The Cummins L9 rescue pumper fire truck is favoured by most fire departments.
The City is set on purchasing 13 new state-of-the-art firetrucks at a cost of more than $1 million each.
Retiring Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg has proposed the City purchase 13 rescue pumper trucks built on Spartan Chassis with Cummins L9 engines for $17.6 million, including taxes and HST.
A report by the Toronto Fire Services was made to the General Government Committee and will be considered by City Council.
The fire trucks will cost more than $1 million dollar each and will be discontinued next year.
The fire trucks are required to upgrade the City’s aging 84-truck fleet and due to the company Dependable Emergency Vehicles, a Division of Dependable Truck and Tank Ltd., will cease making the L9 vehicles next year.
Pegg said heavy truck manufacturers across North America are snapping up the L9 engines in large amounts as they are being discontinued.
He said purchasing the fire trucks ‘will prevent delays in Toronto Fire Services’ life cycle management program to ensure operational vehicles.’
The City last April ordered 30 of the rescue pumper trucks in another contract worth $33.6 million, his report stated.
The fire trucks are made in Brampton and a new series will be manufactured but it is not known how long that will take.
And in 2022, another ten rescue pumper trucks for a total contract value of $5,113,395 were ordered from the company, which offers some of the lowest prices and good quality emergency vehicles.
“The Cummins L9 engine has been the standard power source in Toronto Fire Services’ fire apparatus for years due to its availability, size, and emission compliance,” Pegg wrote.
He said Cummins Canada is discontinuing the L9 Model by the end of 2025 to be replaced by the X10 model, projected to begin production in the first quarter of 2026.
“This transition was announced earlier this year and many of the impacts are still being determined,” he said.
At the time of this report, the Cummins X10 engine has not been fully designed and it can take some time. It will also cost about $100,000 more each.
The Cummins rescue pumpers are dependable and can get the job done in the worst conditions.
“Toronto Fire Services manages a defined lifecycle replacement program for apparatus, that allows the service to ensure it has the vehicles on the road necessary to deliver service to Toronto residents,” Pegg said. “The strategy is based on purchasing a set number of apparatus annually, so that older apparatus can be transitioned out of the fleet.”
The Brampton company has a long history providing apparatus to Toronto Fire Services at reasonable and reliable delivery times and provides a convenient location for warranty service.
Chief Matthew Pegg will be packing it in after more than 30 years of fighting fires in Toronto.
The Cummins L9 features from 260 to 380 horsepower and up to 1250 foot pounds of torque. It is designed to excel in some of the toughest duty cycles. High-strength components and features, like replaceable cylinder liners for easier rebuilding, add life to the engine and add to its value.
The Toronto Fire Services was created in 1998 from the merger of the former fire departments of the City of Toronto, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York. It is the largest fire department in Canada and the 5th largest municipal fire department in North America.