Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski is urging city officials to designate more money in the 2026 budget to replace or repair aging firefighting equipment.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s proposed budget for 2026, which was announced in September and will be finalized in November, allocates $2 million for repairs to the department’s fleet.
Lipski said the department really needs much more money for 2026 — closer to $14 million.
The situation is becoming dire, he said, as fire trucks well past their recommended usage are regularly taken to the front lines of calls.
“The facts are that our fleet has been aging to a point of deterioration, and now danger, over the past decade or so,” Lipski told the Journal Sentinel.
He voiced his concerns at an Oct. 10 budget meeting for the city’s Finance and Personnel Committee, saying three ladder trucks recently failed safety tests due to major structural issues — meaning the department’s already aging fleet has three less available ladders to respond to emergencies.
“Under no circumstances am I going to put a firefighter at the end of this aerial ladder, knowing that it has failed this test,” he said.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends that fire trucks operate on the front lines — meaning regularly being taken out on calls — no more than 15 years. Lipski said that if given “a complete overhaul,” those trucks can operate in the reserves for another five years after that, but should be retired after 20 years.
He said the department has three primary categories of vehicles: fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances. Of its 43 fire engines, 20 are more than 15 years old and six are more than 20 years old. Of the department’s 14 ladder trucks, eight are older than 15 years and three are more than 20 years old.
Ambulances typically don’t last as long, due to the mileage they accrue, Lipski said. He said the department typically looks to get seven or eight years out of ambulances. Of its 25 ambulances, the department has 12 that are more than eight years old — and some have been operating more than 20 years.
Lipski added that 15-to-20-year lifespan recommendation is for all fire departments across the country. With the volume of calls in a major city like Milwaukee, the recommendation is likely lower.
According to a news release from Alderman Peter Burgelis, vice chairman of both the city’s Finance and Personnel Committee and the Public Safety and Health Committee, the fire department’s replacement plan needs at least eight fire engines and six ladder trucks to be replaced across 2026 and 2027 — for a total estimated cost of around $27.8 million for the two years.
With the $2 million in the 2026 budget proposal, Lipski said at the Oct. 10 meeting, “I can probably get a single fire engine, and there will be a little left over, or a single truck and it will chew up most of that.”
Burgelis also shared concerns at the meeting, calling the fire department’s situation “a five-alarm surprise for citizens in the city of Milwaukee.”
“We can’t fight fires with trucks that belong in a museum,” Burgelis said in a statement. “Either we invest strategically now, or we’ll pay far more later in breakdowns, delays and diminished service.”
The Milwaukee Fire Department is far from alone in its need for large amounts of money to replace fire trucks and firefighting equipment.
The City of La Crosse is spearheading a class action lawsuit against three fire truck manufacturers, alleging the companies have coordinated to limit the supply of fire trucks in the United States and drive up the price.
The lawsuit, filed in August, raises similar concerns to Lipski’s — that communities with aging trucks often needing repairs face a reduced ability to respond to emergencies.
Lipski said he noticed the hike in prices of firefighting equipment after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” he said.
Lipski said he understands the fire department isn’t the only city department with needs. But he said he has major concerns for public safety if the department is unable to properly update its equipment.
“It’s a real problem,” he said. “It’s not hyperbole at this point, it’s not exaggeration, it’s not fearmongering, it’s not grandstanding.”
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee fire chief warns of danger in aging equipment, wants $12 million more in budget
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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