Youngstown Fire Department in need of new trucks, equipment

With multiple fire trucks being over two decades old, The Youngstown Fire Department is hoping to update its fleet.

Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley told city council if too many trucks break down, they would have to shut down a fire station.

“It’s only June and so far, probably about four or five times this year, all three of those trucks were out because other trucks were down. If one more truck would have went down, we would have had to shut down a station because we don’t have the apparatus,” said Finley.

And as the trucks age, the maintenance costs are growing. Finley said he recently received a $20,000 invoice for repairs on one truck.

“We’re about to put $20,000 in one truck, 20 grand,” said Finley. “We have roughly four to five trucks that are at the end of their life and they are literally costing me more than the purchase of a new truck.”

The average age of the department's fire trucks is nearly 20 years, with multiple being around 25 years old. The National Fire Protection Association recommends changing or refurbishing trucks every 15 to 20 years.

Chris Weaver, President of IAFF Local 312, said because the truck are so old, there's been  times where multiple have been down at once.

“There's been times that we've had to close firehouses because we didn't have anything to go into. But I would love to see some type of truck replacement plan, to get some of our apparatuses up to par, up to date, moving forward,” said Weaver. “If we can get in some kind of replacement plan and something in circulation, replace these apparatuses as need be, we can get up to par. Plus, that’s going to keep our maintenance cost down. Maintenance is huge right now, and it’s costing the city a lot of money right now.”

Finley agreed, saying a replacement plan would swap out the fire trucks before they get too old.

“We want a truck program, so that this doesn’t happen anymore. We get this truck, this truck stays in circulation for 8 to 10 years, after that, then it’s gone. We get another truck,” said Finley.

Members of the department are asking Youngstown city council to work with a company to finance the new equipment. 

Chris Najsztup, Atlantic Emergency Solutions Northern Ohio sales representative, spoke to members of city council about possible options. He said getting a new fire truck could take years.

“They're putting out 26 trucks out a week on average, but we are taking more than that per month, so the influx of orders [has] been heavier,” said Najsztup.

The fire department bought a truck back in 2023 that's replacing a 25 year old truck. The vehicle is set to be delivered this fall.