Thursday, June 30, 2011

We Love Squad 1, but...

They do not love us back.

Well ... I'm sure they would if they could.

Here's the deal: there are two active fire "trucks" in the fire station on Whitney Ave. (More about "trucks" later.) Engine 8 is assigned to the East Rock neighborhood -- that is its "home" neighborhood.

Though Squad 1 "lives" in the same fire station, it is assigned to all of New Haven county.  And it has different equipment and different duties -- that's why it is a "Squad" and not an "Engine." 

Squad 1is the truck that is called out to respond to accidents on the freeway, for example, because it can do extrications.  And Squad 1, as the hazmat unit, is also called out for hazardous spills.  It has some of the same abilities to fight fires, but it does, and is supposed to do, a lot of other, specialized jobs.  It is not a fire engine (the primary function of which is pumping water onto a fire).

So the city tells that they can take out Engine 8 and Squad 1 will still be there to respond to fire emergencies.  Will Squad 1 be there for us?

Three quarters of Squad 1's calls take it outside the district.  So even if we love Squad 1 100%, they ain't gonna love us back more than 25%. 

Which is why the 10 fire stations in New Haven each have their own home fire Engine. 

Except for us, if they take Engine 8 away.

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