ATLANTA — Some Atlanta fire stations are temporarily closed because so many fire trucks are out of service.
There are two stations in northwest Atlanta and one in southeast Atlanta that are closed.
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More than a third of the city’s engines and ladder trucks are out of service.
In September, 15 engines and ladder trucks were out of commission. Now, that number is 17, and it’s leaving stations without a truck, engine, or firefighters.
Channel 2′s Michael Doudna was live at Station 23 off of Howell Mill Monday on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
It is a potential source of salvation in case of a disaster for those living nearby, but now, it is temporarily closed.
According to Atlanta Fire Chief Rod Smith, it’s closed because of equipment failure engines being down across the city.
The problem is that the trucks are older, many have broken down, and repairs take time. And with so many trucks out of service, Atlanta fire has had to shuffle the still-working engines, trying to make sure no incident slips through the cracks.
“So you won’t find stations right next to each other that are out of service. Unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Smith.
And all the shuffling has a cost; from what fire trucks respond to a call to how long it takes them to get there.
For those near Howell Mill, a response will now come from miles away, costing extra minutes when seconds matter.
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The city has bought over ten fire apparatuses over the past couple of years, but they take time to produce.
The good news is, the city expects the delivery of three brand-new pumper trucks by the end of October. And hopefully, it helps get stations like this back open.
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