Snoqualmie firefighters say equipment is faulty
May 7, 2008
By Ed Farrell
Delays in mechanical repairs of the city’s fire equipment prompted three members of the Snoqualmie Fire Department to take their case to the city’s Public Safety Committee last week.
One of the city’s two fire engines, a 2003 American LaFrance Eagle, is currently being used for emergency calls despite having what the firefighters said were serious problems with both the braking and steering systems, endangering both fire and civilian personnel.
Chief Bob Rowe, however, in a Thursday telephone interview, characterized the mechanical issues as minor, and pronounced the engine safe to operate until the repairs can be completed.
The firefighters – Lt. Kelly Gall and Firefighters Steve Randall and Brian Dillon – told the Committee that repair orders on the engine were filed April 7.
“And we still haven’t heard anything back,” Randall said.
The trio said they were bringing their concerns to the committee, which consists of City Council members Bob Jeans and Jeff MacNichols, because they understood a proposed agreement with Eastside Fire and Rescue to perform repairs on equipment had stalled.
The firefighters said the pact, known as an Inter-Local Agreement, or ILA, is needed both because of the expertise available at Eastside and the current backlog at the city’s Public Works yard, which has only one full-time mechanic to deal with more than 100 pieces of rolling stock.
Eastside, the firefighters said, has a full crew of highly experienced mechanics that work on nothing but fire equipment, which would ensure the Snoqualmie engines were repaired quickly and correctly.
Gall said the city’s two engines are also not receiving the routine maintenance necessary, which could detect some of the current problems before the equipment must be taken out of service.
The mechanical problems are long-standing, Randall said. At one point in November 2007, he said, both of the city’s engines were out of service because of multiple problems.
“We had to get a loaner engine from Eastside,” Randall said. “We just want to make sure our equipment is up to standard.”
Gall told the Committee that continuing to operate an engine with documented mechanical problems could be placing the city in jeopardy.
Any accident, he said, would trigger inquiries into maintenance records, operator logs and personnel files.
“And if someone came and looked right now, we’re screwed,” Gall said.
The firefighters said the LaFrance’s current mechanical problems became evident during a recent drill when it was noticed the brake response was slow.
Randall said on one occasion, however, the engine experienced “complete brake failure” and actually collided with a fire administrator’s car.
A city investigation, Randall said, concluded that accident was due to driver error, but Randall defended the firefighter in question, whom he said is highly qualified to drive such engines.
“I know the man, and he doesn’t lie,” Randall said. “The man’s a heavy equipment operator and he knows what he’s doing.”
Dissatisfied with the delays with the city’s repair yard, Randall said he went outside the city to the Snoqualmie Valley School District for what he termed “a second opinion” on the engine’s brake problems.
There, he said, mechanics determined the engine had a broken treadle valve, which would cause brake failure.
Similarly, while performing an evasive driving maneuver, the engine’s power steering unit locked up, Randall said.
Rowe said the steering problem has been determined to be an engineering flaw common to the model of engine, and a larger power steering pump has been ordered which will resolve the problem.
And, Rowe insisted, the LaFrance engine was safe to operate.
“It is not out of service,” he said, adding that with “due care and caution,” the engine “does stop and it does steer.”
While acknowledging there have been times when both engines were broken, Rowe said city residents have never been in danger.
The city has mutual aid agreements with other jurisdictions, he said, as well as the ability, as was done in 2007, to borrow equipment if needed.
Rowe said he was hopeful the ILA with Eastside will still go through, and suggested the deal has only been temporarily tabled.
The city is also moving forward with plans to purchase another fire engine, using funding that came to the city through mitigation fees from the Snoqualmie Tribe and its casino operation.
That engine is to be a ladder truck, per an agreement with the Tribe, largely because the city will provide fire service to the Snoqualmie Casino.
While the casino will only be two stories in height, the Tribe is building a six-story parking garage.
The ladder truck, Rowe said, will replace one of the city’s two current vehicles, likely the 1983 Seagrave engine.
Ed Farrell can be reached at efarrell@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
