New York City Fire Department

Selected Vehicle Maintenance Practices

New York City’s Fire Department maintains a fleet of more than 1,800 vehicles and related equipment items. We examined the practices used by the Fire Department in maintaining and repairing its firefighting apparatus and ambulances, and found that the Department performed fewer maintenance checks of its firefighting apparatus than were scheduled. We also found that the Department’s automated information system was generally unreliable for tracking repair and maintenance schedules and costs, and for determining whether maintenance tasks are performed in a timely and cost-effective manner. In addition, our examination of the controls over the vehicle parts inventory identified a number of weaknesses. We recommended that several improvements be made in the Department’s management and control of its vehicle maintenance and parts inventory practices.

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