Tuesday, August 24, 2010

ALARM BELL No. 7: Three-Alarm Blaze Fought Without Radios

Our Firefighters Face Death in Silence as Barrett Snoozes!

A three-alarm fire – simply put – is huge.

Extra trucks and firefighters from throughout the city are called to a fire that cannot be contained.

It’s a blazing inferno, and potentially a death trap for firefighters.

On August 31, 2008, Milwaukee Firefighters report that severe feedback shutdown their OpenSky radios at a three-alarm fire (page 4 of the MFD OpenSky Timeline).

(click image to enlarge)
Did the radio shutdown lead Mayor Tom Barrett to get involved in the scandal…ask a question…wakeup?

No way!

This is the seventh alarm bell in an 11-Alarm series from Citizens for Responsible Government. CRG unearthed the fire department radio scandal as part of a 600-page Open Record request.

At 11 critical points Mayor Tom Barrett failed to show leadership to stop the radio disaster that has put our firefighters at risk of death. And could cause citizens to be injured or killed if radios failed at critical moments.

But, hey, we’ve got some of the highest taxes in America. Who cares if our police and fire radios operate like we’re in a Third World country?


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