Controller Study: Philadelphia Fire Units Slower To Respond

By Pat Loeb, Walt Hunter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia City Controller Alan Butkovitz says his investigation shows that 44,522 times between 2010 and 2014 Philadelphia Fire Department engine companies failed to respond to fire emergency calls within the 5 minute 20 second national standard.

The Controller claims the slow responses put residents at risk.

He says "brownouts" are one cause of the slower responses. The city, each weekday, puts 2 fire companies out of service during the day, and 2 others at night, in rotating neighborhoods, as a cost-cutting measure.

Butkovitz says the "brownouts" mean more units must travel a greater distance to answer calls.

Andrew Thomas, President of Local 22, the firefighters union, says more firefighters scrambling over longer distances to answer calls has also led to an increase in apparatus accidents and firefighter injuries.

Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer told CBS 3's Walt Hunter he questions both the methods, the numbers and the conclusions of the Controllers' study. The Commissioner says Butkovitz stopped short of establishing any "cause and effect" relationship between "brownouts" and slower engine response times.

The Commissioner says the fire department now plans its own study to determine if any of the Controller's conclusions are valid.

Meanwhile, Mayor-elect James Kenney tells CBS 3 he plans to eliminate "brownouts" when he takes office.