More Than 1/3 of Providence’s Fire Trucks Are Outdated: Union Head Raises Safety Concerns

The President of the Providence Fire Fighters union is raising concerns about the safety of the city’s fire equipment, stating that recently they had “fire apparatus catch fire, lose the use of their brakes and [have] their structural components snap and break.”

Providence Fire Fighters IAFF Local 799 President Derek Silva raised his concerns in a letter to city officials — and on Monday, the Providence Fire Fighters took to social media to draw attention to the fact that 1/3 of Providence fire engines are 20 years old.

Moreover, the union goes on to state that 3/4 of Providence Fire Department ladder trucks are 20 years old.

In Silva’s letter, he writes that there “are number of ideas and suggestions that the men and women of the fire department have in which we offer to the city so that a plan can be developed,” including utilizing a portion of the revenue created through emergency medical services and/or fire prevention, bolstering revenue streams created through hazardous materials response, or entering into a lease-to-own program.

City Council Chairman Responds

“It is of great concern to me as I am sure it is to all of the Citizens of Providence that our City's Fire Department has unsafe and outdated equipment. Under the present failed leadership, this is what happens when you don't have a qualified, dedicated fire chief. It begs the question, where is the long term plan on a replacement?” said Providence City Councilman Jim Taylor, who is the Chair of the Special Committee on Public Safety.

“I call on the Public Safety Commissioner and the Administration to stop playing politics and focus on the safety of our firefighters as well as the Citizens of Providence. I will be calling on the necessary parties to come before the Public Safety Committee to testify as to the condition of the fire safety equipment. We need to work together and investigate precisely how deteriorated the condition of our fire equipment is,” said Taylor.

“I am leaning towards possibly having the state come in to inspect the older apparatus to make sure of the safety of our firefighters and citizens of the City of Providence. I need to meet and discuss this with the members of the Public Safety Committee as well as my colleagues on the City Council,” said Taylor.

“We are not talking just the safety of our men and women on the fire department. We are talking the safety of the Citizens of Providence as well because if a truck while responding to an emergency breaks down, we have to send the next closest apparatus and on a fire or medical emergency time is of the essence.”

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