The city of Napa fire department will soon have access to three brand new fire engines, which will replace three engines the department has used since 2001. The Napa City Council approved a $2.49 million purchase for the three engines from Pierce Manufacturing this week, at a cost of roughly $830,000 per engine. Fire departments generally consider 20 years to be a fire engine’s useful lifespan, said city fire chief Zach Curren. He said deferring the replacement beyond 20 years would result in swiftly steepening maintenance costs.
“We use them really heavily, and so maintenance costs start to increase dramatically towards the tail end of their life,” Curren said.