Bay Area fire agencies say cost of fire trucks, delivery times becoming a crisis

Across California, fire agencies are in a real bind as they say the cost of fire trucks has soared and wait times for deliveries are estimated to be in the years.

Damon Conklin with the League of California Cities said, like a lot of things, it all started during the pandemic lockdown.

"But then, coming out of COVID, things didn't get better," he said. "If anything, they got worse."

The prices for new fire trucks began skyrocketing and the wait times to get them delivered soared after the pandemic lockdown, and it happened shortly after a handful of private equity funds began buying up companies that manufacture the specialty vehicles.

"What they're finding is, at the same time that they're having to put deposits down on fire apparatus, they're given wait times of up to 4 ½  years," said Conklin.  "Meanwhile, these companies are sitting on billions of dollars of deposits, and with a moving target date of time of delivery."

"We literally cannot function without them. These three primary manufacturers have literally put emergency response in California in a chokehold," said the city of Napa's Fire Chief Zach Curren.  

He joined a group of fire officials at a hearing before the State Assembly's Emergency Management Committee on Monday to talk about what the effect has been since three companies captured about 80 percent of the manufacturing market.

"The city of Napa has already purchased, and paid, nearly $6.5 million for four engines and one ladder truck, representing a substantial portion of our frontline fleet," Curren said. "Yet we have been informed that we may not receive all of these vehicles until 2029 or 2030."

As prices have doubled and delays have, in some cases, quadrupled, there is now a growing belief that the long waits may be intentional to drive up prices.  

"I remember when a ladder truck cost a million dollars," said Santa Barbara Fire Chief Garrett Huff. "Now, the ladder truck that we have in the hopper is three years in the making. It was a demo, so it was already built, and it was in red. Our fire engines are white. So, all they needed to do was paint it. It's taken three years and we still don't have it.  And it has a $2 million price tag."

As a result, a number of jurisdictions, including the city of Emeryville, have joined in a federal anti-trust lawsuit to try to end the practice. The complaint says, "The breakup of Defendants' massive corporations ... and an injunction against their future anticompetitive conduct is essential to prevent the damage Defendants will otherwise continue to inflict on fire departments across the nation."  

The complaint alleges that even parts and repairs are being controlled by the companies. Chief Curren said Napa Fire had a condenser break on its ladder truck and contacted the manufacturer for information about repairing it.

"However, installation instructions could not be provided to our mechanics because they were deemed, and I quote, "proprietary information," said Curren.

One company, American Industrial Partners, responded to CBS News Bay Area's requests for comment saying, "AIP disagrees with the allegations in the complaint and intends to defend itself vigorously."  In the meantime, cities and fire officials say action must be taken quickly to protect both the public's pocketbook and public safety.

"You know," said Conklin, "as communities are being faced with emergencies, they can't wait four years while they're waiting for a fire engine."