Detroit Firefighters Want Apparatus Committee Revived
by Morgan Koziarz|last edited April 25,2018 3:14 P.M. EST|
Myron Reed has been going to work for the Detroit Fire Department for the last 16 years. Recently it has become more difficult for him to get the equipment he needs to do his job.
Detroit’s Apparatus Committee, which had been in place for 100 years, was deemed unnecessary with the appointment of the newest deputy commissioner in 2015, Dave Fornell, who has extensive experience with apparatus manufacturing committees.
“In the eyes of the department 16 years isn’t very long, but you see the changes being made, and, you can remember when things were better,” said Reed in an interview at Engine Company 53.
According to the City of Detroit’s website, almost $22 million was spent on purchasing new equipment in the two years immediately following the hiring of Dave Fornell. Nearly $16 million was spent on new customized rigs alone.
“There was a committee in place for the longest time, the Apparatus Committee, they made sure that when we spent our (the department) money that it went as far as it could go,” said Reed, “All new equipment was tested and discussed to make sure it would work for what we actually do out there.”
“When Fornell was hired the committee was disbanded. Most of the guys figured it was because the committee would interfere with business dealings with Fornell’s old manufacturing buddies so he cut out any system that might shift funds to an apparatus manufacturer outside his network,” said Detroit fire fighter Shane Klug.
An attempt was made to contact Deputy Commissioner Fornell’s office, but was unable to receive a comment.
The Apparatus Committee was compromised of six department members: a boss, a driver, a firefighter, a repair man, one union representative and the deputy commissioner. Their sole task was to examine any new equipment or rig purchases to decide if it would be the best fit for the Detroit Fire Department.
Klug filled the role of firefighter on the committee for the last four years.
“The last batch of customized rigs were designed by the committee, we went to Nebraska and sat in a conference room with a packet of specifications and dimensions for three 8-hour days, going through line by line, calling guys back at the houses to double and triple check measurements, to make the trucks most beneficial to us,” said Klug.
Very little was purchased without the approval of the committee.
“Now we just get whatever one man decides, there is no conversation to make sure these purchases are what’s best for us,” said Reed, “We now carry tanks that hold twice as much air, which is fantastic, but they weigh 30 more pounds than our old tanks, but somehow Ann Arbor has tanks that hold the same amount of air but didn’t gain the extra weight.”
Issues similar to this are one of the main reasons that the committee existed in the first place.
Both members of the department mentioned the deputy commissioners career background and that among fire truck salesman, fire photographer, and volunteer firefighter, he had little actual experience with how responding to fires actually worked in this city.
“Little to no consideration is given to what we actually need. Everyone is just trying to reinvent the wheel and leave their mark on the city,” said Klug, “In the rules and regulations of our union there is a section that mentions the existence of the committee but because of politics and friendships, it’s gone.”
Both Reed and Klug say that their engine houses are doing the best that they can to make any equipment they get work for the job. Improvements around the engine houses are a big focus for a lot of the guys because it is their home.
“I would love to see the committee start up again to make my last few years as smooth as they used to be,” said Reed.
