A settlement between the city and a fire truck manufacturer and a distributor has been made and is now on the table for a vote at the City Council meeting today.
Last year, Charleston joined several other cities in the area in a class action lawsuit against Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. and Global Fire Equipment, Inc. claiming that they violated the terms of the warranty on the fire trucks they had made for the cities.
Charleston purchased two fire trucks in the early 2000s over a five-year period from the company, the JG-TC reported previously.
Tim Meister, Charleston Fire Department assistant fire chief, said at the time that there is a lifetime warranty on the frame of the fire trucks for rust and corrosion damage, and currently, all three have varying degrees of rust on the frame.
The city claimed that the company has not repaired or replaced the frames even though it is spelled out in the warranty to do so.