By David Foster
The Philadelphia Daily News
PHILDELPHIA — A day after a report that Philadelphia would begin sending firefighters to help the depleted Camden Fire Department, officials from both cities yesterday sought to extinguish the media flames.
“We’re not fighting Camden’s fires on a daily basis,” Everett Gillison, Philadelphia’s deputy mayor of public safety, said in response to the 6ABC report. “If Camden needs us for a mass-terrorist matter or mass evacuations, we will be there to help them.”
Camden last month laid off 67 firefighters as part of massive budget cuts.
Both cities agreed to a mutual-aid agreement in July 2008 and promised to help each other in the case of a catastrophic event, defined as “any incident/event that overwhelms the local jurisdiction’s resources and will likely result in a prolonged, multiday operation.”
Gillison assured Philadelphians that firefighters would not be sent to Camden to put out minor fires.
“Camden has a well-trained and professional fire department that can handle regular fires,” Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said.
Even with the agreement in place since 2008, Philadelphia and Camden don’t have compatible equipment.
“Philadelphia firefighters can’t hook up to Camden’s fire hydrants,” Ayers said. “We will be working in the next few months to make sure our systems are compatible.”
A radio connection was recently set up to ensure that the fire departments can communicate.
“I’m very happy to hear our firefighters won’t be sent to Camden regularly,” said Bill Gault, president of Philadelphia Firefighters Local 22. “We would be honored to fight alongside the Camden Fire Department in case of a catastrophe.”
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