Detroit has a big problem with inadequate fire equipment and broken fire hydrants.
Steve Neavling of Motor City Muckraker, as part of his year-long examination of the city's fire department and fires, found that February was a bad month for fires in the city.
First, the good news: Detroit had fewer structure fires in February than any month in the past two years.
Now the bad news: Fires burned longer and caused more damage because of inoperable hydrants and the rapidly declining condition of the city’s aging, long-neglected fleet of fire engines and ladder trucks.
According to dispatch reports, 15 rigs broke down on the way to fires or at the scene. And firefighters were stymied by at least 16 broken hydrants.
At least five people were killed, and more than a dozen civilians and firefighters were injured.
