Firefighters concerned about streetcar wires
Cincinnati firefighters are wondering how they’re going to maneuver around the streetcar’s overhead wires in case the upper floors of a building along the route catch fire.
“We’re concerned,” said Matt Alter, president of firefighters’ union. “We just don’t have enough information about what you can and can’t do around them.”
To be clear, firefighters aren’t looking to start another streetcar controversy. They raised questions as streetcar project workers last week began testing the streetcar’s high-voltage overhead electrical wire system, which eventually will span the entire 3.6-mile route through Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.
Firefighters will have more answers in the coming months as the company in charge of running the streetcar plans to provide a series of training sessions for the fire stations located along and near the route, Transdev Services General Manager John Claflin said.
Training will continue after the system opens to passengers, currently scheduled for September 2016. “We’ll be performing simulations that give the fire department hands-on experience,” Claflin said.
Two fire department representatives already have been serving on a streetcar safety committee established before the months-long testing phase on various parts of the route started last week. Crews began testing on the 20-foot-high wires along the Over-the-Rhine portion of the route.
Streetcar officials launched a safety campaign warning anyone planning to work around the overhead wires to “Look up! Look out!” On some parts of the route, the wires resemble a spider web.
Firefighters say they are used to maneuvering around high-voltage power lines. But almost all utility lines are buried underground in Downtown, where many of the region’s high-rise buildings are located. Half of the streetcar route runs through the Central Business District.
“This is just another hazard we work with, but it’s what we do,” said Richard Braun, Cincinnati’s fire chief. “We’ll develop a complete plan before everything goes live.”
City fire officials have started reaching out to fire departments in other cities with streetcars for advice, Braun said. He did not mention which cities have been contacted. Cincinnati is among a handful of cities across the U.S. that are either in the process of building or have launched modern streetcar systems in recent years.
Fire departments in other cities reportedly have had concerns before streetcar systems opened. But it doesn’t appear ladder trucks have had any problems maneuvering around wires to fight fires in buildings along the routes.
In 2013 before a 3.9-mile streetcar line opened in downtown Tucson, Arizona, a talk radio host there reported that some city firefighters were concerned about not being able to raise ladders around streetcar wires. But it does not appear firefighters have encountered any problems since the system opened in July 2014, according to Enquirer research.
Tucson streetcar General Manager Steve Bethel told The Enquirer in an email statement: “Your streetcar contractor will be training ... doing the necessary drills to assure emergency responders such as fire can work safely around the overhead wires.”
Bethel referred other questions to Tucson fire officials, but they did not return a message seeking comment.
Enquirer research found two fires in recent months across the U.S. that had an impact on streetcar systems.
In February, an electrical malfunction caused a “flash fire” on the roof of a streetcar vehicle in Washington, D.C., during a test run. Transportation officials said the fire extinguished on its own, according to the Washington Post. No one was injured.
In December, streetcar wires did not appear to hinder firefighters’ ability to snuff out a blaze in a downtown Portland, Oregon,condominium building along a streetcar route, according to the Oregonian. The streetcar line had to be shutdown for a while to allow emergency vehicles access to the high-rise building.