U.S. Senator Josh Hawley | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Chairman Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Andy Kim (D-N.J.) led a hearing in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management to examine the impact of private equity on fire departments' access to equipment. The session included testimony from fire chiefs, union leaders, and industry representatives.
Over the past two decades, private-equity firms have acquired many independent firetruck manufacturers. As a result, three major companies now control 70-80 percent of the U.S. fire apparatus market.
“Your profits have grown five times over the last five years to 250 million dollars, but nobody can get their equipment,” Senator Hawley said during questioning of an executive from REV Group, which was formed by a private-equity firm in 2006.
Senator Hawley highlighted that delivery times for new fire engines have increased significantly: “Before, a new fire engine order took between six months and a year, standard, to get delivered. Today, those orders take two years on the low end, four years on the high end.” He attributed these delays to what he described as anticompetitive practices by corporate manufacturers.
Kansas City’s Fire Chief Dennis Rubin shared that his department had to use Chevy Suburbans outfitted with firefighting gear in place of delayed engines for several months.
Addressing industry representatives at the hearing, Senator Hawley stated: “I just want to say to our corporate friends, you know, you don’t have to wait for prosecution, or for a study, or for anything else to do the right thing... In the meantime, I hope that we’ll see some action on the part of this body and the FTC and anybody else who has a piece of it to make sure that this industry begins to function again for the people of this country and the firefighters who keep it safe.”
Previously, Senators Hawley and Kim sent a letter warning industry leaders about business models they said reduced available fire station vehicles, raised costs for departments, and hurt emergency response capabilities.
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