Anchorage Assembly set to approve $1.4M fire engine with 900-day wait

The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to vote July 21 on a $1,396,601 pumper engine for the Anchorage Fire Department, with the truck not expected to arrive for roughly 900 days amid a nationwide backlog in fire apparatus manufacturing. That is about two and a half years.

The new Rosenbauer pumper, purchased through a Sourcewell cooperative contract, will replace Engine 2 at Station 1 when it arrives. Engine 2 will then push Engine 7510 into reserve status. The department will evaluate Engine 7510 afterward for donation to another in-state fire department or sale at auction.

The 900-day window is not unique to Anchorage. According to Sourcewell, fire-rescue agencies across the country may currently wait three years or more for new apparatus. That backlog means Engine 7510 will remain in the reserve chain longer than a faster delivery would allow.

Discounts and Funding

The municipality expects to save $402,159 on the purchase. A 15% cooperative-contract discount accounts for $243,459 of that figure. An additional $158,700 discount is available if the municipality pays in full within 30 days of issuing the purchase order; the department's memo says that discount would fund expected change-order modifications during the build.

Funding is split across two voter-approved capital budget years: $727,030 from BP2025 and $669,571 from BP2026, both drawn from Anchorage Fire Service Area Capital Improvement Program bond proceeds. Fire Chief Douglas Schrage recommended the purchase. Municipal Manager William D. Falsey and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance concurred.

Delivery is to the Port of Alaska. The purchase also includes three days of on-site training and two three-person inspection trips during the build.