Detroit Fire

[Jedimike007]

Has anyone else been following the news with the Detroit Fire Dept? It sounds like that department is in ruins. Just wondering if anyone has heard the latest?

[ 12-22-2001: Message edited by: Jedimike007 ]

[firemtgene74]

Be more specific, what did you hear?? Perhaps I can dispell some of the rumors and take the spin off of what the press likes to put on us.

[Jedimike007]

Hi.

The press has been bashing Detroit Fire pretty hard. Here is a link with all their reports:

http://www.firehouse.com/news/2000/11/6_APdetroit.html

[Dalmatian90]

It's kinda hard following "news" over a year old...

In all fairness to the firefighters of Detroit, they work in a city that both bore the brunt of the "rust-belt flight" of the 70s and 80s that devestated their tax base...and at the same time and seemingly to this day have one of the most inept municipal administrations of anywhere in the country.

[MFD]

My Question is why are they letting the trucks get this bad. All of our trucks are atleast 20 years old. I admit they go a lot more calls than us. But if i was a full timer ATLEAST 2-3 times a week go over the truck(check the pump,check the tank make sure it's holding water, check gauges for cracks, check tires,check motor, check oil, you guys know this drill) Usually at every meeting(we go over all 4 trucks) even if they've never left the station. I'd rather have that truck inspected to much than too little. Most Fire trucks can last a long time if you just take care of them.
Now if this was done and was presented to the matience people for the fire truck and they said"no money for parts" then I'd be voting for a new mayor.

[DFD FF]

Jedimike, those articles were part of a Detroit News investigative series published in the fall of 2000. Not all that much has changed, but we do have some new pieces of apparatus and there are probably fewer defective hydrants. The last day I worked, three of our 24 ladder trucks had non-working aerials; a year ago it was routinely eight non-working aerials.

We have a new mayor taking office in January, and our union was one of the few that endorsed him. It will be interesting to see if he supports us to the degree we need to be supported. But, as is the case with most cities this year, a budget deficit is looming. And while there are some new big-ticket revenue producers downtown (stadiums, casinos, world headquarters), more residents and businesses continue to stream out of town than move in. The new mayor also inherits the worst abandoned building problem in the country (approx. 15,000), and that's a lot of fire load.

I hope our new leadership -- the mayor and whomever he selects as our new fire commissioner -- can make a difference. We've got what I biasedly regard as the greatest firefighting corps in the world. I'd love to see what we could do with proper equipment, manpower, training, etc.

[Jedimike007]

Didn't realize that was last year. All I saw for a date was at the top of the page:

Updated: Monday, November 6 - 7 AM

I was assuming it was this year. Sorry to bring up old scars.

[DrInferno]

Hey would the Detroit Fire Department allow a couple of IAFF brothers from Canada do a ride along and maybe show us around?