Mayor Mike Duggan showed Wednesday that he is serious about revamping an embattled fire department that has neglected its firefighters and residents for decades.
The monumental task of reforming the beleaguered Detroit Fire Department is now in the hands of a former assistant police chief with managerial prowess but no experience fighting fires.
Fire Commissioner Edsel Jenkins is on his way out.
When firefighters dash into burning houses and buildings to rescue people and knock down fires, they wear high-pressure air bottles to breathe.
Firefighters are forced to rely on noncompliant hoses, engine pumps, air bottles, self-contained respirators, pressurized extinguishers and aerial and ground ladders.
In just five days, two people died in separate house fires after Detroit firefighters were delayed by a malfunctioning alert system.
By the time firefighters arrived to the burning house, there was little they could do.
Firefighters were delayed because of a problem with the alert system.
A Detroit fire truck also didn’t have a working aerial ladder to attempt a rescue.
The records show the city grossly misrepresented the number of broken hydrants earlier this year.