Detroit firefighters can’t catch break: Rig gets stuck, then breaks down

It could almost be described as a comedy of errors if it weren’t so tragic.

Over the past two years, the Detroit Fire Department’s aging and battered ladder trucks have been breaking down faster than mechanics can fix them. The repairs often take so long that replacements are breaking down and being substituted with even more worn-down replacements.

Then on Friday, Ladder 31 – one of the city’s key functioning rigs – couldn’t leave its headquarters at Alter and E. Warren because the automatic garage door wouldn’t open. Despite a serious shortage of properly functioning ladders, the city shut down one of Detroit’s most vital trucks for the night.
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On Saturday, the city pried open the garage door, freeing the desperately needed rig. Only trouble: The ladder truck quickly broke down and had to be towed away.

Firefighters were given a replacement with malfunctioning aerial operations.

As if that weren’t enough, firefighters were told in February to stay off all of the ladders because the city had failed to get them inspected, and they posed safety hazards. Firefighters were permitted to climb the ladder only when a life was at risk. 

Long-overdue relief for the Fire Department could be a long way off as the city wends its way through bankruptcy court.
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What remains unclear is when money will become available for major rig repairs and new trucks. The Detroit Fire Department is often considered the busiest in the nation, with more than 80% of the fires started intentionally.

The city averages more than 20 fires a day. In 2012, firefighters’ wages were cut 10%, arsons were drastically underreported and seven fire stations were permanently closed as part of a $24-million reduction in the department’s budget.
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Most of those stations have since been broken into and stripped over scrap metal.

In the meantime, firefighters are forced to work with what they have.

Mayor Mike Duggan, who took over the department in January, is trying to make due with what he was given. He asked firefighters to give him six months to improve the situation.

  budget, detroit, Fire department, ladder 31, ladder trucks

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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