KTVI
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — East St. Louis firefighters fought a challenging fire early Monday morning. The fire destroyed an apartment building, leaving several families homeless.
Firefighters did the best they could, but feel they would have had a better chance at saving the building if they had more manpower. They’re understaffed by about five firefighters, and the engine house closest to this apartment fire is currently closed.
But it wasn’t just manpower that plagued the attempt to fight this apartment building fire. Firefighters complained of a fire hydrant that was rusted over, and couldn’t be easily accessed. East St. Louis Fire Captain Brandon Walls says, “The trucks have 1,000 gallons, so they at least have something to work with, but in a fire this big, you want to have a backup water supply to maintain the efforts.”
Full story: Staffing, other issues plague East St. Louis firefighters