Yucaipa council approves purchase of two frontline fire engines after finance briefing

The Yucaipa City Council on April 28 approved the purchase of two replacement frontline type 1 fire engines for the Yucaipa Fire Department, a contract of about $2.4 million that will be paid from the department's fire fund.

Fire Chief Malinowski told the council the engines would replace frontline medic engine 551 (a 2016 KME with about 96,000 miles) and medic engine 552 (a 2012 KME). "These would not be additional engines. These will be replacing our existing frontline medic engine 551 and medic engine 552," Malinowski said. He told council the department specifies severe-duty platforms because Yucaipa must serve both structural incidents and wildland fire conditions.

The recommended purchase is an updated clone of the department's 2021 KME build and would be procured through a piggyback (Sourcewell contract 113021) to reduce procurement risk. Malinowski said current manufacturer lead time for a type 1 engine is approximately 24 months and that crews typically schedule frontline engines for a 10-year, 100,000-mile service life; reserve engines are expected to remain in service up to 20 years or 200,000 miles.

Phil White, the city's finance director, told council the purchase would be drawn from the fire fund rather than the general fund. "The fire fund conservatively has a $5,000,000 balance," White said, adding that staff expects the department to finish the fiscal year under budget and that mutual-aid reimbursements from state wildfire responses are still pending.

During the discussion council members asked whether the city could phase the purchases. Malinowski noted the fleet already includes units past recommended service life and said the department's preference was to replace both frontline units to maintain fleet reliability. Council also discussed payment options; staff recommended paying on delivery rather than prepaying to retain reserves, even though prepayment would have produced an estimated discount.

Joe Perdetto, director of governmental affairs, briefed council on national market conditions for fire apparatus. He said private-equity-driven consolidation has reduced the number of builders and increased prices and lead times, and he noted that Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Wicker (transcript referenced senators conducting an inquiry) had launched a congressional investigation into the market. Council gave staff consensus to draft a letter to the jurisdiction's federal representatives in support of that inquiry.

Council made a motion to proceed with the recommended procurement (staff's option to pay on delivery) and the motion was seconded. The mayor called the vote; the council recorded the motion as approved. Staff will return with contract documents and recommended disposition of retired reserve engines.

The department said the new engines will be placed on frontline status on delivery; the replaced frontline apparatus will be re-designated as reserve engines and staff will return with a recommended disposition (historically donated to training programs or small departments when surplus). The estimated delivery window, given the current lead time, is approximately spring 2027 to early 2028.