SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego County is suing some of the nation’s biggest fire‑truck manufacturers and a New York private‑equity firm, alleging the companies are joining together to control the fire‑apparatus market, thus driving up prices for fire departments and taxpayers across San Diego County and the state.
Filed this week in U.S. District Court, the complaint names REV Group and its fire‑truck brands and accuses the company of consolidating the U.S. market for custom fire trucks and the chassis they ride on in order to corner the market.
The county’s lawsuit claims the alleged consolidation has real on‑the‑ground consequences: higher prices, fewer options, shuttered plants, and long waits for new engines at a time when wildfire risk and call volumes are rising…