Camden Fire Unions say old trucks and mechanical issues put lives at risk
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) — The Camden Fire Unions are calling it a crisis, and their leader said lives are at risk because of ongoing mechanical issues with Camden's fire trucks.
The windows are now boarded up at a home on the 900 block of Newton Avenue, and the inside is a burned-out shell. It's also where Pete Perez, the president of the Camden City Firefighters Union, said a man lost his life Friday after being trapped on the second floor.
"Time and seconds of what we do matter, especially when it comes to life safety," Perez said.
According to Perez, firefighters were running a hose to attack the flames, but they had to stop and wait because of a mechanical issue that caused the hose to go flat. Firefighters had to get out of the burning home because of the faulty equipment.
"We have trucks older than some of my members," Perez said.
In a letter sent to the city, the fire unions claim more than 50% of the fire engines in the city have failed a critical pump test, and repairs are backlogged with only one certified mechanic to fix the trucks.
Some residents like Laura Acosta said that's concerning.
"It's not good and scary for us in houses, that anything can happen at any moment," said Acosta, who has lived in the city for three years.
The city told CBS News Philadelphia it acknowledges some fire trucks have experienced mechanical and operational issues in recent months.
The city said in a statement, "The safety of our City residents and City of Camden fire personnel are always a top priority and remain a top priority. It is the City's understanding that neither equipment or function of the fire apparatus impacted the Camden Fire Department's ability to put out this fire."
"The City is not immune from supply-chain issues and specialized parts are often on backorder and take longer than normal to arrive," the statement said. "Under Mayor Carstarphen's leadership, the City has purchased/ordered three new pieces of apparatus for the Fire Department. Prior to this equipment being ordered, the City had not placed a new frontline piece of equipment into service. Unfortunately, new fire apparatus takes significant lead time (up to two years) to design, manufacture and deliver. While waiting for new apparatus, the City has taken numerous steps to more quickly repair its existing fleet."
The steps include ordering new trucks, posting new mechanic positions and finding new vendors for specialized repair work, the city said.
Acosta said that's a start to help put her mind at ease.
"If they can fix that, it would be awesome and give me a peace of mind," Acosta said.
Investigators are still working to determine the man's cause of death.
Perez said as they wait for the new fire trucks, he would also like to meet with city leaders to come up with a comprehensive plan to better address the mechanical issues moving forward.