‘Nobody can get their equipment!’ Senators from both sides explode at fire-truck giants’ alleged price-gouging scheme

“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

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