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Boston firetrucks taken out of service since the fatal crash of Ladder 26

By adamg on Fri, 01/16/2009 - 8:58am

This map shows ladder and engine trucks that have had to be removed from service since the Jan. 9 crash that killed Lt. Kevin Kelley (click on an icon to a link for more info; note that one of the icons is obscured by the word "map," move the map to see it). Most have been returned to service after repairs. The Globe reports Mayor Menino has ordered the Fire Department to hire licensed mechanics to maintain the trucks, rather than outsourcing maintenance to private companies.

Thanks to Brett for the suggestion to do a map. If I'm missing any trucks, let me know.

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Comments

By Chris Devers on Fri, 01/16/2009 - 10:52am.

It seems like these "engine going out of service" stories need some followup.

Ladder 14 was taken out of service on Monday, but I'm positive I saw it driving around on Tuesday or Wednesday. And it was full with several firefighters in their gear (jackets, helmets, etc), so it didn't seem like they were just taking it to the garage for (or from) service.

Do we know if it's still out of service? Was it, in spite of appearances, just being driven somewhere but not on duty after Monday this week? If it's back in service, are any of the others also?

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By Brett on Fri, 01/16/2009 - 2:24pm.

That article directly answers most or all of the questions I raised late last night, digging nicely into the problem, and I'm happy to see it. It was published today, but I'm guessing was long in the works by the time I wrote my comment here last night.

I had just spent some time quoting and commenting on choice bits for this comment, but then I realized I was practically quoting the whole article, and it speaks for itself. It's worth reading start to finish.

What a massive, giant clusterfuck all around- both the union, the city government, and the fire department are up to their elbows in shit on this one, but the union is especially guilty; while Kelley has been spouting no end of bullshit about how this was all the fault of the city and the union has been raising maintenance issues, it turns out they're culpable to a T.

I hope the firefighters have learned a lesson in all of this: namely that patronage and putting union benefits ahead of safety gets people killed. Maybe they'll start paying attention to the positions their leadership takes...

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By oddjob60 on Fri, 01/16/2009 - 3:57pm.

"Spot inspections since Friday's crash have uncovered brake problems and other needed repairs on at least six other firetrucks, which were removed from service. [...] Steve MacDonald, Fire Department spokesman, said the department delayed further inspections yesterday until trucks could be returned to service. Only 12 of the city's 56 firetrucks have been inspected so far."

That's easy math: half of the trucks inspected so far have been pulled from service. I really love the BFD's response-- in essence, they stopped inspecting because if they kept inspecting, there wouldn't be enough fire trucks in service! This is a big fat load of incompetent, with enough blame to nicely coat both the city and the union.

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