A red Lake Lure Fire Rescue engine parked beside a station bay, side view

Lake Lure Picks Third-Lowest Bid for $1.18M Fire Engine; Delivery Not Expected Until 2028

Town Government — Lake Lure, NC — October 18, 2026

The Lake Lure Town Council voted unanimously on Oct. 13 to buy a new first-out fire engine from Custom Fire for $1,179,964. It was the third-lowest of four bids, $296,264 more than the cheapest. At the builder's quoted 600 to 660 days, the truck would arrive around mid-2028.

Town staff say Custom Fire was the best overall fit. The meeting packet shows that recommendation rests on a two-page email from Fire Chief Dustin Waycaster. North Carolina law and the town's own bid document call for awarding to the lowest responsible bidder, weighing quality, performance and delivery time.

The four bids

The town issued its invitation to bid on July 16 and opened bids Aug. 13. Fire Chief Dustin Waycaster's Sept. 16 comparison, included in the Oct. 13 council packet, lists four bidders:

BidderDeep South
Base bid$883,700
Delivery500 days
Money due up front$540,750 at signing
Chief's assessmentLowest bid. Wheelbase out of specification. Rear-dump design limits storage. Headsets, winch and storage trays not clearly addressed; follow-up questions sent.
BidderKME
Base bid$1,003,400
Delivery810–840 days
Money due up frontNothing until the truck is built
Chief's assessmentGenerally met specifications. Its proposal says that if the specified engine is unavailable, it would be upgraded at added cost, which could raise the price and change the truck's dimensions.
BidderCustom Fire (awarded)
Base bid$1,179,964
Delivery600–660 days
Money due up front$533,717
Chief's assessmentStrong references, service reputation and long industry experience. Most comprehensive engineering for the department's needs.
BidderAlexis
Base bid$1,193,994
Delivery825 days
Money due up frontUnclear in packet
Chief's assessmentHighest bid. Exceeded height and length requirements.

All four proposed the same 450-horsepower X10 engine and a rear dump valve. Custom Fire's price was 34% above Deep South's and 18% above KME's. Only Alexis bid higher, by $14,030.

How staff made the case

Waycaster's Sept. 16 email to Town Manager Olivia Stewman recommends Custom Fire as the best overall value after reviewing proposals, references, specification compliance, design features and long-term operations. Minutes of the Sept. 23 council work session, also in the Oct. 13 packet, say council reviewed proposals for a new pumper-tanker and picked Custom Fire based on specifications, cost and lead time. The minutes add that the design suits Lake Lure's narrow roads and steep terrain and allows for future remounting and local servicing.

At the Oct. 13 meeting, Stewman said Custom Fire met every requirement, offered a shorter lead time than a couple of the other bidders and is a well-known, reputable company. Another official said the town's topography leaves it little choice but a custom-built truck, which costs more than the standard models a city such as Charlotte can order.

The documents also show where the case gets harder to follow:

  • Delivery time. Custom Fire's 600 to 660 days beat KME and Alexis, but Deep South quoted 500 days and the lowest price.
  • Deep South's problems. The Chief cites an out-of-spec wheelbase, storage limits and items not clearly addressed. The packet does not say whether Deep South's answers to the follow-up questions changed anything.
  • KME. It bid $176,564 below Custom Fire and, in the Chief's words, generally met the specifications. The Chief's concern was its engine-upgrade clause and its 810-to-840-day delivery.
  • The paper trail. The packet's evaluation is the two-page email. It contains no scoring sheet or formal bid tabulation.
  • Specifications. The invitation to bid posted by the town caps overall length at 30 feet. In the version reviewed, it does not state a height or wheelbase limit, which the Chief cited against Alexis and Deep South. The town has not said whether an addendum added them.

The town's invitation says award goes to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. G.S. 143-129 says a contract goes to the lowest responsible bidder, taking into consideration quality, performance and the time specified in the proposals. The same statute lets a governing board reject proposals for any reason in the unit's best interest, but not to evade the law. Whether this evaluation met that standard is a legal question the documents do not answer.

G.S. 143-129(b) excerpt with the award standard highlighted
The award standard in G.S. 143-129(b). Highlight added by Lake Lure Insider. Source: N.C. General Assembly.

The resolution awards the contract subject to negotiation and execution of acceptable contract documents. It is not yet signed.

A rising price tag

The truck's estimated cost has climbed roughly 55% since early 2024, though the earlier figure may reflect a different specification.

WhenFeb. 2024
What town records showWaycaster told council a new apparatus would cost about $760,000, plus about $120,000 to equip. A Feb. 28 agenda item sought a $925,000 state appropriation. The outcome is not in the records reviewed.
WhenAug. 2025
What town records showEngine 2510, the first-out engine, was pulled from service after storm debris entered its intake, causing a head gasket failure and damage to the motor and turbo. An older engine filled in. Repairs were filed as an insurance claim, and 2510 returned to service by February 2026.
WhenNov. 19, 2025
What town records showStewman's memo to council said Engine 1 reaches 15 years of service in 2028, the maximum age recommended for front-line use under NFPA standards. Replacement cost had risen from about $900,000 to nearly $1 million in six months, with an 18-to-24-month lead time. She asked for a 3-to-4-cent fire tax increase.
WhenJune 9, 2026
What town records showCouncil adopted a budget that raised the fire district tax 4 cents per $100 and cut the municipal services tax 2 cents. It cited debt service for a new engine on an 18-month procurement timeline.
WhenOct. 13, 2026
What town records showCouncil approved a $1,179,964 contract at 600 to 660 days, and borrowing authority of up to $1,368,100 once equipment is included.

By the town's quoted timeline, a contract signed this month puts delivery in roughly June to early August 2028, close to the date Engine 1 reaches the 15-year mark.

Paying for it

Council took three linked votes on Oct. 13, all unanimous:

  • Resolution 26-10-13A declares the town's intent to reimburse itself from loan proceeds, up to $1,368,100. The agenda form says it does not authorize borrowing. The amount above the Custom Fire price covers additional equipment needed to operate the truck.
  • Budget Amendment #384 appropriates the $533,717 first payment: $100,000 moved from an existing debt-service line and $433,717 from general fund balance. Stewman said the money returns to fund balance when loan proceeds arrive, or at year's end if it is never spent.
  • Resolution 26-10-13B awards the contract to Custom Fire.

Stewman said the first payment comes due when the chassis is delivered, expected in 12 to 14 months, and the rest is due when the truck is completed. She said she did not expect to spend much, if any, of it this fiscal year.

The town is negotiating a loan with United Bank and still needs approval from the state's Local Government Commission. Stewman said she is confident of that approval and noted the commission's agenda takes longer to get on than she had realized. She said the bid would lapse if the town waited too long; the bid form made offers valid for 90 days from the Aug. 13 opening, which runs out Nov. 11.

Staff estimated in November that annual debt service on the engine would run $100,000 to $110,000, against roughly $130,000 raised by each cent of fire tax. The adopted budget sets a combined property tax rate of 37.7 cents per $100 of value.

Officials also tied the purchase to the town's ISO fire rating, which they said affects what residents pay for home insurance. The town has listed fire apparatus among projects in its pending federal Community Project Funding requests, with no awards announced as of the Oct. 13 packet.

Lake Lure fire station exterior with two bay doors
Lake Lure's fire station.

Why a fire engine takes two years or more

Lake Lure's 600 to 660 days is not unusual. The firefighters' union, which is an advocate in this fight, says waits that once ran about 18 months now commonly run two to four-plus years, and that an engine priced near $589,000 in 2020 costs close to $1.1 million today. The trade association says departments could once expect delivery in 12 to 18 months.

A concentrated market. Senators Josh Hawley and Andy Kim wrote in 2025 that REV Group, Oshkosh and Rosenbauer hold an estimated 70 to 80% of the market. REV owns KME, E-ONE, Ferrara, Spartan and Smeal, and Oshkosh owns Pierce. A Baton Rouge lawsuit filed Aug. 10 cites order backlogs of about $4.4 billion at REV, $4 billion at Oshkosh and $2.67 billion at Rosenbauer.

Lawsuits and investigations. Los Angeles County, Milwaukee and Baltimore are among the governments that sued. Most of the cases have been consolidated in federal court in Wisconsin, and Texas's attorney general opened an investigation, according to the union's account. It also reports a federal investigation and a bipartisan Senate resolution directing the FTC to report on the industry. The Baton Rouge suit also names the trade association, alleging manufacturers used it to share confidential pricing and sales data. REV Group and Pierce deny wrongdoing and blame labor and supply-chain problems. REV says it raised production about 30% in two years and added semi-custom models. None of the allegations has been proven.

The industry's explanation. The trade association says custom engineering, low volume and variable processes make fire apparatus slower to build than most commercial vehicles. It says demand exceeded typical supply by 45% in 2022 while production fell 9%. It also says no single manufacturer or ownership group dominates, since about 55 members build apparatus and most are small, often family-owned firms. It expects lead times to ease over about two years, and says a modern truck contains thousands of components, any of which can hold up a schedule.

"Monopoly," the union's word, overstates what the figures describe. Three firms holding most of the market is an oligopoly, and whether it broke antitrust law is for the courts.

Bar showing market shares alleged in the Baton Rouge lawsuit
Estimates are allegations in Baton Rouge's lawsuit as reported by WAFB, not established findings. REV Group and Pierce deny wrongdoing.

What kind of truck. The Sept. 23 council minutes call it a "pumper tanker," an engine that carries a large water supply so it can work where there are no hydrants. The town's documents do not name a model, product line or body style beyond that. Custom Fire's website lists its pumpers by category and customer, not by model number, so which of its designs the town ordered is not public.

What Lake Lure asked for. The town's invitation to bid required a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump, a 1,000-gallon tank, a rear dump valve, automatic tire chains, five wireless headsets and compliance with NFPA 1900, the national apparatus standard. The builder must submit approval drawings and wait for town sign-off before construction starts. It must also complete a tilt test that calibrates the stability control. The town can inspect during manufacture, and final acceptance requires witnessed road and pump testing.

Who the bidders are. Only one bid came from the largest group: KME, owned by REV, quoted the longest delivery. Custom Fire appears to be the family-owned builder Custom Fire Apparatus of Osceola, Wis., though the packet gives no location and the trade-magazine description dates to 2015. Alexis Fire Equipment in Illinois and Deep South Fire Trucks in Mississippi also describe themselves as family-owned; Deep South's profile dates to 2015. Alexis, an independent, quoted 825 days, close to KME's 810 to 840, so delivery time did not split cleanly along ownership lines.

Sources and documents reviewed

Town records:

Law and industry:

Last updated: 2026-10-18