Local fire departments blame private equity for rising equipment costs

Key points

• Fire departments say private equity consolidation has driven up apparatus prices and build times.
• Fullerton, LA County and California have filed federal antitrust lawsuits against manufacturers.
• Older frontline engines, some over 20 years old, raise safety concerns for crews.

Fire departments across the country are blaming private equity ownership for rising costs and long waits for fire apparatus, according to CBS California Investigates. The reporting follows the Pointe Fire, which burned through the hills of Santa Clarita on July 15th and came dangerously close to homes, a school bus yard and Congregation Beth Shalom, where flames reached the preschool playground.

Rabbi Jay Siegel recalled the scene as frightening and uncertain, saying it was "pretty touch and go." The synagogue sits a few miles from Fire Station 150, which houses an engine with more than 233,000 miles on its odometer.

Aging engines stay on frontline

Los Angeles County Fire Captain Aaron Katon said industry standards call for a fire engine to serve 15 years on the frontline and 10 in reserve. Engine 150 is 20 years old and still on the frontline, and Katon said much of the fleet dates back to 2006 and 2007. The engine it replaced earlier this year had been in service since 1998.

It might be a metaphor, but this is a fine line between safety and destruction.

— Rabbi Jay Siegel

Rising prices and lawsuits

Fullerton Fire Chief Adam Loeser said a 2022 fire truck bought for $1.5 million would cost about $2.3 to 2.5 million today, a jump of more than 50%. Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustine said departments are "getting priced out of the market" and were recently quoted a 45-month build time.

Fullerton, the County of Los Angeles and the State of California have filed federal antitrust lawsuits against several fire apparatus manufacturers, including brands owned by the REV Group, over what the plaintiffs call a consolidation scheme. The lawsuits say private equity played a pivotal role in the destruction of competition. REV Group declined an interview request, and in August a joint motion was filed on behalf of REV Group, Oshkosh, its subsidiary Pierce and Rosenbauer to dismiss the antitrust class action. A spokesperson for Pierce and Oshkosh said the move underscores the lack of factual support for the claims.

Safety and supply problems

In May, a security camera captured LA City Fire Engine 274 in a rollover crash. The department said the 19-year-old apparatus lacked airbags and rollover protection, and two firefighters were injured. At the La Verne Fire Department, an engine delivered in 2024, three years after it was ordered, suffered a catastrophic diesel motor failure within weeks and took more than six months to rebuild, according to Chris Nigg, who was fire chief at the time.

During a Senate hearing last fall, REV Group president Mike Virnig told lawmakers the company has hired hundreds of skilled laborers and invested millions in its factories to cut build times to about a year. Dan Meyer, a vice president of Pierce Manufacturing, said a lawsuit against the company is without merit. In July, a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a resolution directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate consolidation by private equity firms and large companies in the industry.