1 Fire Truck In Prichard?

A frustrated fireman quits his job and tells us what's really going on behind the scenes at the Prichard Fire Department. "I think the citizens need to know. I don't think they have a clue."

He doesn't want to be identified but says for most of this week, 5 of the city's trucks were broken down and they only had one fire engine to protect the entire city. "It's hard but you work with what you have to work with."

The firemen say the department is supposed to follow the National Fire Protection Asssociation (NFPA) rules. It requires 3 people on a truck but they ride with two."I want this to help the Prichard Firefighters. They do a hard job and they're real busy out there. I just want em to be safe and I don't want anybody to get hurt."

We took his complaints to Prichard Fire Chief Mark Trenier. He tells us a very different story. "I listen to everything they say. If they come in my office, every issue they have is addressed." By the time we got to our scheduled interview, Chief Trenier assures us that four trucks are running. "Has there ever been an instance where just one fire truck was working? No. Well why would someone tell me that? I have no idea."

We told Trenier that we saw two trucks at the central station with their hoods up. He says they work on the trucks everyday. "Could have been the time there we were doing maintenance."

Prichard has 4 stations around the city but the chief says the Whistler locations is closed, most of the time. "From time to time, we'll move a truck over there and run out of that station just to give the citizens some fire department activity at the station."

When asked about the NFPA rules, Trenier says they are not required to have 3 people on a truck.

Our frustrated fireman says this story should have been told a long time ago. The problems get worse every year. "How has this been going on for so long? I don't know. It's just been pushed under the rug I guess."