A Pawtucket Fire Department injury report obtained by Target 12 blames an out-of-service ladder truck, a lack of funding to repair it, training, and a number of other issues for an injury to a firefighter that resulted in him losing his foot.
The firefighter's foot was amputated 15 days after he was injured during a May 15 triple-decker fire at 579 Central Ave., the report written by Assistant Fire Chief Jay McLaughlin states. According to the report, the 25-year veteran was cutting a hole in the roof of the building — a process known as ventilating. When "a woman appeared in a third-floor window calling for help," the firefighter and another crew member returned to the ladder from the roof and instructed the driver to move the truck toward the woman. The firefighter who was driving "verified (several times)" that the hands and feet of the firefighters on the ladder were clear of the moving rungs, according to the report.