Las Vegas Fire & Rescue has joined a class-action lawsuit accusing the country’s largest fire truck manufacturers of conspiring to raise prices and delay deliveries, alleging the department paid millions of dollars for fire vehicles; one order took 22 months to be delivered, while a later order remained outstanding. The department ordered four engines and one truck from Pierce Manufacturing Inc. in September 2021 for $4.1 million, and Pierce delivered those vehicles 22 months later. A second order placed in October 2022, for another four engines and a truck at a cost of $5.2 million, had still not arrived as of June 2026, according to the city’s complaint.
The lawsuit was reported by the Las Vegas Sun, names Pierce Manufacturing and its parent company Oshkosh Corp., along with REV Group Inc., Rosenbauer America, their subsidiaries, and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association as defendants. Las Vegas Fire & Rescue is one of roughly 70 local agencies, fire districts or governments making similar claims, part of a wave of litigation that a legal filing says has been centralized before a federal judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. That consolidation, designated MDL No. 3179, is confirmed in court records on CourtListener.
The city of Las Vegas alleges that Pierce and the other defendants violated the Nevada Unfair Trade Practice Act and the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Per the lawsuit, the manufacturers artificially created long order backlogs while conspiring to raise prices and restrict output, with the complaint tracing the industry’s consolidation to private equity-driven mergers of independent manufacturers beginning in 2008. Plaintiffs allege that fire truck prices have doubled over the past decade, and the complaint claims Oshkosh, REV and Rosenbauer together control between 70% and 80% of what it describes as a $3 billion fire apparatus market.
What the Trucks Are For
Fire engines carry water, pumps and hoses, while ladder trucks are built to carry tall ladders and other rescue equipment into structure fires and complex emergencies. Las Vegas Fire & Rescue operates 22 stations covering 150 square miles across the Las Vegas area, providing paramedic services, fire prevention and education alongside bomb squad, hazardous materials and technical rescue teams that serve the greater Las Vegas region. The city has said it generally does not comment on pending litigation…