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State financial aid for fire companies gets a modest boost under the new budget while legislation to ramp up support is still in the hopper.
The caps for loans under the state Fire and Emergency Medical Services Loan Program increase by various amounts depending on the spending category.
For example, the two percent loans to help companies buy new apparatus, facilities and equipment are now capped at $750,000 versus $636,000 before.
The loan caps for new aerial apparatus are $750,000 versus $494,000 before.
The loan terms are extended to 30 years from 20 years.
The Fiscal Year 2026-267 budget also increased loan caps for buying used equipment and apparatus.
A proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro to create a new $30 million competitive grant program for fire companies was approved by the House. But it didn't make the budget.
The House voted 105-96 last June for House Bill 2446 sponsored by Rep. Jim Haddock, D-Luzerne, creating the Fire Company Transformational Grant Program for municipal, volunteer and combination fire companies.
The program would be funded with an annual $30 million transfer from the Property Tax Relief Fund under HB2446.
HB2446 is before the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Fire trucks
Haddock said the bill can help fire companies pay for big-ticket items like fire trucks which can cost between $600,000 and $1.2 million.
The cost of fire trucks has dramatically increased due to changing business conditions, fire companies officials testified at a House Majority Policy Committee hearing last April.
They mentioned a consolidation of commercial fire truck companies. During the past 15 years, a network of two dozen independent fire truck manufacturers has been replaced by three companies controlling most of the market, the committee said.
Meanwhile, the cost of a fire truck has increased from $300,000 to $400,000 to more than $1 million.
The city of Pittsburgh filed a federal lawsuit last July alleging that fire truck manufacturers engaged in antitrust violations that resulted in higher truck prices.