Fort Drum’s fire department puts out a call for help. Over the past 3 years, 5 of its fire trucks have failed inspection and haven’t been replaced. With a fleet of aging apparatus, the firefighters’ union tells us it needs Washington to come to the rescue.
To fight fires, you need the right tools. On Fort Drum, those tools are becoming scarce.
Not one or two, but 5 Fort Drum trucks are no longer usable.
"They're failing basic inspections, cracks and frames, etc., deeming them unfit for operation and they're immediately taken out of service," said James Haggerty, president of Fort Drum Firefighters I.A.F.F. Local F-105
Out of service are Engine 1, built in 1995, Engine 3, built in 1987, and Rescue 2, built in 2000. While maintained and refurbished over the years, they're now deemed unsafe and can't be on the roads.
“We have to have something to back fill it with and unfortunately, we’ve lost so many apparatus over the past couple of years that we’re running out of apparatus to back fill,” said Haggerty.