Coming from a former big city department that essentially laundered funds through their apparatus repair shop, I feel the pain of not having enough serviceable trucks.
It’s a bit like beetlejuice when someone says laundered money through the repair shop and a guy whose name is CbusFF shows up. That department was the first one I thought of when I read his comment.
Happened to me last shift😂😂😂😂 I was born in 03 and we had an 02 pierce of sh*t as our engine for the day. We cracked jokes about how I was a sperm flying through my dads rod while that truck was being put in service😂
My big city’s fleet/mechanics are a racket. We lease the rigs from them and then pay them to work on the leased rigs. And we always have 10+ in the shop.
Yeah pretty much the same for my former dept. Truck purchases came from the fire budget, then given to fleet management, who then leased it back to the dept, who then had to pay for repairs that rarely were done correctly or timely.
Basically all the major manufacturers are owned by one PE firm. You’re departments isnt purchasing a Spartan, Ferrara, KME, or E-One - they’re purchasing a truck made by REV.
That truck then somehow magically belongs to whatever version of fleet management you have.
Depends on manf and if you’re on their express list or not. Former dept is around 18mo for medics, 20mo for pumpers, and 30mo for ladders. Problem is nearly 75% of their apps are beyond service dates. They don’t order event half of what they need to maintain let alone get ahead.
Oh the city knows. They have multiple studies and reports. They don’t care. It won’t change until there is a LODD due to it or it makes the news somehow. Multiple stations are running 20+ year old pumpers as front line.
The dept is limited to the budget the city allots to them for apparatus. That budget also has to cover dealing with wrecked trucks which has been increasing due to distracted civilian drivers.
90
u/LunarMoon2001 Feb 21 '25
Coming from a former big city department that essentially laundered funds through their apparatus repair shop, I feel the pain of not having enough serviceable trucks.