I also remember this incident when two civilians died in a fire that the closed Eng 294 would have been First Due at.
Let me add that NYC is not alone. Sixty miles away in Bridgeport, Ct a fire occurred in a public housing project leaving two other occupants dead. Same story, the first due Engine Co had been closed only a few weeks earlier. The second due engine was out on another run in their first due area. It would take the THIRD DUE Engine Co to arrive at this fire before any water could be applied to attack it. By that time it was too late. Too many extra minutes had passed and for those innocent victims, just like those victims who might have survived had Eng 294 been there, "they apparently had no chance". The city then tried to use every excuse except the right one, on why those people died.
We travel another 75 miles east of Bridgeport to a small city called Norwich, Ct. Where the plan of many city officials was to eliminate/lay off 16 firefighters of a 60 man department. That plan was to close down a Three man Engine Co (Eng 3) and drop a Fourth firefighter on one of the other single house Engine Cos. (Eng 2). This was in the planning stages as early as last January, 2015 for the July, 2016 budget. Word was out that if this should happen, those politicians would be held accountable if anything were to go sour. When the fire department budget was passed just a week or so ago, it wasn't a total win for the people and it's fire department. That fourth member on Eng 2 will be lost but through attrition and not lay offs. And Engine 3 will remain open.
There is now an upcoming newspaper article expected to show several documented cases of serious incidents where these firefighters were never used. Despite them being much closer than the other responding mutual aid companies. It seems there might have been a plan by some in the works of how this city could get along without all of those firefighters.
This actually started back in January, 2015. It took a lot of convincing by many individuals to get the backing of the majority of the politicians to keep that Engine Co (3) open. It took a Chief of Department to present his many facts and details defending the need for this manning. It took a group of well trained, dedicated firefighters willing to serve the citizens and tell their story. And most important, it took a group of citizens who defended those firefighters that they all depend on.
So whether it's the FDNY, or some big or small city in Connecticut, not everybody see's their firefighters in the way most of us do. As one of the strongest links in a chain holding a city together. Helping the people who are a part of it, whether it be where they live, work or visit. If we don't need them we should consider ourselves very lucky. But if we do need them, we need them to be there without delay.