Wall Street’s Profit Engine Leaves Fire Departments Running on Empty
The nation’s fire departments are getting burned by Wall Street’s insatiable appetite for profits. Three leading companies — REV Group, Oshkosh Corporation, and Rosenbauer — now control around 80% of the US fire engine market. This market dominance has caused rising costs and long delays in equipment delivery, making it hard for many fire departments to contend with outdated fleets and respond to emergencies efficiently.
- Manufacturing backlogs have exploded to $4B for both REV Group and Oshkosh, with delivery times stretching from the traditional 12-18 months to 2-3 years.
- Fire truck prices have nearly doubled, with ladder trucks that cost $1.3M a few years ago now commanding $2.3M, forcing departments to slash orders.
The heat is on: As Wall Street’s consolidation strategy pushes profit margins from 4-5% toward an ambitious 10% target, the real cost may be measured in public safety. The impact on fire departments is severe — Chicago celebrated a 30-year-old engine’s mock birthday, and Seattle faces a 4.5-year wait for new vehicles. REV Group has worsened the situation by closing one-third of its plants while its backer, American Industrial Partners, pocketed an $80M dividend amid these cuts. International Association of Fire Fighters’ general president Edward Kelly called this a “shakedown” by monopoly capitalism, highlighting there’s a critical gap in emergency readiness — one that could take years to bridge.
