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Fleet reliability worries firefighters; a third of the fleet out of service

Stamford firefighters say the city is not replacing its rigs fast enough

By John Nickerson
The Stamford Advocate

STAMFORD, Conn. — Accelerating breakdowns in Stamford’s aging fire engines and rescue trucks has firefighters concerned that the city is not replacing frontline fire-fighting equipment quickly enough.

The Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association is marking the seventh anniversary of the city’s biggest fire in recent history — the South End Fire on April 3, 2006 — by charging that the city has put the acquisition of new fire-fighting equipment at the bottom of the priority list.

Association President Brendan Keatley said breakdowns in the city’s fire-fighting fleet led to a third of all the frontline fire trucks and engines staffed by Stamford Fire & Rescue to be replaced recently by loaners from other departments and past-their-prime reserve apparatus.

Full story: Firefighters concerned about fleet