Excerpts from the paragraph.com:

Several Illinois cities are banding together to pursue legal action after, they claim, a fire equipment maker stiffed them on warranty repairs.

Bloomington and Normal are among seven cities considering an alliance to pursue any and all legal remedies against Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis.

Of Normal’s five fire engines and two ladder trucks, six have corroded chassis, including two so badly damaged that they’re out of service. Repairs are estimated at $90,000 per vehicle, which the town wants Pierce to pay for under a 50-year warranty on each chassis offered by the company.

“It is our understanding … that Pierce has been denying similar claims, asserting that the apparatus were not properly washed, considering the salt that is present on our roadways during the winter,” according to the memo. “Our fire department washes each fire apparatus every day.”

In response, the town staff has requested it enter into an agreement with Bloomington, Champaign, Charleston, Decatur, Ottawa and Peoria to fight back. The City Council will consider that agreement when it meets today.

 

Tags: Charleston Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Tim Meister, fire department sue Pierce Manufacturing over warranty repairs for chassis corrosion, Normal Fire Department, Pierce Manufacturing hit with class action lawsuit