DATE:
April 8, 2025
20
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
FIGHTING CORPORATE MONOPOLIES THAT UNDERMINE FIRE PROTECTION
(DISTRICTS: ALL)
OVERVIEW
Every San Diegan deserves to know that when crisis strikes, our firefighters have the equipment they need to respond. But a growing corporate monopoly crisis in the firefighting apparatus industry is putting lives at risk-and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for Wall Street greed. Over the past decade, private equity firms have aggressively bought up and consolidated fire apparatus manufacturers, creating massive corporate monopolies that put profits ahead of public safety.
This consolidation has driven prices sky-high, reduced production quality, and created years-long procurement delays. During the devastating Los Angeles fires, dozens of fire engines and ladder trucks sat idle in maintenance yards as fire departments waited-sometimes for years-for backlogged replacement vehicles. Taxpayers are being squeezed-paying more, waiting longer, and getting less. The New York Times reports that ladder trucks have doubled in cost over just a few years, now topping over $2.3 millioni.
While corporate conglomerates were monopolizing the industry and eliminating competition, something curious happened-they also started cutting production capacity just as demand for fire trucks surged. When federal COVID-19 funds gave state and local governments the ability to invest in new emergency equipment, fire truck orders spiked by nearly 50% from 2020 to 2022ii. Yet instead of ramping up production to meet this demand, the reports show that corporate conglomerates have actually shut down manufacturing plants, worsening procurement backlogs that have now ballooned into the billions. Despite years-long delays, these corporate giants have made little effort to expand capacity, seemingly unbothered by the fact that fire departments are left waiting-sometimes for years-for the life-saving equipment they desperately need.
Ou...
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