The following press release was issued Friday, March 8 by Camden Fire Officers IAFF Local #2578:
CAMDEN, New Jersey — The Camden Fire Unions are compelled to urgently publicize the dire state of the Camden Fire Department’s apparatus fleet. The Unions believe that the current array of mechanical issues with our apparatus is at a crisis level and has created an immediate perilous environment for our members, the citizens of Camden, and the property we aim to protect.
Last night (Thursday, March 7), a fire broke out on Newton Avenue with reported residents trapped. Upon arrival, the first due unit, Engine Company Eight (E8), was met by fleeing residents who reported that a resident remained trapped on the second floor. E8 proceeded to advance a hoseline into the dwelling to locate, confine, and extinguish the fire on the second floor.
Unfortunately, E8’s crew was forced to delay their advancement to the second floor and retreat to the safety of the stairs due to a mechanical issue with their fire apparatus, which caused their hoseline to lose pressure on several occasions. Another fire truck eventually assisted E8’s crew via another port on the apparatus and was able to provide limited water to allow E8 to advance.
Regrettably, the resident of the second floor lost their life in the incident. The Unions are not providing a determination to this unfortunate loss of life; the ensuing investigation will provide that. However, the Unions must emphasize that our members are being asked to provide fire protection with subpar apparatus whereby more than 50 percent of our fire engines have failed their pump test. This fact, along with an inefficient maintenance repair process, poses a significant threat to Camden’s firefighters and its residents.
Over the past year, there have been multiple incidents involving trucks failing to provide water at fires. We urge the citizens of Camden to join us in demanding answers from the city of Camden.
