City of Philadelphia - File #: 010575

• File #: 010575
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 10/4/2001
• In control: Committees on Public Safety and Legislative Oversight
• Title: Authorizing City Council's Public Safety and Legislative Oversight Committees to hold public hearings on the status and condition of the Philadelphia Fire Department's equipment and safety gear.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Ortiz, Councilmember Krajewski, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember Nutter, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Cohen, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember Clarke, Councilmember Reynolds Brown
• Indexes: FIRE DEPARTMENT

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
12/4/2001	0	Committees on Public Safety and Legislative Oversight	HEARING NOTICES SENT
12/4/2001	0	Committees on Public Safety and Legislative Oversight	HEARING HELD
12/4/2001	0	Committees on Public Safety and Legislative Oversight	RECESSED
10/4/2001	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED
10/4/2001	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced	Pass

Title
Authorizing City Council's Public Safety and Legislative Oversight Committees to hold public hearings on the status and condition of the Philadelphia Fire Department's equipment and safety gear.
Body
WHEREAS, Public support for emergency response workers is understandably at an all-time high, and recruitment and educational efforts have seen a tremendous response; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia has a fire department that is well-known and widely respected by its peers, and every day our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect the health and safety of our residents and visitors; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department has over 2400 firefighters, with 84 fire engines and 39 ladder trucks, and it is critical that the City ensure that our firefighters have all of the necessary and current equipment to get their jobs done without unduly risking any one's safety; and

WHEREAS, Nearly a third of the Fire Department's ladder trucks are more than fifteen years old, past their recommended life spans, and frequently the Department has to shift parts and equipment from older vehicles to new models in order to maintain federal standards; and

WHEREAS, Additional personal safety equipment is desperately needed, in order to serve as back-up if necessary, and professional cleaning services should be made available for this personal safety equipment, as our Fire Department is one of the few in the country that requires individual firefighters to clean their own equipment, thus putting them in possibly health-endangering situations; and

WHEREAS, Since replacing fire safety equipment can be very time-consuming, and that each ladder truck alone can cost $300,000, an analysis should be conducted to ensure that the Fire Department's equipment and safety gear are sufficient to address any and all unforeseeable problems or events; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That authority be given to the Public Safety and L...