CNBNews

by Joseph Myers

Of South Philadelphia’s five engines, three are experiencing halts. Beginning Aug. 3 and repeating every fifth day, Engine 24, 1200 S. 20th St., has experienced day-tour closures from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Brown outs for Engine 3, 200-10 Washington Ave., commenced on Aug. 5 and follow the same schedule as Engine 24. By the end of the month, each will have had six recesses. The Philadelphia Fire Department — the fifth largest in the United States — constitutes 56 companies, with 23 of them subject to brown outs. During an engine’s day- or night-shift closing, personnel may find themselves traveling considerable distances to tend to a fire instead of addressing a potential inferno nearby.

The night-tour brown out for Engine 53 kept it closed from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday into Saturday and will do the same Aug. 25. According to Bill Gault, president of the Philadelphia Fire Fighters’ Union Local 22, Engine 10, 1357 S. 12th St., and Engine 49, 2600 S. 13th St., will handle Engine 53’s calls during its gridlocks.

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