Firetruck brakes failed, test says
Local supports hiring mechanics who join union
A detailed inspection of Ladder 26, the Boston firetruck that crashed into an apartment building and killed a firefighter this month, appears to confirm what fire officials suspected: The brakes failed as the truck barreled down a street in Mission Hill.
The findings, described by a high-ranking official briefed on the results of the inspection, were made by a mechanical specialist hired by the Suffolk district attorney's office.
Jake Wark, a spokesman for the district attorney, declined to release the review results yesterday, saying the investigation is ongoing. He did say that another specialist retained by the Boston Firefighters Union was allowed to observe the examination of the truck.
The union said it supports Mayor Thomas M. Menino's decision last week to hire licensed mechanics to maintain the city's firetrucks. But the union said it wants those mechanics to be members, setting up a possible conflict with the mayor.
"It's long overdue," Edward A. Kelly, president of the Firefighters Union, said in a telephone interview. "We'll welcome those mechanics to our union, and we welcome them to our department, because our fleet is in deplorable condition."
Last week, the mayor ordered the hiring of four licensed mechanics to service firetrucks, including a professional fleet manager, following the Jan. 9 crash.
Those hires would fill vacant positions previously filled by Local 718 firefighters who are not mechanics. A Menino administration official said yesterday that it is unclear which union will represent the mechanics.
"The most important thing is to get the people with the necessary qualifications into the positions," said John Dunlap, the city's director of labor relations. "We welcome the fact that the fire union has said they won't oppose that."
Ladder 26 was returning from a routine medical call when the driver apparently lost control on a steep hill and the truck careered through a busy intersection and into a Mission Hill apartment building. Lieutenant Kevin M. Kelley, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, died instantly.
Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser told the Globe last week that the Fire Department does not have a routine preventive maintenance program for the city's firetrucks. The last time the brakes on Ladder 26 were inspected was 10 months ago, though the truck's manufacturer recommends inspections every three months.
The Fire Department has a maintenance division of 12 uniformed firefighters who rotate tires and fix broken lights, among other duties, but they are not licensed mechanics. The city has sought to shift the department's maintenance posts to civilians in ongoing contract negotiations with the union, but the administration balked at union efforts to tie the proposal to the hiring of 24 additional firefighters, according to documents obtained by the Globe.
Fraser wrote to Kelly last year notifying him that the department was having trouble filling three openings in the maintenance division. At the time, Fraser told the union he was going to unilaterally assign people, calling the vacancies "a serious safety concern."
Kelly said the dispute over the vacancies was a separate issue from the hiring of licensed mechanics. "We've never opposed hiring mechanics," Kelly said. "Mechanics were done away with on this job a long time ago and were never replaced."
The Boston Fire Department's vehicle maintenance division was staffed by firefighters in the 1960s, until the state civil service commission ruled in 1971 that truck maintenance was outside their allowable duties as firefighters, according to the 1971 ruling. The division was subsequently staffed by mechanics, about 24 of whom were laid off during cutbacks in 1981 after Proposition 2 1/2 passed. By 1984, under the administration of Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, the division was filled again with uniformed firefighters.
John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com. Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.