City of South Lake Tahoe settles with fire engine manufacturer, gets $1.775M

Submitted by paula on Tue, 05/07/2019 - 10:11am
Paula Peterson

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Since its arrival, the 2013 model Ferrara ladder truck the City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) purchased has been been a "lemon," and now they have reached a settlement with the manufacturer, Ferrara Fire Apparatus of Holden, Louisiana.

In 2014, City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) took possession of a 2013 model Ferrara ladder truck at the tune of almost $1,050,000. It was purchased to replace the aging ladder truck SLTFR had from 1982 and was paid for with funds from California sales tax money devoted to public safety.

The City employed a "lemon law" attorney that specialized in these matters. Ferrara is paying the City $1,775,000 as per the settlement, and in return, the City will release the company from any further obligations. They are also transferring title back to Ferrara.

Former SLTFR Fire Chief Jeff Meston said he reached out to Ferrara on many occasions, and at the beginning, the fire truck company returned calls and assisted with repair, that is, until early in 2017 when the truck broke down on the way to the commemoration of the new public safety memorial at Happy Homestead Cemetery.

"They stopped returning phone calls," said Meston last year before his retirement.

The ladder truck operates in two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive or six-wheel drive. According to Meston, the company drove the truck out to South Lake Tahoe in the six-wheel drive, a move he feels caused all subsequent problems.

Besides the truck's issues, when it arrived in 2014, its home at Station 2 across from South Tahoe Middle School was not big enough to house it. Public Works added on to the back of the station, making it long enough for the truck to be enclosed.

SLTFR has been in the market for a replacement ladder truck for months. City Council will have a vote at their May 21 meeting to approve a new truck, Once ordered and the contract signed, it takes 300-330 days to receive a new truck to their specifications.