By Dalia Díaz
Photos Alberto Surís
It had come to our attention that the conditions at the Central Fire Station on Lowell St. were so detrimental that the city has spent over $600,000 in the basement adding support to hold the weight of the new trucks.
Then, someone sent us some pictures of the conditions on the floor and the sleeping quarters and we paid them a visit. We walked around very carefully because the floor is covered with holes and the only solution that has been found is painting a circle around them with bright orange paint to make sure people see them. Any firefighter rushing to an emergency could easily twist an ankle, if not careful.
We had also heard that the city spent $1.3 million in an enormous state-of-the-art fire truck. After looking at it, no one needs to be a firefighter to understand it was a mistake. It can barely fit in the garage, almost touching the pipes and things next to the ceiling. Another complaint is that it doesn’t fit in our narrow streets. We must now wonder who made this brilliant purchase.
Some of the pictures showed the paint peeling from the ceiling, falling on them while they sleep. I called Chief Moriarty to request permission to go upstairs and his reaction was very angry,
“You didn’t call for my permission when you took pictures on the first floor!”
In the interest of being respectful my response was a reminder that it is a public building and the doors are usually open.
Chief Moriarty then said, “You have to call the mayor if you want to come.” Needless to say that I left a message with the mayor’s assistant and the call was never returned.
