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San Francisco Chronicle
16 hours ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Crisis': S.F. fire chief says city's aging fleet could limit capacity to fight major blazes
San Francisco's aging and limited fleet of fire trucks and engines could restrict firefighters' ability to quell the blazes that could rip through the city after a major earthquake, the city's fire chief said. A four-alarm fire that tore through a Nob Hill apartment building in April and injured three people got fire chief Dean Crispen's attention, he said. More than 100 firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze in about two hours, but the event stoked Crispen's lingering fears about worst-case scenarios. 'I would have been concerned that that fire would have continued to burn for several days if it had been subsequent to an earthquake,' Crispen told the Chronicle. If it had, he said, the blaze could easily have spread through Nob Hill to Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and beyond. That's because more than a third of the San Francisco Fire Department's fleet of fire trucks and fire engines is 20 years old or older, including six front-line trucks and engines that are more than 25 years old, Crispen said. That puts SFFD far out of compliance with the voluntary standards set by the National Fire Protection Association, an industry nonprofit. Those guidelines say that 15-year-old equipment should be moved from front-line service to backup reserves, and 25-year-old equipment should be retired altogether, because outdated equipment lacks the safety upgrades of newer models, said Ken Holland, a senior specialist with the nonprofit. For SFFD to put 25-year-old trucks and engines on the front lines is 'a significant risk,' Holland said. SFFD needs to buy at least 10 fire engines and between seven and 10 fire trucks to meet NFPA standards, Crispen said. In an ideal world, SFFD's 'incredibly busy' fleet would be held to an even more stringent standard, because the city's steep hills and sharp corners mean engines and trucks 'take a fair amount of a beating here,' he said. If and when the Big One strikes, SFFD has a process for recalling as many as 1,000 firefighters into the city. Fires are common in the wake of a major earthquake. Though the 7.9 magnitude quake that roiled San Francisco in 1906 buckled buildings, 80% of property damage came from the fires that followed, sparked by downed power lines and natural gas leaks from broken mains, according to a 1972 federal report. But without enough fire trucks and engines, the reinforcements who respond to those fires could be limited in the help they can give, Crispen said. 'The problem is when they arrive, we currently don't have the apparatus for them to staff to assist in an emergency,' he said. Buying new equipment is challenging because costs have 'skyrocketed' to as high as $2.5 million for a truck and $5 million for an engine, and because supply chain delays that began during COVID have caused production timelines to stretch as long as three years, Crispen said. SFFD ordered three Rosenbauer fire trucks more than a year ago and doesn't expect them to be delivered until next summer, Crispen said. In the meantime, SFFD's aging fleet can run the department more than $500,000 a month in maintenance costs to resolve a 'litany of mechanical problems,' Crispen said. Making repairs requires taking vehicles out of service, and it's hard to find parts that fit old truck and engine models. 'We're in a bit of a crisis at this point,' he said. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed two pieces of legislation in May intended to expedite the purchasing process by removing bureaucratic hurdles. The ordinances are expected to reach Mayor Daniel Lurie's desk in the coming weeks. One ordinance would allow Lurie, Crispen and a handful of executive staff to court private funding for a period of six months, waiving the usual requirement under the city's behested payment ordinance that prohibits city officials from seeking donations from 'interested parties,' or people who might be eligible for city contracts in the near future. The second ordinance would allow the fire department to negotiate directly with fire apparatus manufacturers, going around the required competitive bidding process. Supervisor Connie Chan, who sponsored both ordinances, said that the twin pieces of legislation were designed to 'fast track' purchasing. 'While our firefighters here in San Francisco are consistently doing their best, the equipment is not keeping up with the demands,' the District 1 supervisor told the Chronicle. Three companies — Rev Group, Oshkosh and Rosenbauer — control as much as 80% of the fire apparatus manufacturing market, according to reporting by the New York Times. 'What is there to bid when it's really monopolized by three companies?' Chan said. Chan said that the board of supervisors has discussed allocating money from the city's budget for the purchases, but that finding the money has been 'difficult.' If Lurie signs the legislation, Chan said, she is hopeful that city officials can raise about $20 million in six months, enough for up to a dozen fire trucks. She expects that the expedited purchasing process could cut the time between ordering and receiving a fire truck down to one year. Chan said she did not know who might donate to the cause, but that she was confident the mayor could leverage his connections. Crispen said the legislation gives him 'some hope' that SFFD can buy the equipment it needs. The department is making a plan for soliciting donations, he said, and 'large corporations would be an obvious starting place.'
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
As fire truck prices hit $2 million, US firefighters demand an antitrust probe
May 13 (Reuters) - The largest firefighters' labor union in the U.S. is demanding antitrust authorities investigate the companies that make fire trucks, saying industry consolidation has led to skyrocketing costs and years-long wait times, endangering fire fighters and the public. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission should probe the fire and emergency vehicle industry, where three companies — REV Group (REVG.N), opens new tab, Oshkosh (OSK.N), opens new tab, and Rosenbauer ( opens new tab — together make up around two-thirds of the market, the International Association of Fire Fighters said in a letter, opens new tab. Truck prices have doubled in the past decade, with ladder trucks now costing as much as $2 million each, while fire departments are facing backlogs as long as four years, said IAFF, which represents fire and emergency workers in the U.S. and Canada, and American Economic Liberties Project, an antimonopoly group. "It's really a critical hazard in public safety," IAFF President Edward Kelly told Reuters. Oshkosh spokesperson Lisa Barwick said the company is investing in manufacturing capacity, technology, and process improvements to meet demand. "Global supply challenges, unprecedented demand, and significant inflation since the pandemic started in 2020 have resulted in extended delivery times and increased prices," she said. A REV Group spokesperson also cited demand, labor shortages and cost increases as driving price increases and delays. "In response, we have increased production of our fire and emergency vehicles by nearly 30% in the last two years, introduced new lines of semi-custom trucks with faster ship times, and continued to invest in training programs for skilled talent," the spokesperson said. Rosenbauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. IAFF and AELP said high prices and long waits are endangering public safety in communities facing natural disasters, citing reports that dozens of fire trucks were out of commission during the wildfires that devastated two Los Angeles communities and killed at least 29 people earlier this year. From Atlanta, to Houston, to San Francisco, cities and towns are facing a crisis where demand for new fire trucks outstrips availability and funding, Kelly said. On top of long wait times, fire departments are being pushed into contracts with "floating" pricing structures, where the final price of a truck may go up after an order is placed. "We are paying the price for all these corporate decisions. It serves the investor well, but it doesn't serve the public when you call 911 and the ladder truck is out of service," Kelly said. The DOJ or FTC should use their authority to investigate the industry, and the FTC should launch a study of how consolidation is affecting fire departments' access to a broader range of parts and services, they said. Fire departments are seeing the effects of consolidation on everything from dispatch software to personal protective equipment and vehicle parts, Kelly said.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Electric fire trucks did not factor in response to deadly LA blazes
"45 of the LA fire trucks have to return to the barn a day to recharge their electric batteries for 10 hours instead of just gassing up and fighting fires," a January 19, 2025 Facebook post said. "Just another reason electric vehicles are worthless in an emergency." Similar claims about the Los Angeles fire truck fleet circulated widely on Facebook and X, the latest posts questioning the safety of electric vehicles and their utility in extreme circumstances. The wildfires, which erupted around January 7, ravaged Los Angeles County, killing about 30 people, and destroying more than 10,000 homes. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said his crews struggled with the scale and speed of the January fires, fueled by intense Santa Ana winds -- and additional water trucks were required as the city's water systems came under pressure. But claims that using multiple electric fire trucks slowed the response to the situation are false. A Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesperson told AFP on February 3 that the department only has one electric fire truck in its fleet and it was out of service throughout January when the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires ravaged Los Angeles County and burned some 37,000 acres (150 square kilometers). The department acquired the electric fire engine, manufactured by the Austria-based firm Rosenbauer, in 2022 (archived here) and it is used by Station 82 in Hollywood. "The truck has an onboard generator that prevents it from becoming depleted," they said. The energy backup system through a diesel engine is deployed during extended journeys or training sessions. Rosenbauer also confirmed that the claims made on social media were inaccurate. "The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) currently operates one Rosenbauer RTX electric fire engine -- the only electric fire engine in their fleet," Todd McBride, a company program manager said on February 12. He said the truck can be recharged to full capacity in as little as 20 to 30 minutes, contrary to the claim of 10 hours. When in operation, the truck's onboard generator activates automatically when the battery drops below 20 percent, he said. The LA County's Coordinated Joint Information Center also told AFP on February 4 that the County of Los Angeles Fire Department -- which serves unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County -- does not have electric fire engines or electric fire trucks in its fleet. The Los Angeles fires were the focus of widespread disinformation, with conspiratorial claims and AI-generated images rocketing across social media. See more of AFP's reporting on claims about wildfires here.
