‘False narrative': Fleet administrator denies Columbus fire vehicle concerns

Yahoo

03-04-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Columbus fire union said the Columbus Division of Fire is facing a 'critical' vehicle shortage, but the city Fleet Administrator said there's no such issue.
NBC4 Investigates sat down with Fleet Administrator Kelly Reagan to discuss Columbus Division of Fire (CFD) vehicle concerns. Reagan said there is a lack of funds, but called the shortage a 'false narrative,' saying CFD has enough trucks for its needs. However, fire union statements and internal CFD emails show the division is having to make tough choices because there are not enough vehicles, including possibly undertraining the current recruit class.
'Yes, it's aging. Is it aging beyond use? No,' Reagan said. 'Is there enough equipment that they can do training? Yes. So I think it's important to understand that the narrative just needs to be corrected a bit.'
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Emails dated last week show members of CFD leadership debated delaying the 122 Class's April 11 graduation or placing recruits on the streets without standard vehicle training. Union President Steve Stein called both choices unacceptable, and last Thursday's training had to be canceled due to a lack of usable vehicles. NBC4 Investigates asked about these documented concerns, but Reagan maintained there is no shortage.
Reagan took on the role managing the city's fleet of vehicles 18 years ago, and he said there was no fire vehicle replacement standard when he took the helm. He said he worked with CFD to establish a conservative replacement standard. Using these replacement standards, a 2024 CFD Fleet Analysis found 66% of the current fleet is past its life expectancy.
NBC4 Investigates showed Reagan the 2024 Fleet Analysis to ask about these replacement concerns. He said it may have used data from the Fleet division, but said he had never seen the document before.
Both Stein and Reagan said vehicular concerns are more pressing because of increased costs and wait times after COVID-19. Manufacturing that used to take 12 months now requires up to four or five years of waiting, so replacements must be ordered years in advance. With these delays, the fleet analysis found 65 of a total 198 CFD vehicles need replaced immediately, and 13 more should be replaced soon.
City fleet maintenance records obtained by NBC4 Investigates show vehicles were out of service a total of 409 days in March 2016. This average has increased, and 2025 records show a monthly average of 584 days vehicles are out of service. Reagan said he thought those numbers didn't mean as much, saying repair turnaround times are a better gage of fleet maintenance.
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Reagan said last month, his department opened 151 work orders for CFD equipment, 125 of which they closed within 24 hours. However, city maintenance records obtained by NBC4 only list 12 of 45 total work orders as taking less than one week to complete. The data may not include work orders closed within a few hours, but it does include orders that only took one day to complete.
'Not having enough equipment is absolutely a false narrative,' Reagan said. 'I would put our apparatus and our age of our apparatus up against any other city in the state of Ohio, much less than the Midwest. Our fleet is in excellent condition.'
Columbus is growing more quickly than any other Ohio city, and is the second-fastest growing Midwest city. Stein said this rapid growth is contributing to increased wear and tear on vehicles.
Stein said this situation is not about placing blame, but the union is asking the city to come to the table to figure out a solution. Both the union and Reagan agreed that the fleet needs more funding. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther gave NBC4 the following statement about fleet concerns:
'I share the Division of Fire's commitment to protecting Columbus residents through timely, high-quality emergency services. As such, I find it important to reiterate that there are presently zero gaps in in Columbus Fire's response capability. Today, every Columbus Fire Station has a vehicle to meet its service needs.
Columbus taxpayers have spent nearly $46 million on fire and EMS vehicles since 2020. As we have invested considerably, we – and cities across the country – have been challenged by equipment inflation of up to 50% and significant supply chain delays. This means that even our generous resources don't go as far, or deliver results as quickly, as they used to.
While our fleet is in good working order, our first responders deserve the best. I will use our 2025 Capital Budget and work alongside the Departments of Finance and Public Safety to continue to ensure that every fire station has the quality and quantity of equipment they need to serve every neighborhood.'
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