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Las Vegas joins nationwide case over fire truck costs and delivery delays
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue says a five-vehicle order that cost $4.1 million in 2021 rose to $5.2 million the next year, with the later order still undelivered when the city joined a federal lawsuit. Manufacturers deny colluding, arguing pandemic-era demand and supply-chain disruptions caused higher prices and longer waits.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue has joined a federal class-action lawsuit alleging that major fire apparatus manufacturers conspired to raise prices and prolong delivery delays, adding the city to a case involving about 70 fire agencies and governments.
The city’s amended complaint says it ordered four fire engines and one fire truck from Wisconsin-based Pierce Manufacturing in September 2021 for a combined $4.1 million. Those vehicles arrived 22 months later, according to the complaint. Las Vegas placed the same order in October 2022 for $5.2 million, but had not received the vehicles by June, when it joined the lawsuit—more than three and a half years after placing the order.
The allegations target Pierce and parent company Oshkosh Corp., REV Group Inc., Rosenbauer America and related companies, as well as the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association. The defendants deny conspiring to fix prices. In an August motion seeking dismissal, they argued that pandemic-driven demand and supply-chain disruptions—not an antitrust scheme—account for higher costs and longer waits.
The case is part of litigation consolidated in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin before Judge William Griesbach. Las Vegas alleges violations of Nevada’s unfair- and deceptive-trade-practices laws. The city generally does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said.
Fire engines and ladder trucks are typically built to order and equipped for specific tasks. Engines carry pumps, hoses and water; ladder trucks carry elevated ladders and other rescue gear. Las Vegas Fire & Rescue operates 22 stations across 150 square miles and provides emergency medical, fire-prevention and education services, as well as bomb-squad, hazardous-materials and technical-rescue response.
The complaint says Oshkosh, REV and Rosenbauer together control 70% to 80% of a fire apparatus market valued at about $3 billion. It alleges that industry consolidation beginning in 2008 reduced competition and that fire truck prices doubled over the past decade. Those are claims by the plaintiffs, not findings by a court.
The lawsuit argues that long waits and higher prices can strain local budgets and leave departments using aging vehicles. It cites examples including Los Angeles fire vehicles out of service during the January 2025 wildfires and older ladder trucks in San Francisco. The defendants say the plaintiffs are attributing ordinary economic pressures to an unsupported conspiracy.
The dispute has also drawn federal attention. In 2025, the International Association of Fire Fighters and the American Economic Liberties Project urged the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate industry consolidation. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, began a Senate inquiry that year into private equity’s role in the sector.