Posted on 04/06/2026 12:33:17 PM PDT by DFG
This is one of those local stories that doesn’t get a ton of traction in the national headlines, but highlights quite possibly one of the most alarming trends in modern America: the failure to get the basics right.
And by basics, in this case, I mean the ability for a town or city to put out fires.
Fire departments around the Denver, Colorado, metro area have been struggling to afford new fire engines, which have ballooned in costs over the years, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic/economic catastrophe of 2020 and Wall Street’s private equity companies. They also have to navigate absurd wait times for trucks to be manufactured and outfitted — wait times that can last as long as five years. So, for smaller fire departments without a ton of financial resources and manpower, this puts them in a perilous situation.
What if there’s a massive wildfire, commonplace in a state like Colorado, and the local fire department doesn’t have all the necessary trucks and engines to combat the blaze because they either couldn’t afford the equipment, or the equipment is languishing in factory mode? It’s a daunting proposition, but a real one that some departments face in 2026.
The Arvada Fire Protection District had to buy a demonstration truck model second-hand from a trade show because they couldn’t wait any longer for the real replacement.
Kirk Lock, the Arvada fire chief, told a local Colorado outlet, “If I order a fire truck today, you’re talking about on the short side, a two-year wait. On the long side, a five-year wait.” But it’s not only the wait times; the costs are staggering, and what would have cost $400,000 in 2011 is now almost $1.5 million.
Lock went on: “The cost of the fire trucks is rapidly outpacing our revenues. We have to make cuts in other areas to try to purchase our fire trucks.”
“Us, being just a two-station department, can be impacted very quickly with a loss of a single apparatus,” Golden Fire Department battalion chief Marc Staley said. “If we were to have a catastrophic accident that we lost one of our major apparatus, then we’d be working with some of our partners … to find an apparatus to fill in the short term.”
A big reason why this is happening is that the fire apparatus market has been consolidated to just a handful of big manufacturers, leading to supply bottlenecks and a nationwide shortage. Every fire department in the country is competing with the others to buy from the same companies, and so the manufacturers can simply jack up prices.
“There’s only three manufacturers really in the fire truck business now,” Lock said. “They make 70 to 80 percent of the fire trucks, so we’re all buying them from the same manufacturer.”
This seems like a … problem. No, a disaster in the making. Fire departments and firemen are not only brave; they are necessary. They are collectively a crucial pillar of our country. Without a properly working and well-funded fire department, you have a recipe for chaos and dysfunction.
America’s political parties sometimes offer the most grandiose plans and visions of the future (I’m thinking of the Green New Deal), yet are woefully blind to the basics. How about a political slogan like “Fund The Fight Against Fire,” or something to take effect. Let’s just get back to the basics, please.
That this is even a problem in 2026 is yet more disenchanting proof that America is stuck in managed decline. But there is always a solution, and Americans are an innovative bunch, and I have no doubt this can be remedied if more attention is brought to it.
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Stylish!
Most of the stuff I have bought for our remodel has had to be sent back. Poor quality or just plain manufactured wrong.
Simple basic things can’t even be done anymore or just take far too long and are made far too complicated.
For one thing, people are so concerned about the liability of doing something wrong they can’t or won’t do anything right.
America better shape up and soon.
Don’t fill the hydrants with water. No need for ICE trucks. Win-win for the planet.
Will that monopoly cause prices to increase and quality go down? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.
We need an exemption for fire trucks from EPA requirements. The same trucks are exported w/o the EPA required DPF, DEF & computers overseas.
That would cut the cost.
https://www.ewillys.com/category/fire-police-vehicles/
This 1959 Willys Jeep fire truck served the National Park Service and other federal agencies in the Southwestern US as recently as the 1990s before spending the following years on display in private collections. Power comes from a 226ci Super Hurricane inline-six linked to a three-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case, and equipment includes a PTO-driven water pump, a hose reel, a ladder, a siren, and spotlights. The truck is finished in red over gray upholstery and also features 15” steel wheels
Appleton Wisconsin has Pierce and Oshkosh factories there. The majority of their work is retrofitting and doing overhaul-recertification of the critical systems. A municipality drives it to them for the services. The crews don’t like new trucks. They like their old trucks refurbished.
Like most towns, the education industrial complex get most of the tax dollars.
This is out and out collusion. This has been going on a few years now and Congress has yet to do anything about it.
This is deliberate manipulation and the equity companies should be forced to devest.
Private equity and fire trucks.. interesting. They also mature it almost impossible to repair or sell older ones
This situation screams for a leasing system to manage and help standardize the working inventory. Small departments can’t have all the trained mechanics they’d need on staff either.
This is another insurance racket to force retirement of vehicles/apparatus and other equipment that are still capable of performing. The departments use this to increase their funding. And once this equipment has aged out it cannot be surplussed to smaller agencies in the US. They are typically sold overseas fir pennies on the dollar
Ain’t Communism wonderful.
It’s a phookin pumper truck.
Stop with all the be-everything-to-everyone fancy shiite.
Reliable Diesel engine.
Multi seat cab.
Huge phookin water pump, with controls and outlets.
That’s it.
A Ladder Truck is different.
Pretty much any construction site has 'em for dust suppression. I rather doubt a private construction company pays 7 figures for these...
Sorry, this is the one I meant to post.
Private equity took over the fire truck business, consolidated, and basically refuses to sell repair parts
No Worries!
Judge Boasberg will place a 10 year moratorium on any and all fires.
See? Problem solved!
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