By Cecilia Chan
East Valley Tribune
MESA, Ariz. — Mesa is spending $16.9 million for 12 fire trucks to replace those reaching the end of their service life over the next several years.
City Council last week on consent agenda approved the purchase of nine E-ONE Cyclone pumpers, two heavy rescue apparatuses and a rear-mount aerial ladder truck.
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“That amount is pretty large,” Councilwoman Dorean Taylor noted at the May 14 study session. “But we need our fire trucks to be in perfectly wonderful operating condition.”
Jason Nickelson, Fire fleet manager, explained, “In the market that we’re dealing with right now in the fire apparatus industry, we used to be able to obtain purchases within 10 to 12 months on all those item. That market has shifted from COVID to where we’re up to the three- to the four-year mark.
“If something was to happen outside of our normal replacement, it’s going to take us three to four years to be able to replace that unit, which could put the city and the fire operations in a pretty hard time to be able to provide that.”
What the department is trying to do is get ahead of the replacement schedule, saving about $980,000 as a result, according to Nickelson.
“That does not include the cost increases that are going to happen over the next four years,” he said. “So the savings is actually a lot more. There’s just no way for me to predict what that is but it is a lot more.”
According to Nickelson ordering the trucks now doesn’t mean they’ll arrive all at once.
“All the types of units that are up for purchase right now, they can arrive in the scheduled years that have already been set over the eight-year replacement schedule for that apparatus,” he said. “We are front-loading but those units will arrive according to the years that the replacement schedule was set over the next five years.
“So for example, there’s nine pumps. Three of those pumpers will arrive in ‘28. Three of them will arrive in ‘29 and three of them will arrive in ‘30 to match that schedule.”
Taylor asked if ordering the trucks now for later arrival will they be manufactured to the latest standards and technology for that year.
“Something that’s made today could change and by 2030 when we have those pumpers, we could assume that the 2030 product is manufactured according to what would be necessary and safe and standard of 2030, not 2026,” Taylor said.
Nickelson assured her that the trucks will have to follow the National Fire Protection Agency’s standards no matter the calendar year.
“So if something changes in any of those calendar years, the manufacturers do have to make those changes on the trucks,” he said.
Mayor Mark Freeman, a retired Mesa Fire captain and paramedic, asked for the current cost of the apparatus.
Five years ago, a pumper truck, which are the typical units seen driving around the city, cost about $740,000 and today it’s $1.1 million to 1.2 million, according to Nickelson.
According to Nickelson, the two heavy rescue trucks, which respond to major events across the Valley, “are pretty old.”
“These units do tend not to get the mileage that our normal units get,” he said. “But these units are only guaranteed to be supplied with parts for 20 years. And so we’re right there at the threshold of these types of units to be able to repair them if necessary.”
Nickelson also said that most of the department’s rear-mounted ladder trucks have about 140,000 to 169,000 miles on them and are anywhere from 10 to 13 years old. The cost for of one of these units is $2.6 million.
“These particular units take four years to get in the current market,” Nickelson said; “which is up from 12 months five years ago.”
City Manager Scott Butler said that the department’s done a good job in getting in front of this to try to ensure a timely delivery of fire apparatus.
“Unfortunately, we’re playing the hand that we’re dealt,” Butler said. “It’s not a very competitive market. There’s really only three manufacturers.
“And so it’s not robust competition as it relates to the pricing on these apparatus and it has increased substantially in both the price and the lead time since Covid.”
Councilwoman Jenn Duff noted that the city was the first in the country in 2024 to get an electric fire truck and asked if there was intention for future purchases given the cost of fuel and maintenance and the health of firefighters, who don’t have to inhale exhaust fumes from the current diesel trucks.
“We’re definitely interested,” Butler said. “The biggest problem right now and the biggest hurdle has been the cost.
“They shot up dramatically after we purchased ours. (The manufactures) haven’t been able to keep up with the demand, which has kept prices high. But as the market gets more robust, that will bring down the cost of those vehicles to a point we could look at that.”
According to Nickelson, the electric trucks are double the price of a diesel fire truck.
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