Why does a fire truck cost $2m

Summary

These firefighters just wanted to save lives. Private equity had other ideas This past Valentine’s Day, a firefighter behind the wheel of an enormous ladder truck felt his brakes give out. He was driving in the heart of Chicago, on a busy city street, about to lose control of a truck that was supposed to help him save people’s lives. He looked around, panicked. The 25-year-old truck — and the nightmare — picked up speed. He had three choices: drive into traffic, hit a local grammar school, or plow into the side of a church on the corner. He swerved, narrowly avoiding a pole, and picked the church. “It was pretty tragic,” says Pat Cleary, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2. “We were just happy no one got injured.” It wouldn’t be the last time something like this happened to one of the departments’ 96 rigs. Weeks later, another truck dropped a rear axle responding to a medical emergency. And in January, the department threw a mock 30th birthday for one of its trucks — it was older than many firefighters on the force. A birthday cake celebrating D545’s 30th birthday. (Chicago Fire Department/Facebook) For years, the Chicago fire department has struggled to repair and replace its aging fleet of trucks, the priciest of which now come at a cost of $2m+. And it’s not just in Chicago: Across the fire truck industry, increased consolidation has led to spikes in demand, production delays and sky-high prices, leaving departments nationwide scrambling to provide life-saving services to their citizens. “There’s a monopoly in the business. They’re taking over,” Cleary says. “Civilians are going to suffer.” How did we get here? Emergency vehicles didn’t start out as the custom builds driving down our streets today. Back in the 1950s, they were largely just trucks outfitted with special add-ons — ladders, pumps — to differentiate them from the vehicle that might deliver your furniture. Family-owned businesses sprung up across the country to serve a region’s specif...