Fall River fire station and many others need urgent renovations to improve decaying conditions, firefighter says
When Fall River firefighters responded to the Gabriel House assisted living facility fire over the summer, they were praised for their bravery saving dozens of residents from one of the deadliest fires in Massachusetts history.
Now, one Fall River firefighter is sounding the alarm about the conditions his fellow firefighters returned to that night and where they relax, eat, and sleep on a daily basis.
Lieutenant Jason Burns gave WBZ-TV a tour of his firehouse on Bedford Street, which was built in the 1930's. He showed us a ceiling covered in chipping paint, open walls, broken bathrooms, and caution tape wrapped around a pipe that tested positive for asbestos.
"A shower should work, a sink should be able to work, you shouldn't have paint chips falling on top of you," Burns said.
Burns is the Executive Director of the Last Call Foundation, a non-profit that was started in honor of Boston firefighter Michael Kennedy, who was killed in a 2014 fire in the Back Bay. Burns said less than optimal living conditions plague fire stations across the state.
Documentary on firehouse conditions
Last Call Foundation is in the process of creating a documentary which shows firehouse conditions. One clip from the film shows missing ceiling tiles and a broken shower inside a Worcester fire station.
"We represent 237 locals in the state," said Rich MacKinnon, President of Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, "I would say comfortably, 60% of those firehouses across the state do not meet code or have not had major upgrades."
Burns said some improvements have been made to his firehouse in recent years, such as the addition of tubes that vacuum out diesel fumes from the trucks before they can rise into the station's living quarters. The station also added a specialized washing machine to clean carcinogens from firefighter turnout gear.
Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said a $2 million renovation project is planned to improve the firehouse. It's scheduled to begin in five months.
"There's remediation plans for all kinds of asbestos work that goes on in the city and everybody carries them out appropriately and I'm sure they'll do that at the fire station," Coogan said.
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said $2 million is a drop in the bucket. He supports legislation that would create a public safety building authority to put more state funds toward firehouse upgrades.
"I think the time has come that we really need to put some thought into how do we solve this problem, because it's a major problem," Bacon said.