5 Critical Components of Fire Truck Fleet Management and Maintenance

There are many challenges that come with maintaining vehicles that require 24-hour readiness. Fleet management at Siddons-Martin Emergency Group maintenance requires a network of specialized support for when and where a fire department needs it.

Siddons-Martin knows exactly what goes into fire truck fleet management and maintenance?

Continue reading below to gain an understanding of the five critical elements for fleet management, including the requirements for fleet maintenance, warranty coverage, apparatus’ systems, parts availability and training programs.

1. Understanding the Requirements for Fleet Maintenance

Pierce Manufacturing fire truck fleet manuals and resources are arranged on a table. As a fire department considers a manufacturer for a new fire apparatus or works with its current manufacturer to maintain established vehicles, knowing the requirements of fire truck maintenance and how to find educational resources on the topic is critical.

Ideally, a fire department should have simple and easy access to manuals for each apparatus, as well as all of the component manuals. These manuals contain detailed information for the appropriate management of the vehicles, including the optimal maintenance intervals to support the vehicle’s service life. All components on the vehicle from Engine and Transmission service should have manuals or CD’s and a contact at the local level to assist with utilizing these tools.

Siddons-Martin thru Pierce Manufacturing provides all manuals and fleet maintenance requirements online at pierceparts.com. Here, fire departments can access fleet maintenance information about their unique vehicles.

Scheduling regular maintenance check-ups for your vehicle is not only beneficial for the truck itself but also critical to ensure fire trucks are always ready when an emergency arises. The assistance from your local dealer is invaluable to maintain service intervals that keeps proper warranty coverage in place.  24/7 emergency out of service technical assistance and service availability is a plus when the departments normal capabilities are strained.

2. Warranty, Provisions and Requirements


Management of a fleet requires a thorough knowledge of which items are covered under warranty and the scope of both preventive and scheduled maintenance required to meet the warranty requirements. Siddons-Martin maintains a staff of highly trained Master Techs that can easily assist the end user on questions of what is covered and for how long.

Following the manufacturer’s recommendations for maintenance can include, for example:

  • Chassis maintenance to include fluid and filter changes, lubrication and inspection criteria
  • Air filtration cleaning and replacement which has become critical in EGR power plants to ensure proper warranty coverages.
  • Inspection, cleaning and lubrication of aerial components
  • Pump maintenance
  • Cooling system maintenance

If these and similar preventive measures are completed following the manufacturer’s guidelines, the warranty provisions will be met, and properly documented claims will be honored.

Not only is this practice recommended for preventing unforeseen service setbacks, but it also allows customers to maximize the coverage under their warranties. Precise documentation of all repairs on a PM contract allows the required cradle to grave history on your units.

3. Understanding Special Tools or Systems Required to Work on the Vehicle

When a fleet vehicle is serviced, the individuals tasked with fleet maintenance and management are responsible for understanding the proper ways to maintain the vehicle Providing Pierce trained Technicians This includes knowing the types of specialized tools and systems that keep vehicles performing at the optimal level. Siddons-Martin maintains these specialized tools and programs to keep your unit in service and allows for quick efficient diagnosis of problems

For example, knowing the types of tools for adjusting the ride height or diagnosing engine issues and knowing how to operate Command Zone™ and Pierce safety systems appropriately is important.

Look for a fire truck manufacturer that works with your fire department to help you learn and manage the appropriate tools, equipment and systems to keep your fire truck in good working order.

4. Availability of Parts

Another component of managing a fire department fleet is not only knowing when an apparatus needs maintenance, but also learning and sourcing the required parts. Working with a fire truck manufacturer and dealer network that offers a large spare parts inventory can help your fire department get vehicles back on the road quickly.

With more than 15M+ dollars of spare parts inventory in stock every day, Pierce can source and replace fire truck parts quickly and efficiently. With the help of Pierce’s robust parts catalog and an online inventory (Pierceparts.com), finding the right part is easy.

Siddons-Martin understands why timely access to parts and service is essential for a fire department. Our local service centers attempt to identify high mortality parts for the specific areas and vehicles in that district. We have the capability to resource parts not only through the Pierce network, but thru 22 service centers that have parts in stock. Our goal at Siddons-Martin is to keep you in service by anticipating your needs and having the right equipment, parts and staff available.

5. Training Opportunities

Investing in an fire apparatus fleet is also an investment in ongoing product support. For the lifecycle of your fleet vehicles, you should expect ongoing training opportunities to ensure your department staff has the education required to appropriately operate and service fleet vehicles. Siddons-Martin constantly upgrades our techs with our own in-house academy. We take a new or experienced technician and offer specialized training on our products and perform continuing education to meet Pierce and our companies high standard of technician proficiency.

When you purchase a Pierce fire truck through Siddons-Martin, your department is provided with training to learn about the new apparatus and additional annual training opportunities as required. Various courses are scheduled throughout the year and located regionally, including options in Appleton, WI, Bradenton, FL, Las Vegas, NV and Fort Worth TX.  As a fire department considers its next apparatus purchase, they should remember the importance of access to hands-on service training and service maintenance tailored to match their custom apparatus.

Best Practices for Fire Truck Fleet Maintenance

To get the most out of your fleet vehicles and maximize their time in service, follow these best practice tips.

Share how you perform maintenance and repairs on your vehicles. Working with your truck manufacturer and fire truck dealer to support and facilitate service and maintenance can help maximize fleet performance. When you purchase a Pierce fire truck, from Siddons-Martin our dealer team stays informed of your maintenance schedules and how services are completed. Parts histories and work orders allows us both to understand and support your needs and stay ahead of training opportunities.To get the most out of your fleet vehicles and maximize their time in service, follow these best practice tips.

Share who’s providing your maintenance and repairs. To help support fleet management, it can be helpful for your department team members and your dealer to know who performs service and maintenance. Properly trained  Technicians from Siddons -Martin can help provide maintenance expertise and they can support your in-house technicians and mechanics if needed.

Explain your plan for maintaining the vehicle. Working with your dealer and manufacturer to stay on top of required and preventive maintenance can ensure your fleet vehicles stay in service. Preventative  maintenance plans for all types of unit’s to include  Pumpers, Aerials and ARFF units means you’ll know when warranty provisions and requirements come up, which can help you keep your vehicles in the best working condition.

Maintaining your fire truck fleet starts with having a detailed plan in place and following the best practices for success. At Siddons-Martin, we work diligently to continuously evolve our service offerings from a parts, service and training perspective to make sure we are always meeting and exceeding our customer’s needs. Both Pierce and Siddons-Martin continually reinvest in facilities, infrastructure and personnel to support fire departments and their fleets with 24/7 readiness support. Keep watching for locations of our new service facilities.

Contact Sales Division

From pre-construction to delivery, our highly trained team of fire apparatus specialists will walk you through every-step to ensure your new apparatus is built from the ground up – just the way you want it. No one works more closely with their customers to configure each vehicle around their demands. Give us a call at 800-784-6806. Our dedicated sales and service team stand ready to assist you.