City approves purchase of immediately available fire engine to avoid multi-year wait

The Imperial City Council voted to approve a resolution to purchase a 2024 Pierce Enforcer fire engine that is currently available for delivery, council members decided at the July meeting. City staff said the vehicle is an off-the-line unit that meets National Fire Protection Association requirements and will shorten the department’s replacement timeline because custom-built engines now face production delays of three years or more. A staff presenter said the truck could arrive as early as December or January if the financing proceeds as planned. The move follows concerns about long lead times caused by industry consolidation. A fire department representative explained that recent acquisitions and consolidation among manufacturers have extended delivery timelines and that the available engine, while not a custom build, satisfies applicable NFPA and California equipment standards. Council approved the purchase and the accompanying financing authorization. The purchase will be funded through a 10-year lease agreement; staff said there is no immediate first payment pending completion of final financing paperwork. Council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution. Council members asked whether buying an off-the-line engine meant the city was “settling” for a lesser vehicle; the fire representative said the truck is not inferior and noted the principal trade-off is that an off-the-line apparatus will not match custom-built fleet units part-for-part — an operational uniformity that matters most where many identical trucks are rotated among stations. Staff said the vehicle should be fully serviceable for frontline operation and would avoid a multi-year gap without a replacement. Next steps include completing lease paperwork and returning to council if financing timing requires an amendment to the payment schedule.