Maintenance Of Boston Fire Vehicles Falls Short
BFD Does Not Schedule Preventive Maintenance
POSTED: 11:02 am EST January 14,
2009
UPDATED: 11:04 am EST January 14,
2009
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BOSTON -- Team 5 Investigates has discovered that the manner in which the Boston Fire Department maintains its fleet of more than 50 engines and ladder trucks is not nearly as stringent when compared to other large U.S. cities.
Maintenance Of Fire Trucks Falls Short"There are a pool of individuals at the fire department who are responsible for the maintenance of equipment," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. "They're firefighters more than licensed mechanics. That sure does need to be addressed. It's a contractual issue."Sources familiar with ongoing contract negotiations between firefighters and the city tell Team 5 Investigates' Kelley Tuthill that the city of Boston has been trying to have maintenance responsibilities taken out of the firefighters' contract since June 2007. Boston Police use a civilian fleet manager to oversee cruiser repairs.The now-expired collective bargaining agreement includes six positions filled by union firefighters. But those six staff members don't respond to calls or fight fires. They are in charge of overseeing minor fixes on fire apparatuses , and they earn a higher, manager-level pay for doing so."The firefighters we have assigned to the maintenance division do small repairs," said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. "They will do oil changes, or if the lights are out and they need bulb replacements, or grab bars need tightening, things like that."Despite those positions, a fire department spokesman told Team 5 Investigates there are no schedules of preventive maintenance on the city's dozens of engines and ladder trucks. Boston fire officials admit most repair work gets subcontracted out to private mechanics.That's in sharp contrast to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Team 5 investigates confirmed all four major cities schedule regular maintenance, and all have on-staff mechanics who do all repairs to fire vehicles in-house.The same is true in Massachusetts' other big cities. Both Springfield and Worcester fire officials told Team 5 Investigates that workers trained as mechanics, not firefighters, are responsible for repairing department vehicles.
Maintenance Of Fire Trucks Falls Short"There are a pool of individuals at the fire department who are responsible for the maintenance of equipment," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. "They're firefighters more than licensed mechanics. That sure does need to be addressed. It's a contractual issue."Sources familiar with ongoing contract negotiations between firefighters and the city tell Team 5 Investigates' Kelley Tuthill that the city of Boston has been trying to have maintenance responsibilities taken out of the firefighters' contract since June 2007. Boston Police use a civilian fleet manager to oversee cruiser repairs.The now-expired collective bargaining agreement includes six positions filled by union firefighters. But those six staff members don't respond to calls or fight fires. They are in charge of overseeing minor fixes on fire apparatuses , and they earn a higher, manager-level pay for doing so."The firefighters we have assigned to the maintenance division do small repairs," said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. "They will do oil changes, or if the lights are out and they need bulb replacements, or grab bars need tightening, things like that."Despite those positions, a fire department spokesman told Team 5 Investigates there are no schedules of preventive maintenance on the city's dozens of engines and ladder trucks. Boston fire officials admit most repair work gets subcontracted out to private mechanics.That's in sharp contrast to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Team 5 investigates confirmed all four major cities schedule regular maintenance, and all have on-staff mechanics who do all repairs to fire vehicles in-house.The same is true in Massachusetts' other big cities. Both Springfield and Worcester fire officials told Team 5 Investigates that workers trained as mechanics, not firefighters, are responsible for repairing department vehicles. Copyright 2009 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
