Fire Fight the Smears

There was a time not so long ago when Boston Firefighters were emulated by their peers across the country. But under the Menino Administration, the critical public safety infrastructure of the fire department has been allowed to deteriorate. January 9^th, 2009 will always be a terrible day for Boston Firefighters. We lost one of our best when we lost Lt. Kevin Kelley, a 30-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department. It was, however, a lucky day for the city of Boston. Many lives were saved that day due to the quick thinking and courage of Lt. Kelley and the Boston Firefighters assigned to Ladder 26 in those crucial last minutes.

Less than 24-hours after Lt. Kevin Kelley was commander of Ladder 26 for the last time, “Fire Commissioner” Rod Fraser held a press conference steps from where Kevin climbed onto the truck. When asked about the maintenance division, he proclaimed defiantly that his policy for maintenance is “if it’s broke, fix it”. This was too little too late for Kevin Kelley.

Boston residents were horrified and shocked to learn that their firefighters were operating trucks with no brakes. We were horrified too, but not shocked. That wasn’t even the first time Ladder 26 lost its brakes on Parker Hill Avenue! The lessons learned from Lt. Kevin Kelley’s death were lessons learned time and time again across the country, yet the Menino Administration refused to heed past warnings from fire department officials. Click here to see Local 718 President Ed Kelly’s letter to BFD Commsioner in December 2006 requesting a safety audit. Despite a letter from the Commissioner himself stating that a safety audit would be done, nothing was done until after the Ladder 26 tragedy, over 2 years later.  The truth is that in the wake of Lt. Kelley’s death, so much fire apparatus was taken out of service that Boston Firefighters were forced to respond to fires in pick-up trucks. The very first fire truck inspected after Lt. Kelley’s death flunked the brake test. See video in link below and note that Mayor Menino’s attempt to blame firefighters for faulty equipment is refuted by his own BFD spokesman.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/18465044/index.html

Unfortunately, Ladder 26 wasn’t the only piece of apparatus in deplorable condition. The following are a few more that come to mind:

• Dorchester’s Ladder 29 (2^nd due) truck ladder malfunctioned and couldn’t be raised during a fire with people trapped on Columbia Rd.
• Same fire – Dorchester’s Engine 24 (1^st due) had their computerized pump shut down with multiple hose lines being used off it to fight a 4 alarm blaze
• Dorchester’s Engine 18 (1^st due) shut down while its  hose line was operating fire inside a house on Talbot Ave. The firefighters inside, without any water, had to bail down the stairs , delaying the primary search (the truck was 23 years old)
• Roxbury’s Rescue 2 had to leave a firefighter in the truck at fires with their foot on the brake because the air brake was broken
• South End’s Engine 22 was driving down the street when the cab elevation mechanism malfunctioned flipping the cab with firefighters in it
• An officer on Dorchester’s Ladder 17 officer had to pull up the accelerator pedal with a closet rake because the accelerator pedal wouldn’t release after the driver depressed it (this was a spare truck because the regular truck was also out of service)
• Dorchester’s Ladder 6 steering wheel came off responding down Ashmont St.
• Back Bay’s Engine 33 spare shut truck down with 2 hose lines running off it during a fire at an occupied building in District 5, Brookline was 3^rd due and their engine supplied our lines

How did the BFD’s Fleet get into such terrible condition?

Policy established under Mayor Flynn/Commissioner Stapleton and continued by Commissioner Pierce instituted an apparatus replacement program to replace apparatus every 10 years. This system was in compliance with NFPA standards for fire apparatus with heavy usage in a city like Boston. The maintenance policy called for routine preventive maintenance done by members of the Motor Squad according to the manufacturer’s specifications, and all mechanical maintenance and repair was contracted out. The Motor Squad was our AAA – they rotate the tires, change the oil, pop a new battery in and if you broke down they got you running or had you towed. This is in addition to thawing hydrants and aerials at fires, manning the relief van, and handling firehouse maintenance after business hours. Vendors took care of the rest. This seemed like a common sense policy.

Despite warnings from Commissioner Pierce, the Menino Administration abandoned the NFPA Standard Apparatus Replacement Program in the late 1990s, resulting in a fleet that had trucks older than some of the guys driving them. [Click here to see former BFD Commissioner Martin Pierce’s letters warning the Menino Administration about the hazards of outdated and faulty equipment.]The motor squad was cut in half to two guys on duty each shift and the preventive maintenance position eliminated. They stopped buying fire trucks and let our fleet rot, putting the lives of Boston Firefighters and the people of Boston at risk.

10 Years of Neglect

[Click this link to read about 10 years of neglect of the Boston Fire Department under Mayor Menino's watch.]

These are just a few examples of how Boston Firefighters have been neglected by City Hall.  We know that this neglect puts lives in jeopardy – and we, our families, and the people of Boston deserve better. Still nothing has changed and we have the same problems today: lack of equipment, manning, training, planning, etc. Unfortunately fires continue to happen every day, the ‘War on Terror’ isn’t going away, and people still need their firefighters. Our lives depend on being progressive, and changing to meet the challenges of the future. It’s time we had a mayor who realized that.