Fire department closings are an unnecessary risk to taxpayers

On Dec. 27, 2009, fire department administrators began the practice of fire apparatus “brownouts” around the city. A brownout is the temporary closing of an engine or truck company to try and save money, staying within the 2010 budget handed to the fire department by the Common Council.

What it means to the taxpayers is it will take a little longer in some cases for the fire department to respond to you, or your neighbor, in time of need. In Milwaukee, the fire department responds to anything you determine to be an emergency-anything! The reason for responding to everything is the response time. No one gets there faster than the fire department when you call 911 and say, “I have an emergency.” Firefighters are equipped with the ability to, at the minimum, remove or rescue people from any hazard. Seconds count when responding to a rescue. Any time a fire apparatus is being closed within the city, precious seconds or minutes could be added to the response times.

As of this writing, fire administration has announced the closings for the first two periods, a period being 27 days. Engine 23 (2130 W. Oklahoma Ave.), Engine 39 (8025 W. Bradley Rd.), and Truck 9 (1551 N. 30th St.), have been closed down starting Dec. 27, and will be closed through Jan. 31. The next cycle has Bay View’s Engine 11 (2526 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), Truck 15 (5335 N. Teutonia Ave.), and Engine 24 (4927 W. Fiebrantz Ave.) closed. 

Other cities have used temporary closings to save money at the expense of taxpayers’ safety. In Baltimore, Md., WBAL TV reported that a fire had taken the life of a man and critically injured his daughter in an early morning fire Dec. 9, 2009. The closest rescue company had been closed down overnight due to budget cuts. A fire official on the scene referring to the injury and death said, “In this case, many of the members on the fire ground assured me that if these closings hadn’t occurred, there probably would have been a different outcome.”

The closings will only affect firehouses that house an engine and a truck company. Engines and trucks are not totally interchangeable. While they can perform emergency medical tasks much the same, when it comes to their function at a fire, they perform distinctly different jobs. The engine companies carry water, hoses, and trained firefighters to confine and extinguish a fire before it gets out of control. Truck companies are a virtual rolling toolbox of equipment to gain entry into locked buildings or homes, so engine companies can get to the fire. Truck companies have the ladders for rescues above the fire floor; they carry the fans used to remove heat and smoke to make the atmosphere less extreme so rescues and firefighting operations can occur. Rescues and firefighting need to be an orchestrated effort between both the engine and truck companies.

When an engine company is taken out of a firehouse and that house is left with only a truck company, the dynamics change when responding to a nearby fire. The truck company can still get in and attempt a rescue, but the fire is growing exponentially during the rescue attempt, making the operation much more dangerous for not only the people trapped, but also the firefighters making the attempt. A rule of thumb used by some fire services is that fire doubles in size every 30-60 seconds. When you take your closest engine company out of the equation, you could be adding minutes to the time until water is getting on the fire. A one-room fire quickly becomes a two- and three-room fire. It can make the difference between life and death.

When a truck company is taken out of a firehouse, the engine company is left with the certainty they will be waiting minutes longer for a truck company to get on scene to make entry, perform needed rescues, and ventilate heat and smoke. If the engine company cannot get inside the building, they can’t put out the fire. They can’t make the rescue.

Closing an engine or truck company anywhere in the city can affect our neighborhood. An example occurred Dec. 28, one day after the closings began, when a fire occurred in the neighborhood of 21st and Lloyd streets. Truck 9, located at 30th and Galena, a victim of the closings, would have been the first truck in. Without Truck 9 in the mix, Truck 1, located on Broadway and Wells, needed to be used. There were no truck companies to cover the downtown area. Truck 6, located at 2526 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., was transferred to 711 W. Wells St. to cover for truck companies used at the fire. Bay View was left without their truck company during the duration of the fire as a direct result of a north-side truck company, Truck 9, being closed down.

You might be wondering who I am, what makes me an expert, and why I care. I’ve been a member of the Milwaukee Fire Department for nearly 28 years, and have been an officer for 15 years. I’ve earned a degree in fire science and have been involved in nearly every facet of residential firefighting there is. I am presently assigned to Truck 6 as a fire lieutenant. I am a Class of 1977 Bay View High School alumnus. My two brothers and sister are also alumni. My brother and his family, sister and her family, son and his family, another son, and my wife and I are all presently residents of Bay View. In February, Engine 11, at 2526 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is going to be closed down. Sometime during the year Truck 6, stationed at the same house, may be closed. My motivation for informing Bay View of these closings is I don’t want see any of my family, friends, and neighbors in any unnecessary jeopardy. Please let your neighbors know what’s happening with the fire department so they’re at least aware of the danger.

Chad Hinsenkamp

Bay View