NORFOLK County has been burned by soaring prices for new fire trucks.
The county budgeted $5.8-million to buy six fire vehicles.
But prices will reach $9.4-million by the time they’re delivered from their Canadian supplier, an increase of roughly 60 per cent.
Charlotteville Coun. Chris Van Paassen sounded the alarm last Tuesday.
He cited a report listing six fire vehicles whose prices jumped significantly between the time they were ordered and delivered:
- Aerial truck for Simcoe fire station, budget $1.9-million, price $2.7-million;
- Pumper for Port Rowan station, budget $825,000, price $1.3-million;
- Pumper for Courtland station, budget $770,000, price $1.3-million;
- Tanker for Waterford station, budget $825,000, price $1.3-million;
- Tanker for Teeterville station, budget $725,000, price $1.3-million;
- Pumper for Delhi station, budget $825,000, price $1.3-million.
The vehicles’ manufacturer, Fort Garry Fire Trucks of Winnipeg, can take up to two years to deliver custom orders.
When that happens, prices are calculated at the time of manufacture, not at the time of order.
Coun. Van Paassen urged council to check contracts to assure prices for fire vehicles, dump trucks and other large equipment don’t change from the time of ordering.
Other councillors supported lobbying for insurance underwriters to ease up on a 20-year lifetime for fire vehicles.
Norfolk taxpayers can’t afford $3-million a year to replace its fleet of fire vehicles, Coun. Van Paassen said.
Fire Chief Gord Stilwell will report on the life cycle of Norfolk’s fire equipment and what other municipalities are doing.
Firefighters must be sure apparatus is ready and available, the Chief said.
“We have people (firefighters) inside a house on a hose with a house on fire and we don’t want to be second-guessing whether the truck is going to keep operating,” he said.
Parts are difficult to get as trucks get closer to the 20-year maximum, Chief Stilwell said.
Vehicles waiting for parts can be out of service for months.
—
Originally published April 2, 2025
