused on delivering safe, high-quality fire trucks while continuing to reinvest in our U.S. operations to meet record demand.”
Rosenbauer and the REV Group have not responded to the request for comments at the time of publication.
The rising cost of trucks is forcing departments to change how they operate. In Bridgeport, crews are no longer deploying ladder trucks on medical calls, which make up the majority of their call volume, according to Fire Chief Lance Edwards.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher every budget cycle,” he said. Edwards’ department recently purchased a truck for $2.7 million, but it won’t be delivered for at least three and a half years. “The fire chiefs, all of us are going to be forced to really extend the life of the apparatus by really reducing the call volume.”
In South Windsor, the volunteer fire department just purchased a truck and the necessary equipment, totaling over $3 million.
“We had to change our town ordinance to be able to buy a fire truck that was more than $1.5 million, which was unheard of in recent years,” said Fire Chief Kevin Cooney.
The International Association of Fire Fighters says the cost of a fire truck has doubled over the last decade, costing departments millions of dollars.
