'Dramatic increase in price': Fire departments sue fire truck makers, alleging price hike

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — The city of Ann Arbor in Michigan is suing fire truck manufacturers, including two here in Wisconsin.

The lawsuit alleges the companies conspired to suppress supply and raise prices of fire trucks.

Several other communities have joined the lawsuit, which says fire truck prices have doubled in the last 10 years and that inflation alone doesn't explain the price increase.

It's an issue similar to what fire officials have seen here in Milwaukee.

"We have experienced what certainly feels like an outsized and dramatic increase in the price of a fire apparatus that is very real," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.

The price of fire trucks has been a point of contention here in Milwaukee.

"We've been asking and asking, and we haven't been funded to what we've been asking for. That gap just grows and grows," said Chief Lipski.

It's gotten to the point where our firefighters struggle to respond to calls.

"They were in a very old ladder truck, and the front wheel fell off in the middle of the response. It just fell off," said Chief Lipski

Other cities around the Midwest are feeling it too. On Tuesday, the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, joined five other communities including the cities of La Crosse and Onalaska.

The suit claims four fire truck manufacturers: Rev Group Inc, based in Waukesha County, Oshkosh Corporation, which owns Pierce Manufacturing, and Rosenbauer America LLC, are responsible for increasing fire truck prices and perpetuating lengthy backlogs.

The lawsuit states a fire truck that cost $500,000 in the mid 2010s now costs a million dollars.

Now, fire trucks that should have been retired after 15 or 20 years are celebrating their 30th birthdays on the front lines.

The lawsuit claims a trade group for fire truck makers (Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association) secretly worked with manufacturers, sharing sensitive information to limit how many trucks were built and drive up prices.

CBS 58's Pavlina Osta reached out to the fire truck manufactures listed on the lawsuit.

Oshkosh Corporation said in a statement:

“The allegations in this lawsuit are without merit, and we are defending ourselves in court. Oshkosh remains focused on delivering safe, high-quality fire trucks while continuing to reinvest in our U.S. operations to meet record demand.”

The municipalities that filed the lawsuits are looking to take this case to jury trial.