"9-1-1. What is your emergency?"

When crisis strikes, Americans in big cities and rural landscapes alike trust that first responders such as firefighters and EMTs are just a phone call away. However, recent spikes in costs and wait times associated with fire trucks have left fire departments across the country scrambling to make do with what they have — sometimes to the detriment of public safety.

'Your profits have grown five times over the last five years, $250 million, but nobody can get their equipment!'

Much of the problem appears to stem from a massive consolidation of fire apparatus manufacturers nearly 20 years ago. This consolidation "effectively created a duopoly" that severely restricted competition, according to a recent op-ed from Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin and retired New Haven, Connecticut, Battalion Chief Frank Ricci, who together have more than 60 years of field experience.

The problem has grown so wide in scope that it has drawn the attention of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. On April 3, 2025, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Management Chairman Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Andy Kim (D-N.J.) sent a letter to the executives of Rev Group, Oshkosh Corporation, and Rosenbauer, which collectively corner between 70% and 80% of the fire-truck market share.

In just the past few months, multiple class-action lawsuits have been filed against these companies alleging anti-trust law violations, and Hawley claimed at a subcommittee hearing in September that their "business models are identical."

One such "identical" tactic the companies appear to have taken, according to the lawmakers, is to delay fulfilling orders on purpose to keep costs and demand artificially high.

Just six short years ago or so, Rev Group, for example, had a backlog of fire equipment orders totaling about $1 billion, with an expected wait time of 12 to 18 months, the New York Times reported in February. Now, however, the company backlog total has quadrupled, and wait times have jumped to two or three years.

"Your profits have grown five times over the last five years, $250 million, but nobody can get their equipment!" Sen. Hawley railed to Mike Virnig, president of REV Fire Group, at the September hearing.

"What have these gigantic corporations done with all that market power? Well, they have hiked prices, restricted supply, and created a dangerous backlog of firefighting equipment," added Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Furthermore, even when departments can get the equipment, it shows no "discernible improvements in technology," the letter said.

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Rubin and Ricci argued that this alleged market manipulation has had serious consequences. In the summer of 2023, so many pumper fire trucks were out of commission in Kansas City, Kansas, that firefighters were forced to use SUVs and a borrowed brush truck that lacked essential tools.

"Based on the lack of fire truck repair parts, our fire department in Kansas City, Kansas, has been negatively impacted on several occasions. This situation is not acceptable!" Chief Rubin — who previously served as chief of the department in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. — told Blaze News in a statement.

"The impact is real, and it directly affects ability to deliver the level of service the public counts on every day," added P.J. Norwood, retired deputy chief in East Haven.

'It is wrong when private equity companies deliberately distort the efficient operation of the free market.'

A spokesperson for Oshkosh indicated to Blaze News that disruptions to supply chains during COVID and customization are two major factors that can help account for the rise in prices and delayed orders.

"Depending on the options a customer chooses, producing a single fire truck can take up to 7,000 hours, with an average of approximately 2,000 hours," the spokesperson said.

"We acknowledged the lead time problem as soon as it emerged, and we have made — and will continue to make — historic investments to increase throughput," Dan Meyer, vice president of sales at Oshkosh's Pierce Manufacturing, told Sens. Hawley, Kim, Warren, and others at the September hearing.

"We know customers want and deserve shorter lead times, and the manufacturers who can accomplish that will win their business. Pierce is determined to meet our customers’ needs, which is why our company is committed to investing in our people and our manufacturing capabilities to reduce lead times and best serve the firefighter community."

Rubin and Ricci do not deny that specific customization demands from so many municipalities remain a major problem, and they encourage the adoption of "a more standardized production model, with separate lines for urban, suburban, or rural, and custom builds" to address this issue. They also believe that states and cities ought to revisit their bidding procedures to root out any unfair practices that further drive up prices.

Still they view the limited competition at the manufacturing level as the main cause.

"We must champion American manufacturing that wins on competition and merit — not monopolistic tactics," Ricci told Blaze News.

"There’s nothing wrong with earning a profit, but it is wrong when private equity companies deliberately distort the efficient operation of the free market on the one hand — and then fire departments rig the bidding process on the other," added Yankee Institute President Carol Platt Liebau. "If legislators aren’t willing or able to ask the tough questions, then of course it’s the taxpayers — as always — who are exploited and ripped off."

Rev Group, Rosenbauer, and Sen. Kim's office did not respond to a request for comment. Sen. Hawley's office directed Blaze News to his statements at the September hearing.

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