Weeks before an Akron Fire Department ladder truck is due to move from the Highland Square station on Dodge Avenue to the brand new Wallhaven station 2.2 miles west, the firefighters’ union and public safety leadership have taken to Akron City Council to make their opposing cases on the merits of the move.
At issue is where the home base should be for Ladder 9, one of the four trucks in the city equipped with massive 75-foot ladders most capable of responding to fires in taller buildings and other tasks beyond the capabilities of the smaller and lesser-equipped fire engines.
Akron Firefighters Association Local 330 believes it should stay at Station #9 on Dodge Avenue between Portage Path and West Market Street in Highland Square, where it’s been stationed for decades. The location prioritizes proximity to denser areas, including downtown, with a higher concentration of incidents that the AFD responds to than the Wallhaven area.
“We could use more ladders,” said union president Kevin Gostowski in an interview after speaking in front of City Council last Monday. “I just don’t want to steal it from the busiest house [on Dodge Avenue] that we have where it’s utilized so much and make it travel farther to come back here [to busier areas]. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
Aiming to improve response times in western and northwestern parts of Akron
Fire department leadership and the mayor’s office want to move the ladder truck to the soon-to-open station #12 just south of the Swensons on South Hawkins Avenue. The $9.5 million facility should open next month.
They believe moving the ladder truck there will allow them to finally meet the coveted six-minute response-time guideline for a significant portion of the western and northwestern parts of Akron that are vulnerable because of longer response times. Station 9 in Highland Square will still have a fire engine, an ambulance and firefighters to respond to calls.
“This is a no brainer, for me as chief,” AFD Chief Leon Henderson said to Akron City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday afternoon. Henderson sat next to Joseph Natko, assistant to the mayor for emergency management, who made the decision to relocate the ladder truck when he was the Akron fire chief earlier this year.
“When I look at the allocation of resources, making things efficient and safe for all our citizens, this came to me as a no brainer,” Henderson said.
Both sides explained their views to City Council – Gostkowski in a three-minute window during the public comment period at last week’s meeting and Henderson and Natko in a presentation to the Public Safety Committee this week.
Council members have no direct voice in the move. The decision to move Ladder 9 to Ladder 12 rests with Henderson, and his mind is made up.
“We’re called to lead, and as a leader you have to be data-driven, look at the facts of the matter, and look at what’s best for the overall safety of not just our employees but our citizens,” Henderson said during an interview on Monday.
While Ladder 9 will be moving to Station 12 in Wallhaven, the three other ladder trucks will remain housed at Station 4 (81 W. Thornton St.), Station 7 (541 E. Tallmadge Ave.) and Station 8 (1277 E. Archwood Ave.). At least one ladder truck responds to every fire in Akron, and the other three ladder trucks, particularly ladders 4 and 7, can fill Ladder 9’s gaps, the department believes.
Potentially longer response times in Highland Square, but less vulnerability
Henderson told the Public Safety Committee that it could take slightly longer to respond to fires in Highland Square, but he said many of the “high-rise” buildings (four stories or more) in that neighborhood have fire-suppression systems that buildings on the western and northwestern edges of town do not.
In an interview, Henderson highlighted what he believed to be vulnerabilities at apartments on Zahn Drive, the Dominion Townhomes and Treeside Drive in Northwest Akron.
“They have no sprinkler systems. Those are very vulnerable areas,” Henderson said.
He also highlighted the ladder truck being closer to new developments near White Pond Drive and Mull Avenue, the Shaw JCC of Akron, the Seven Stories West Apartments on North Hawkins Avenue and, especially, its proximity to Interstate 77.
Gostkowski does not believe it’s worth the tradeoff to move the current ladder truck’s home base further from the center of town. Resources, the union believes, should be allocated to stations near the higher concentrations of incidents.
“Moving this ladder will add minutes [to many response times] and more pressure on an already stressful situation,” the union president told City Council last week. “Make no mistake, this will affect public safety.”