Well...unless someone can prove otherwise, by my count, Seagrave will deliver less than 30 rigs this year to non-FDNY departments...and delivery is still running at about one full year. I honestly don't know how much longer they'll last. Louisville seems to be the last 100% loyal repeat customer. We've bought nothing but Seagrave pumpers and ladders since 1987.
Speaking about replacing rigs...compare the demographics. FDNY runs rigs into the ground in 10 years...they replace out of necessity. LA City and County still see plenty of fire duty, but the environment is completely different...and they are still running around in 20+ year old canopy cab rigs. You've got sprawling suburban departments replacing entire fleets every 5 to 10 years, with comparatively low run volume, little fire duty, and they're still in meticulous condition. You've got the tiny volunteer fire companies in the Northeast that make 100 to 500 runs a year and they replace their rigs every 5 to 10 years, like clockwork, just because. They have more parade miles than actual service miles. Then, you've got the Detroits of the country...although you can't even compare them to anyone in all fairness. Heck, even in Louisville, we have frontline companies that are 20+ years old, make 1500 runs a year, and have between 100,000 and 200,000 miles on them. Our shop is good, almost to a fault. They keep our rigs running and safe...and they last forever. But, eventually, you have to replace them...and that isn't happening enough around here.
Kent Parrish
Louisville, KY
Speaking about replacing rigs...compare the demographics. FDNY runs rigs into the ground in 10 years...they replace out of necessity. LA City and County still see plenty of fire duty, but the environment is completely different...and they are still running around in 20+ year old canopy cab rigs. You've got sprawling suburban departments replacing entire fleets every 5 to 10 years, with comparatively low run volume, little fire duty, and they're still in meticulous condition. You've got the tiny volunteer fire companies in the Northeast that make 100 to 500 runs a year and they replace their rigs every 5 to 10 years, like clockwork, just because. They have more parade miles than actual service miles. Then, you've got the Detroits of the country...although you can't even compare them to anyone in all fairness. Heck, even in Louisville, we have frontline companies that are 20+ years old, make 1500 runs a year, and have between 100,000 and 200,000 miles on them. Our shop is good, almost to a fault. They keep our rigs running and safe...and they last forever. But, eventually, you have to replace them...and that isn't happening enough around here.
Kent Parrish
Louisville, KY
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