The Fort Drum Fire Department is without a ladder truck and that has a ripple effect on other area departments like the city of Watertown, which turns to Fort Drum when it needs backup.
When a warehouse on Vanduzee Street went up in flames in 2015 and when a vacant building on Newell Street was set on fire in 2018, the Watertown Fire Department was able to call on Fort Drum's department to bring in an extra ladder truck to attack from above.
"We've always had a good working relationship with them," said Watertown Fire Chief Dale Herman.
But that's not the case anymore. Right now, Fort Drum is without a ladder truck.
"In the past two years, we've lost both ladder companies, ladder trucks that we have. We just lost one this past fall and now we have no elevated platforms to do ventilation, etc.," said James Haggerty, IAFF Local F-105 union president.