Chelsea, MA, if running without an operating ladder company.
Boston.com
By Hilary Sargent
The Chelsea Fire Department is without a single ladder truck, seriously impeding their ability to fight any fires.
Deputy Fire Chief John Quatieri told Boston.com that not having a truck ?severely limits? the department?s ability to operate.
?We don?t have the ability to reach a third floor window. If we were to have a building fire at this moment, and there was an occupant trapped on the third floor or above, we don?t have a ladder to reach them,? Quatieri said.
Quatieri said the city has been aware of the aging equipment, and has repeatedly denied requests to purchase replacements.
?Last year we went in front of city, and they denied us. This year we got denied again,? Quatieri said.
Ned Keefe, Chelsea?s acting city manager, said he was aware of ?no denial? for requests to replace the department?s ladder trucks.
?There?s a tower ladder truck in the city today,? Keefe said.
There is, in fact, a ladder truck in Chelsea today. But it?s broken, according to Quatieri.
?It?s a small city, but we respond to close to 10,000 calls per year, an extremely high number for a city this small. Ninety percent of the the fires we have involve three-story wood frame homes in very close proximity,? Quatieri said. ?In August we had a fire with five houses burning. The only way we were able to stop that was by using both ladder trucks.?
The lack of a ladder truck doesn?t just put building occupants at risk. Quatieri said it also poses grave risks to firefighters.
?If they became trapped, they?re trained to find the window to get out,? Quatieri said. ?We just don?t have the ability to get to them.?
To protect firefighters, a standing order has been issued that will prevent them from even entering buildings, depending on conditions.
?Instead, we would do an exterior attack,? he said.
Until a few years ago, the department had three ladder trucks.
?The old one got unsafe, so we got rid of it. Then we had to send one to Portland, Maine for an engine replacement two months ago. And today the last one got a coolant leak,? Quatieri said. ?We have an apparatus replacement plan. The city just stopped following it.?
Acting Fire Chief Robert Houghton said a new ladder truck would cost the city $1.2 million.
?Obviously we?re disappointed on this end because the city opted to not approve the money,? Houghton said. ?We?re hoping maybe next year we will get a new ladder truck.?
Quatieri said one of the ladder trucks could be fixed by Friday, if not this evening.
In the meantime?
?Fingers crossed.?
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/05/21/don-light-match-chelsea-today-fire-department-has-ladder-truck/3fR7fD55CwbaAURbihV8cI/story.html?p1=stream_news
Boston.com
By Hilary Sargent
The Chelsea Fire Department is without a single ladder truck, seriously impeding their ability to fight any fires.
Deputy Fire Chief John Quatieri told Boston.com that not having a truck ?severely limits? the department?s ability to operate.
?We don?t have the ability to reach a third floor window. If we were to have a building fire at this moment, and there was an occupant trapped on the third floor or above, we don?t have a ladder to reach them,? Quatieri said.
Quatieri said the city has been aware of the aging equipment, and has repeatedly denied requests to purchase replacements.
?Last year we went in front of city, and they denied us. This year we got denied again,? Quatieri said.
Ned Keefe, Chelsea?s acting city manager, said he was aware of ?no denial? for requests to replace the department?s ladder trucks.
?There?s a tower ladder truck in the city today,? Keefe said.
There is, in fact, a ladder truck in Chelsea today. But it?s broken, according to Quatieri.
?It?s a small city, but we respond to close to 10,000 calls per year, an extremely high number for a city this small. Ninety percent of the the fires we have involve three-story wood frame homes in very close proximity,? Quatieri said. ?In August we had a fire with five houses burning. The only way we were able to stop that was by using both ladder trucks.?
The lack of a ladder truck doesn?t just put building occupants at risk. Quatieri said it also poses grave risks to firefighters.
?If they became trapped, they?re trained to find the window to get out,? Quatieri said. ?We just don?t have the ability to get to them.?
To protect firefighters, a standing order has been issued that will prevent them from even entering buildings, depending on conditions.
?Instead, we would do an exterior attack,? he said.
Until a few years ago, the department had three ladder trucks.
?The old one got unsafe, so we got rid of it. Then we had to send one to Portland, Maine for an engine replacement two months ago. And today the last one got a coolant leak,? Quatieri said. ?We have an apparatus replacement plan. The city just stopped following it.?
Acting Fire Chief Robert Houghton said a new ladder truck would cost the city $1.2 million.
?Obviously we?re disappointed on this end because the city opted to not approve the money,? Houghton said. ?We?re hoping maybe next year we will get a new ladder truck.?
Quatieri said one of the ladder trucks could be fixed by Friday, if not this evening.
In the meantime?
?Fingers crossed.?
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/05/21/don-light-match-chelsea-today-fire-department-has-ladder-truck/3fR7fD55CwbaAURbihV8cI/story.html?p1=stream_news
