PETERSBURG, Va. -- The Petersburg firefighter community is expressing concerns over broken equipment that is hindering them from doing their jobs.
These concerns come nearly three weeks after the city said it paid invoices to fix those trucks.
However, sources close to CBS 6 said the situation had gotten so bad, that the department was down to only two engines on Thursday.
The fire department is supposed to have a minimum of three and a ladder truck, but normally has a total of seven engines and one ladder truck.
As CBS 6 started asking the City of Petersburg about this on Thursday, two fire engines pulled into Fire Station 3. The two engines were reportedly being brought back from a repair shop into service.
On Thursday around noon, sources told CBS 6 the department had to use a white suburban to transport fire officials to scenes. They said their ladder truck was also down, and the mutual aid fire engine they had been borrowing from Colonial Heights had to be returned.
Gene Beemer, a retired Petersburg fire leader, weighed in on the situation.
“We’re two to three weeks down the road, and we are worse than we were. It’s totally impossible for these guys to do their job,” Beemer said.
The City of Petersburg told CBS 6 on April 29 that a check had been issued to pay invoices to fix the broken equipment.
The city provided a statement saying that four units with firefighting capabilities are in operation. They also said their ladder truck is in the shop waiting for parts that are delayed from supply chain issues.
“The city is in no danger of not being able to respond to emergency needs,” said a city spokesperson.
Petersburg is in an agreement with surrounding counties for mutual aid if they are in a dire situation, according to the city. This means it may just take trucks longer to arrive at a scene depending on where they are coming from.
Despite that news, some of the Petersburg Fire community is calling on the city to be more transparent, saying they feel actions speak louder than words.
