Detroit Fire Official: 'We Don't Have Enough Firefighters'

The president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association says there isn't enough manpower to handle major blazes in the city similar to the ones Tuesday that claimed at least two dozen homes.

Captain Dan McNamara, a 33-year veteran, tells FOX 2 that the city needs 200-300 more firefighters to properly service and keep citizens safe.

Tuesday's fires were scattered through at least three neighborhoods, including the city's east side. High winds helped fan the flames and spread the fire to numerous abandoned homes. No injuries were reported, but residents complained of delayed response times.

McNamara spoke with FOX 2's Sherry Margolis on Wednesday afternoon. The following is a transcript of the conversation:

How would you assess last night's response by the fire department?

"Abmissal. Unfortunately, this is something that we have been telling the mayors, the city council and our fire administration for almost a decade now. We've been diminished to the point that we're so concerned about our firefighters safety, but no one's listening to us. We're down probably 200-300 firefighters. Of the 65 fire companies we have left in the city, 8-10 a day are closed which leaves giant holes. And fire fighting hasn't changed. It's about weight and response time and the amount of people you send there. And when we don't get to a fire in time, and fires can double in size every 2-3 minutes, we have a very serious situation on our hands."

The situation yesterday was a perfect storm when you talk about how quickly a fire spreads, especially in the high winds.

"We live in Michigan. We have always handled the weather. Sure, this was the perfect storm. But it's a day that we warned them that was coming. We don't have enough of a response. We don't have enough firefighters to adequately get to every one of our issues."

How many would you say you need to keep everybody safe?

"We need a minimum of 200-300 firefighters hired to just open up these companies. And as we've talked to everyone, we've said the same thing for a decade now. We need to staff. You can't replace response time. You can't replace not having the firefighters on the scene. It's embarrassing to us that we have to ask for help from other cities to come in."

Given the economic crisis that the city is in, what would you say to Mayor Dave Bing? Do you understand his position as well?

"I don't agree with his positions, but I understand. It's always been put in terms of economics versus safety. And it is the belief of the Fire Fighters Association that you have to prioritize certain things to have a great city, and public safety has to come first. You have to have a police, a fire and an EMS response. You have to have that. That is the job of government to provide these services. We have to find a way."

Click on the second video to see McNamara's interview with FOX 2's Murray Feldman.