On Sunday, a fire truck operated by the Boston Police Department crashed into a parked car, an incident caused by failure of the aging fire truck’s turbocharger. No one was harmed in the incident, but it has provoked an intense reaction from the firefighter’s union and members of the local community.

Last Friday afternoon another fire truck operated by the Boston Fire Department lost control driving down Parker Hill Avenue, crashing into an apartment building, and causing the death of a firefighter.

The crash of Ladder 26, which killed 52 year old Lt. Kevin Kelley, a longtime veteran of the fire department, is attributed to brake failure on the fire truck. Several children were reported to be working in a computer center in the building where the truck crashed. The children were showered with glass when the windows shattered, and several were taken to the hospital. Also hospitalized were the four additional firefighters aboard the fire truck, luckily all with non-life threatening injuries.

In wake of this horrific accident, Sunday’s crash serves as emphasis to the demands of the Boston Firefighter’s Union. The union has stated that the condition of Boston’s fire trucks is “deplorable” and that responsibility needs to be taken. Examinations of each of the 57 fire trucks in use in the city have begun.

Results have come quick. On Monday, Ladder 14, a fire truck of the same make and type as the one involved in Friday’s crash, was found to have similar brake problems in its system. The union hopes such investigations will help prevent future tragedies.

Union spokesman Edward Kelly told the press that fire trucks in New York City are replaced every ten years. “We have apparatus on the street that’s older than some of the firefighters on this job,” he said Sunday, “and that’s a disgrace.”

Sources
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18458589/detail.html
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18458589/detail.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/01/brake_problems.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/
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