After its patrol as part of the stepped-up Community Fire Watch during the predawn hours of Sept. 6, the crew from Engine 2 returned to Hollenback Station without having seen a flame or plume of smoke.
From 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., the engine and its firefighters rolled through half of the city, covering the North End and East End neighborhoods, Parsons and Miners Mills.
“Zones 2, 3 , 4 & 5 – Saw some rabbits. Nothing else to report,” read the entry in the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department’s daily log obtained through a Right to Know request.
The post was indicative of the attitude Local 104 of the International Association of Fire Fighters has toward the watch, leading them to question whether the program, ramped up by Mayor Tony George in August, made the city safer.