Morning Lineup – December 17

Still another bombshell was dropped in Boston Tuesday pertaining to the truck maintenance program at the BFD.  Last Friday we, along with most other fire/rescue-related websites, reported (HERE) on the local prosecuter’s decision not to file any criminal charges relating to the deadly ladder truck crash last January.  In summary, a district attorney had conducted an investigation into the crash and released his report to the press and public last Thursday while discussing his findings.

But one item that he didn’t mention was a detailed report from the police investigation into the maintenance on that particular truck, Ladder 26.  I don’t believe there was any intention on the D. A.’s part to hide it, but rather he already had enough documentation to complete his report.  But the Boston Globe kept looking around and found the report.  On Tuesday they published a summary of the report and it contains some truly troubling findings.  The Globe’s article, which you can READ HERE, begins:

A detailed police report from a recent investigation of a fatal Boston firetruck crash concludes that a Fire Department contractor installed the wrong parts on the ladder truck’s brakes several months before the crash and that firefighters who were not licensed mechanics repeatedly adjusted the brakes in violation of national safety guidelines.

The contractor replaced a brake chamber and brake pads on Ladder 26 with “unsuitable’’ parts in spring 2008, which decreased stopping power significantly, according to a copy of the report obtained by the Globe. A few months later, when firefighters working on the truck noticed the brakes not working properly, they made manual adjustments that may have masked underlying problems.

(the article continues further:)  Robert Clarke, a consultant who specializes in large vehicle maintenance and engineering, said in an interview yesterday that the results of the Boston police investigation provide a “sad lesson.’’ He said the substandard brake pads, smaller brake chamber, and the manual adjustments by Boston firefighters would all have decreased stopping power when it was really needed: on a steep hill and with a poorly trained driver behind the wheel.

People who have been following this story know that until this Spring the BFD’s truck maintenance shop was a place where firefighters who didn’t want to fire fires anymore were parked and served out their careers doing automotive repair work on the emergency apparatus.  Until this deadly crash occurred, there was never any attempt to upgrade their skills and abilities by training and certifying them as bona fide firetruck mechanics.  And even yet, after all that has happened this year, they are still there.  The city’s “solution” was to hire genuine mechanics as shop supervisors to set up maintenance schedules and watch over the firefighters’ work on the apparatus.

For the life of me, I cannot understand the reasoning for this reluctance to correct the basic problem which is adequate mechanical work.  It has all the appearance of doing just enough to get the spotlight off of the shop while trying to maintain the good ol’ boy practice that directly led to the January tragedy.  That is just plain wrong.

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On a lighter note, let’s check out some more hockey action this morning.  This time from Green Bay, Wisconsin, where a minor-league game between the Green Bay Gamblers and the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders on Tuesday night was interrupted by an unwanted visitor to the rink.  While the game was in progress, an errant bat flew into the playing area and disrupted the play to the extent that play had to be halted.

“Definitely never seen something like that,” said Gamblers goalie Steve Summerhays. “That bat was behind me and I was trying to watch the play. I’d rather see a guy coming at me than a bat cruising behind my neck.”

After a few minutes of aerial attacks, the Green Bay coach Jon Cooper held up play and sent his top-3 scorers onto the ice with orders to dispatch the gate-crasher.  In short order, they downed the rodent and it was shoveled up and removed to the dumpster.

WLUK-TV got the video of the game’s top highlight play:

Green Bay went on to win the game 5-2.

We’d better get the equipment checked out now while I go start some more coffee.  You can make up your own “batty” jokes.