East Fishkill Claims $1 Million Fire Truck Is a Lemon

A local fire department is suing the maker of a ladder truck they purchased that they say is completely "useless."

According to Westfair Online, the East Fishkill Fire District purchased a Ferrara rear-mounted, platform ladder truck for $1,002,351 back in 2013. The truck was finally delivered in 2015 and since then has caused nothing but headaches.

The East Fishkill Fire District claims that just two months after receiving the truck the avoidance system for the truck's bucket stopped working. And that was just the beginning. The fire district says the bucket would not move properly. Even after a software update was made, the ladder wouldn't retract and the joystick that controls the bucket would not operate properly. At one point, the joystick would cause the bucket to lean dangerously to the side.

The lawsuit filed in federal court says that an emergency override was needed to retract the bucket and, while off duty, the bucket actually dropped from the truck. In addition to these concerns, the district claims that there were 27 other glitches including problems with lights, switches, the exhaust system and loose screws.

Ferrara allegedly visited the fire district over a dozen times before declaring the truck a lost cause. That's when the East Fishkill Fire District decided to pursue a lawsuit under Lousiana's redhibitory defects law. The district is seeking the full purchase price of the truck, plus interest.

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