Age is just a number, but a hard number to look at for some Reading firefighters when it comes to the engines used to protect the city.
The union tells 69 News firefighters are using reserve trucks from as far back as 1996 and some of the nine frontline trucks are mired by brake, suspension and other problems with an average age of more than 11 years old.
"I think it's a lack of preventative maintenance," said IAFF Local 1803 Union President Mike Shoumlisky.
Union leaders say while one of the rescue trucks was in the shop, the "jaws of life" had to be stored in the back of a pickup.
"The fact that we had to put them in the back of a pickup truck should be concerning to the residents of this city," said Shoumlisky.
Union reps say they want a definitive plan for when trucks are replaced. Reading Fire Chief William Stoudt says nobody from the union has talked to him. but says trucks are typically replaced every 15 years.