Every fire department–whether urban or rural, large or small, career or volunteer–has a basic and ongoing moral and legal responsibility to provide safe and functional fire apparatus and equipment for use by its personnel in performing their duties. But, these are tough economic times, and a fleet of fire apparatus represents a huge capital investment of any department.
As fire departments face tighter budgets, and as the communities they serve demand a greater volume of more diversified first responder services, the difficulties of keeping an apparatus fleet in good repair and “safe for service” have become much more challenging. Read More.
This article originally appeared in Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, April, 2015.