After earning a record 5th term in the recent Mayoral election, Boston’s talking heads immediately began to speculate about what the legacy will be of Boston’s longest serving Mayor, Tom Menino. Some suggest his legacy will be determined by the condition of the public schools; others, the South Boston Waterfront. These challenges will undoubtedly impact the opinion of historians on Mayor Menino’s performance as CEO of the Athens of America. However, the condition Mayor Menino leaves the Boston Fire Department may well be the lasting memory of where public safety fell on his political priority list.
The decline of the Boston Fire Department under Mayor Menino could not be more glaring. In 1994, in a Boston Globe review of fire departments nationwide, the Boston Fire Department was considered the best. Back then, city leaders from across the globe traveled to Boston to see what we were doing right. Fifteen years later, experts are flying in to tell us what we’re doing wrong. With an aging fleet, obsolete equipment, a lack of training, reduced manpower, and with heart disease, lung disease and cancer plaguing the profession, the fall of the BFD has been steep. When our contract is settled, we are confident that the Boston Fire Department will be the first agency in the City of Boston with true random drug and alcohol testing. But much more must be done to turn around our Fire Department. Reinstating the Apparatus Replacement Program would be a good start. It is time that Boston restore one of its finest institutions to the national standard bearer it used to be.
Candidates for public office often promise a lot during their campaigns and the Mayor is no different. During his campaign, he said that he wanted to reform the Boston Fire Department and get it back on track. Time will tell whether he truly meant that. We hope the Mayor makes good on his commitments to improve the Boston Fire Department. The condition he leaves it may very well determine his legacy.
During the recent Mayoral campaign we sought- through this website- to bring to light the critical public safety and workplace challenges that exist in the Boston Fire Department. Going forward we will continue to fight for safer working conditions, better equipment and training, and a fair contract that Boston’s Firefighters deserve. We will also continue to clarify who we are and where we stand on the issues of the day. We hope you’ll join our discussion as we strive to provide the citizens of Boston the best firefighting service in the country.
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