LA Chief: Aging Fleet, Breakdowns Causing Station Closings

An aging fleet and apparatus breakdowns have led to temporary station closures and delays in response times for a Louisiana fire department, according to an internal audit.

The report on the Shreveport Fire Department found that response times from 2016 through 2020 had fallen behind national standards, KTBS-TV reports. In that span, firefighters were found leaving stations too slowly to go to calls about half of the time, and they were reaching emergency scenes too slowly in nearly a third of the responses, according to the audit.

Chief Scott Wolverton told a city council committee that the poor condition of the department's fleet is to blame for the response delays. With a lack of older, reserve apparatus available to the department, breakdowns can create a cascade effect when it comes to temporary station closings.

Recently, the engine at Fire Station 1 was taken out of service. But with an eye toward providing the best service to the city, the engine at Station 2 was sent to Station 1, forcing Station 2 to shut down.

"Station 2 has been shut down since Saturday because we have no engine to put in that station," said Wolverton, adding that Station 12 had recently reopened after being temporarily closed for five days because its engine was offline.

Currently, the department has only four of its 21 engines that meet national standards when it comes to age, according to KTBS. And repairing those older vehicles isn't cost-effective.

"There's some of our apparatus that right now they probably wouldn't appraise for about 4 or $5,000," Wolverton said. "And we're spending $15, $20, $25,000 on repairs."

The age and condition of Shreveport's vehicles also creates a safety issue both for firefighters and the public.

"We've got fire trucks that should've been retired 10 to 15 years ago," Council member Grayson Boucher said. "So what about the safety of the firemen? Because if they can't get to you … There's the safety of the citizen, too."

Wolverton is working on an apparatus replacement plan for the next budget, according to Boucher. That plan will most likely be one that looks at the city leasing vehicles as it goes. 

In the interim, Shreveport has purchased two used apparatus from Bossier City earlier this year, and those rigs are in service. Another three vehicles will come online next month, as well.