06-05-2025
Pittsburgh City Council promises action to help revamp city's aging emergency vehicle fleet
The chiefs in charge of Pittsburgh's public safety bureaus say they are worried that many of the city's emergency vehicles might not make it.
On Tuesday, they testified about the dire condition of Pittsburgh's aging fleet, and Pittsburgh City Council is promising action.
The chiefs say the city's fire trucks and EMS ambulances are on their last legs and there's a waiting list at the city repair garage. Appearing before the council, they sounded the alarm.
City fleet in dire condition
In emergency situations, the public depends on their swift arrival.
But the public safety chiefs say they no longer have reliable vehicles to get them there.
"We have front-line pumpers that are 14, 15 years old," Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Assistant Chief Brian Kokkila said. "And aerials that are 17, 18 years old."
"We're at times spending bad money to repair vehicles that should have been replaced in years prior," he added.
"We have vehicles, if you're going by mileage, they'd be over 300,000 miles on them," Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services Assistant Chief Jeff Tremel said. "So, they are on their last legs."
The state of the fleet has been well known for years, and councilmembers concede they share in the blame for underfunding its replacement.
"It is a reflection on this council and the administration, I would tell you, because we are the ones who fund it," Councilman Anthony Coghill said. "We are the ones who approve or reject the funding. We've obviously been negligent."
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt also shouldered the blame.
"It's been disinvested for decades," Schmidt said. "I think the city has to take a look at that, how we invest in our fleet on a regular basis."
But while Schmidt said $10 million to $15 million a year is needed to replace the public safety vehicle alone, the administration has budgeted only $6 million this year for the entire city fleet, and less than $3 million is planned for each of the next five years.
"We need to all stop playing politics because public safety is the most important thing we do here," Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith said.
Kail-Smith says funding must be found immediately and questioned why the administration has been spending millions on anti-violence grants and tens of millions subsidizing affordable housing.
"If we can't keep people safe in the city, they're not buying our housing," she said. "They're not moving to Pittsburgh."
Council member said the budget needs to be reopened and money shifted from other areas, saying the acquisition of new vehicles has to be the highest priority.
