PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The capital city has filed a lawsuit against three fire truck manufacturers, accusing them of conspiring to drive up costs and delay the delivery of emergency vehicles to the municipalities that bought them.
The antitrust lawsuit claims the nation’s three fire truck manufacturers — OshKosh, Rosenbauer America and Terex — and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association have worked together to double, and sometimes triple, the cost of firefighting equipment while also failing to keep up with the overall demand.
“Providence’s taxpayers should not be forced to pay these inflated prices because of anti-competitive, price-fixing practices within the industry,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. “When the tools and equipment that are used by our firefighters are put in jeopardy, public safety is put at risk. When a monopoly drives up the cost of lifesaving fire trucks, those costs are ultimately placed onto our neighbors.”…