Baltimore Sun photo of Mayor Sheila Dixon.
UPDATE – Fatal fire with closest truck shut just hours after latest actions
More from The Baltimore Sun blog (including a quote from thewatchdesk.com)
Baltimore City Fire Chief Jim Clack tells STATter911.com that at a meeting this evening he learned the City Council and Mayor Sheila Dixon are trying to come up with money for the department’s overtime for the rest of the year. This comes at a time when Mayor Dixon has modified the chief’s plan to close three fire companies and continue rotating closings for two others.
The mayor’s decision to permanently close only one of the three companies means the department, without approximately $3.5 million in overtime between now and June 30, 2010, would still have to close at least four companies each day.
Before that meeting occurred this statement from Mayor Dixon was issued from City Hall in the afternoon:
“Yesterday, I listened to Chief Clack’s proposal to permanently close fire companies, and we had a follow-up meeting again today. Both the Chief and I are confronted with the difficult challenge of keeping the residents of this City safe during difficult economic times. We simply do not have the funds to maintain every City service at our historic levels.
Baltimore City Fire Department photo of Chief Jim Clack.
However, I support Chief Clack’s recommendation to close Truck 16 at 405 McMechen Street because that fire station will remain open and will continue to be staffed with a fire engine and a medic unit on site. The nearest truck company to Truck 16 is Truck 10 at 1503 W. Lafayette Avenue, which is 0.76 miles away from the station housing Truck 16. The closure of this truck company will decrease the number of citywide rotating closures from five to four per day.
To be clear, we are facing unprecedented deficits heading into the next fiscal year. Budget cuts to the Fire Department and every other City department will be on the table as we work to develop next year’s budget.”
Also on STATter911 …
- Is anyone surprised? Baltimore City’s rotating closures fits the pattern and becomes critical only after someone dies. – December 11, 2009
- More pain in Baltimore: Number of rotating closures reduced, but one engine and two trucks to close permanently. – December 7, 2009
- Quick Takes – December 10, 2009
- Quick Takes – December 9, 2009
…there are still 4 companies closing, it’ll just be a different 4 companies every day. So the firemen won’t have permanent homes, and the companies will be a mish-mash of personnel, and the mayor, the union, and the city can still pretend that the companies aren’t closed. You didn’t win anything, you just found a mayor who would rather spread the pain than make a command decision.
Dave, check the overnight Baltimore news wires. There was a fatal fire in Truck 18’s first due area. Truck 18 was closed last night as part of the rotating closure plan to save the city some money. To cover Truck 18’s closure, Truck 16 had to be pulled from a greater distance. The comparative mileage that factors into this fire fatality is that Truck 18 would have traveled 0.4 miles from quarters to the scene had they not been closed by the Mayor last night and the covering company, Truck 16, traveled 2.78 miles to get to the scene. Of note is the recent announcement that Truck 16 is scheduled to be permanently closed next month.
How about that all these closings come only a week after the mayor is convicted of stealing gift cards from the citizens of Baltimore. Now two days later she comes out to “save” these companies. It all sounds like a political ploy to make her look like the savior of the city, all while people are dying on the streets.
She made a command decision not to close the 2nd busiest truck in the city, a truck that primarily serves poor neighborhoods. It’s still roulette, but in fire house roulette there are some numbers that come up much less often than others. The companies that have fewer fires are where cuts and/or closures should be focused. You just have to get the idea by well-to-do citizens, who don’t understand the role of poor people in the fire square.
Did “Mayor” Sheila Dixon have to pay her own attorney fees or did the city foot the bill? Interesting….