Suspicious fires plague Detroit's popular Heidelberg Project The latest in a string of suspicious fires early Thursday destroyed a home in Detroit's internationally known Heidelberg Project, an installation that transformed decaying homes into works of art. The blaze engulfed "The Penny House," a small home adorned with images of pennies, around 3 a.m., fire officials said. The two-story structure was leveled by the time firefighters arrived. The nonprofit behind that artwork set out to bring new life to Detroit's crime-ridden East Side and draw attention to the community's plight. The project was recently featured by CNN's Anthony Bordain on "Parts Unknown: Detroit." In the last two months, Heidelberg Project properties were hit with five fires, which destroyed three of the vacant buildings -- "Obstruction of Justice," "House of Soul" and "The Penny House," according to the project. Detroit Senior Fire Chief Larry Gassel voiced his suspicions about the fires to CNN, saying of the buildings, "They're all vacant; it's not like it's wiring.
Detroit: Tough Times, Tough Town, Tough Firefighters | Firehouse The box alarm at the abandoned bungalow on East Kirby Street was a typical fire in Detroit. Flames roared out of the upstairs windows as crews arrived shortly after 5 A.M. on Nov. 15, 2008. Engine 23 rolled up, joined by its housemate, Tactical Mobile Squad 3. There were two other engines, a ladder and a chief. An extra company, serving as a rapid intervention team, and an EMS unit soon made the scene. Then they heard something crack. It was the roof, which crashed down within seconds, burying the firefighters in an avalanche of shingles, rotted timber, dust and smoke. Harris was a firefighter in Detroit, and for firefighters, Detroit is both as good and as bad as it gets. Yet Detroit firefighters maintain a funky esprit de corps that transcends their sometimes surreal surroundings. "The commissioner knows if something jumps off tonight, these firemen are going to take care of it," said Lieutenant James Davis. Harris, 38, was a huge, charismatic man with a big smile. Doing More With Less
9 ways Detroit is changing after bankruptcy When Detroit filed for bankruptcy last July, observers around the world were shocked by how far some city services had deteriorated -- though it was no secret to residents. Average police response times clocked in at almost an hour. Tens of thousands of broken streetlights meant entire streets go dark at nightfall. And though Detroit has more than 200 municipal parks, the city could only afford to keep about a quarter of them open. How has the city changed since it entered bankruptcy? Detroit's public services have shown some improvement in the last year but still have a long way to go before they're at adequate levels. The Detroit Police Department says it is focused on hiring non-uniformed administrative staff so that it can move officers from desk duty to street patrols to concentrate on high-crime areas and react in real time to crime trends. DPD's response time is improving, but it still lags national standards in responding to high-priority crimes such as homicides.
New chief putting mark on Detroit fire dept. In his first months as the new head of Detroit’s beleaguered Fire Department, Eric Jones is building bridges with union leaders, touting improved response times and a decline in arson fires. But aging infrastructure, worker safety and wages are among the issues that remain on his hefty to-do list. Jones, 47, was appointed to the Detroit Fire Department’s top post in October. That same day, two of the department’s emergency medical technicians suffered serious injuries in a vicious box cutter attack — the most violent among 17 assaults on city EMTs in a one-year span. In a wide-ranging interview with The Detroit News, the fire commissioner detailed the challenges facing the fire department and plans for boosting morale, pay and safety training for the city’s first responders. “When I wake up in the morning, it’s challenging. Among his first acts, Jones in November instituted new safety training for the department’s EMTs. On average, DWSD is fixing 300-400 hydrants per week, Mobley said.
Detroit plans to sell off closed fire stations By Bryan Dyne 5 June 2013 Eight vacant buildings once operated by the Detroit Fire Department─seven fire stations and the former firehouse headquarters─are being sold by the city of Detroit to private investors and developers to be transformed into restaurants, wineries or micro-distilleries in an effort to raise money for the city. The minimum bid for the fire stations are $637,000 while the former headquarters is being sold for $1.25 million. It is not yet clear who has bought the fire stations or for what price, though it is known that Southfield, Michigan developer Walter Cohen has plans to purchase the former headquarters and turn it into a boutique hotel. He plans to have eighty upscale rooms and a Cajun restaurant on the first floor. The stations to be sold include Ladder Nos. 8, 12, 16 and 38 and Engine Nos. 10, 18 and 49. Putting firehouses up for sale is one of the initial steps taken to restructure Detroit in the name of generating profits for Detroit's bondholders.
Detroit vs. Steve Neavling: Is Story on 'Defective' Fire Rigs Misleading and Wrong? – Deadline Detroit Update: WXYZ reported on the situation Friday night, as Neavling notes in a Facebook post: "Great story by Ronnie Dahl, a true watchdog reporter who has not fallen under the spell of Mayor Mike Duggan and his incessant cover-ups." Video below: Dahl's three-minute report, summarized on the station's site with the headline "Sounding the alarm on Detroit's aging fleet of fire rigs," is at the end of this article. The Detroit Fire Department responds with a long list of points on Friday afternoon, accusing the Motor CIty Muckraker news site of misleading and inaccurate reporting on a story about fire rigs responding to fires. Steve Neavling Steve Neavling of Motor City Muckraker on Thursday night publishes his latest report on the Detroit Fire Department with the headline: 'Rolling the dice:' Detroit routinely sends dangerously defective rigs to fires." He goes on to report: The Fire Department sent a detailed response to Deadline Detroit and Neavling was given an opportunity to respond. Engines
Detroit firefighters protesting bankruptcy discuss expanding fight against pension and budget cuts By our reporters 25 July 2013 Scores of firefighters demonstrated in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit yesterday to voice their anger over last week’s bankruptcy filing by the city’s emergency manager, which threatens to cut up to 90 percent from the pensions owed to city workers and retirees. With the trade unions offering no way forward, fire fighters have formed an ad hoc organization called the Public Safety Workers Action Group (PSWAG), to reach out more broadly to working people around the city and explain the connection between budget cutting and the undermining of safety for the city’s residents. PSWAG members have been holding a number of small demonstrations at fire stations across Detroit in recent days. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and other public sector unions, including the Detroit Fire Fighters Association, have opposed any genuine mobilization of city workers against the emergency manager and the bankruptcy.
Detroit Fire Union President Dan McNamara: The Exit Interview – Deadline Detroit Dan McNamara, one of the city’s best-known labor leaders, has stepped down as president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association, a post he held for 11 years. McNamara, 59, chose not to run for re-election because he will have to retire from the Detroit Fire Department when he tuns 60 next year, which will fall midway through the two-year term. A firefighter since 1977, McNamara has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Wayne State University. Shortly after becoming DFFA president in 2002, he was diagnosed with a blood cancer, which he has battled quietly while running the union through some of the most tumultuous times in city history. The interview was conducted by Deadline Detroit's Bill McGraw at the union office last week. DEADLINE DETROIT: There is no collective bargaining for city of Detroit unions these days. DAN McNAMARA: “It’s horribly difficult. “I don’t know if it will be changed. “Because they need that field experience. “No.
Pay cuts coming to Detroit police, fire officers - Aug. 2, 2013 The 10% cuts apply to 1,200 police lieutenants and sergeants and 400 comparable officers in the fire department. The cuts, announced this week, will take effect in September. Bill Nowling, spokesman for Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager overseeing the city's reorganization effort, said other city employees took the same 10% cut in 2012. The cuts for these officers was delayed because of union contracts that were in effect. "We had to make this cut due to disparity between management and rank and file," said Nowling. "These pay cuts and the savings have already been baked into the budget. Related: New hockey arena still a go in Detroit Nowling said if the city is able to get the debt relief it is seeking in bankruptcy, it is possible that some of the pay cuts can be restored at the end of the year. "It's not a promise, but it's one of the things we're looking at doing," he said. Much of the debt reduction sought would come from cuts in pension and retiree health care benefits.
Detroit Fire, Police Departments Suffer Deep Cuts DETROIT (WWJ) – A city plagued by arson fires now has fewer engines on the streets and police officers on patrol. City budget cuts hit the Detroit police and fire departments this week, eliminating 10 engines and four ladders from the Detroit Fire Department’s budget. Five of the cut engines being removed from service are considered “browned out” in spotty service for the past seven years, according to reports. The department will also be demoting two battalion chiefs to captain, 15 captains to lieutenant, 41 lieutenants to sergeant and 90 sergeants to firefighters, among other demotions, as part of the cuts. It’s all part of the 2012-13 budget passed by Mayor Dave Bing, which also slashes $75 million — or 18 percent — from the police department’s $414 million budget. Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said the reduced budget means fewer officers on the streets. Godbee said residents are going to have to step up to help protect their communities. The budget took effect July 1.
Detroit pays high price for arson onslaught Detroit — Arson is a raging epidemic in Detroit, destroying neighborhoods and lives as the city tries to emerge from bankruptcy. Even amid a historic demolition blitz, buildings burn faster than Detroit can raze them. Last year, the city had 3,839 suspicious fires and demolished 3,500 buildings, according to city records analyzed by The Detroit News. Burned homes scar neighborhoods for years: Two-thirds of those that caught fire from 2010-13 are still standing, records show. "Nothing burns like Detroit," said Lt. The Detroit News researched arson for more than three months and found that it remains a huge obstacle to renewal efforts following bankruptcy. Few neighborhoods were untouched by arson and the entire city bears its costs. "People don't realize arson is a felony. Aides to Mayor Mike Duggan, who has made fighting blight the cornerstone of his administration, declined comment on The News' findings or his strategy for reducing arson. 'Arson is like a cancer' The News found:
How to shrink a city ONE of the biggest challenges for the world this century is how to accommodate the hundreds of millions of people who will flock to cities, especially in emerging economies. Coping with this human torrent will be fearsomely difficult—but at least the problem is widely acknowledged. That is not true of another pressing urban dilemma: what to do with cities that are losing people. They are hardly unusual. Almost one in ten American cities is shrinking. So are more than a third of German ones—and the number is growing (see article). An abandoned street containing a rotting nursery or primary school is a sad sight. So it is unsurprising that governments often try to shore up their crumbling smaller cities. For the most part, they will not. Policies meant to counteract the dominance of big cities are not just doomed to fail but can actually be counter-productive. A new kind of garden city Even so, many people will stay stuck in shrinking cities, which will grow steadily older.