Closing of Truck 10 is on hold on eve of City Council hearing
Delay comes as City Council schedules a hearing on fire response times. Department says closings have not hurt citizen safety.
Above: Truck 10 serves Harlem Park and Sandtown in West Baltimore. In 2011, it was the sixth busiest truck company in the city.
Fire Chief James S. Clack has delayed his controversial plan to disband Truck Company 10 in West Baltimore as “discussions within the city government continue surrounding future plans” for the unit, a spokesman for the Fire Department confirmed this afternoon.
The department had planned to close Truck 10 this Monday, but Chief Clack told union officers that the plan was “on hold,” according to Michael B. Campbell, president of Fire Officers Association Local 964.
In an e-mail today, Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said, “The status of Truck Company 10 is as you’ve stated.”
The delay comes as the City Council plans to hold a hearing on the impact of recent company closures on fire response times and whether they violate the city’s Comprehensive Fire Protection Plan.
Truck 10 was one of three firefighting units slated to close last summer as part of Clack’s plan to save money and end the practice of rotating closures. The plan was backed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who reappointed Clack to a new six-year term.
Highly Decorated Unit
Serving Harlem Park, Sandtown, Rosemont and the Uplands areas, Truck 10 is a highly decorated unit that ranks among the city’s busiest fire companies.
It responded to 2,269 medical and fire calls in fiscal 2011 and was credited with helping save three unconscious children found in a burning building on West Lexington Street last May.
Truck 10 was originally slated to close July 1 – along with Truck 15 in East Baltimore and Squad 11 in Bayview – but was allowed to stay open for 90 more days.
The October 10 Council hearing was initiated by City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young, a vocal critic of the company closings, and was co-sponsored by 11 of 14 members.
This photo was posted on Truck 15’s Facebook page when the company was closed. The caption read: “R.I.P., May 12, 1908 – July 9, 2012.”
(Absent from the list are Councilwomen Helen Holton, Sharon Green Middleton and Rochelle “Rikki” Spector.)
In Compliance with City Plan?
Among other issues, the hearing will examine whether the recent closures were in accordance with the city’s Comprehensive Fire Protection Plan.
The plan calls on the Board of Fire Commissioners to establish criteria to determine if fire companies should be closed or consolidated and to review “proposed future consolidations, relocations or reductions” of fire personnel and equipment.
Chief Clack had initiated the closures based on a strategic analysis conducted by his own staff.
The review concluded that permanently closing three companies was preferable to a system of rotating closures, and the new plan would “improve slightly” fire response times and make Baltimore “closer to” the National Fire Protection Association standard.
Closure Working, Says Spokesman
Cartwright said the closing of Truck 10 and Squad 11 has been successful.
“Relocating Engine Company 33 to the former station of Truck 15 has allowed us [to] maintain a high level of fire protection to that community,” he wrote today.
“Our observation is that the disbandment of Truck Company 15 has NOT had an adverse impact on the community. With respect to the majority of our 911 calls being EMS [Emergency Medical Services], we continue to provide the high level of service that our citizens expect and continue to receive.”
Using Funds from Speed Camera Fines
The Council is also expected to explore whether the unanticipated $4.2 million in revenue from speed camera fines could be applied to keeping Truck 10 open as well as the restoration of disbanded Truck 15.
Two weeks ago, however, the Board of Estimates voted to allot the speed camera funds to the Department of Transportation for additional “traffic calming” projects.” Council President Young abstained from voting on the item.
Chief Clack has been asked to testify at the Council hearing, along with members of the Finance and Law departments.
The law department has submitted an opinion saying that Clack has the unilateral power to close or relocate fire companies, regardless of the recommendations of the Comprehensive Fire Protection Plan.
“Although Article 9 of the City Code mandates that the Board of Fire Commissioners present the Plan,” wrote assistant city solicitor Hilary Ruley, “whatever the Plan says about company closures is not binding on the Fire Chief, who can act regardless of the Plan.”