Firefighters facing issues with engines, delays getting new trucks

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Cincinnati's Fire Engine 5 in Over-the-Rhine was out of commission for almost 12 hours this week, leaving the area with a lack of available fire trucks.

While it is not uncommon for a firetruck to break down, Cincinnati Firefighter Union Local 48 President Joe Elliott says this is the longest one has been out of service.

"Unfortunately, it did break down in the middle of the night. They were out of service for about 12 hours," Elliott told FOX19 NOW. "Unfortunately, we did not have a spare apparatus for them to change into, nor did we have a nighttime mechanic is there."

Elliott says fire departments do not have their own mechanics and that they can be hard to find.

"It's very technical. Working on fire trucks, you do have to have certain certifications. You have to be the diesel mechanic, and there's other certifications that you do have to get to work on those fire trucks. And just right now, we just can't find enough workers out there who do want to do that work."

Although Engine 5 is fixed and ready to go, Elliott says he is worried that something similar could happen again because of the age of the trucks.

"I think we have a few ladder trucks that are from '99 and some and some engines as old as 2003 so we definitely have an aging fleet," he explained. "Again, we're working with our city administration on purchasing some new vehicles, but probably in the last three to four years, the cost to buy new fire apparatus has gone up probably about 30 or 40 percent."

The veteran firefighter says the increase makes it hard for departments to budget, and it can take years to get a new fire truck due to the shortage of workers.

The fire department recently ordered two trucks but will not see them for a while.

"We're going to get those two engines December of '25 and January of '26, and receive our latter truck then we have on order until December of '26," he said.

Elliott adds that he has been in contact with the city manager's office and has had productive conversations about how to fix the issues.

FOX19 NOW reached out to the city manager's office for comment.