1 Dead In Camden Fire, Malfunctioning Equipment Delayed Rescue Efforts: Union

CAMDEN, NJ — Firefighting equipment malfunctioned during a blaze in Camden, delaying efforts to rescue a person who died. Following the incident, the Camden Fire Unions raised the alarm on mechanical issues that have reached "crisis" levels.

The dwelling fire broke out on Newton Avenue. Several people escaped and told Engine Company Eight — the first-arriving unit — that a resident was trapped on the second floor.

Firefighters confined and extinguished the second-floor fire. But mechanical issues with their apparatus caused their hose to go limp several times, forcing personnel to retreat to the safety of the stairs, according to the Camden Fire Unions.

Another firetruck arrived and provided water, allowing Engine Company Eight to advance. But the entrapped resident died in the incident.

Officials haven't disclosed the decedent's identity.

This was not the first time Camden's firefighting equipment proved faulty. The city's trucks have failed to provide water during multiple incidents over the past year, according to Union Presidents Samuel Muñoz and William Perez.

"The Unions are not providing a determination to this unfortunate loss of life; the ensuing investigation will provide that," Muñoz and Perez said in a statement. "However, the Unions must emphasize that our members are being asked to provide fire protection with subpar apparatus whereby more than fifty percent of our fire engines have failed their pump test."

The mechanical issues have reached a "crisis level" that has put Camden's residents, firefighters and property in peril, according to the union presidents.

Union leadership urged city residents to contact Camden's Division of Constituent Services about the matter at 856-757-7200.

"We urge the citizens of Camden to join us in demanding answers from the city of Camden about why they have allowed this situation to spiral out of control," Muñoz and Perez said.

A spokesperson for the city government sent Patch the following statement:

The safety of our City residents and City of Camden fire personnel are always a top priority, and remain a top priority. It is the City’s understanding that neither equipment or function of the fire apparatus impacted the Camden Fire Department's ability to put out this fire. The City acknowledges that some fire apparatus have experienced mechanical/operational issues in recent months. The City is not immune from supply-chain issues and specialized parts are often on backorder and take longer than normal to arrive. Under Mayor Carstarphen’ s leadership, the City has purchased/ordered THREE new pieces of apparatus for the Fire Department.

Prior to this equipment being ordered, the City had not placed a new frontline piece of equipment into service. Unfortunately, new fire apparatus takes significant lead time (up to two years) to design, manufacture and deliver. While waiting for new apparatus, the City has taken numerous steps to more quickly repair its existing fleet. These steps include:

• Posting new mechanic positions within the DPW motor-pool so certain repairs can be done in-house. Because of the tight employment market it has been very difficult to fill the positions.
• Entering into an emergency contract with a new vendor so that we will have at least three outside vendors available to do specialized repair work.
• Explored a shared service with another urban municipality to try to find additional options for qualified mechanics to work on City apparatus."