"Why couldn’t the LAFD keep its equipment in working order? A lot of people blame budget cuts, but there’s another root issue - increasing prices and metastasizing production delays for these vehicles. The cost of fire trucks has skyrocketed in recent years––going from around $300 -500,000 for a pumper truck and $750-900,000 for a ladder truck in the mid-2010s, to around $1 million for a pumper truck and $2 million for a ladder truck in the last couple years. Meanwhile, the time it takes to get a fire truck delivered has grown dramatically, from less than a year before the pandemic to anywhere between 2 and 4.5 years today. (It’s not just trucks, all fire equipment is increasing quickly in price, from air supply packs to maintenance contracts.)
The skyrocketing prices and longer delivery times have made it difficult for the LAFD to replace aging vehicles in its fleet, many of which have exceeded their service life. As the LAFD’s vehicles have gotten older, they’ve become prone to more frequent and serious breakdowns, leading to more costly repairs and prolonged downtime. And as the rising cost of fire-truck maintenance and replacement has squeezed the department’s budget, it has had fewer resources for recruiting and retaining firefighters. Against this backdrop, the LAFD wound up having to face some of the worst fires LA has seen in a century while both understaffed and under-equipped.
What I’ll show you in this piece is that the increasing price is a result of a private equity firm, American Industrial Partners, consolidating the fire truck industry and forcing up prices across the board. For decades before the 2010s, the fire apparatus industry was characterized by relatively stable (inflation-adjusted) prices and ample production capacity."
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/did-a-private-equity-fire-truck-roll
Structure fire involving woman (safe), but with 10 dead cats and 2 dead dogs, in addition to another 8 cats and 2 dogs rescued by firefighters.