Wilmington, DE New Squad

[Rob Pryor]

A little more background on the formation of Wilmington's Squad companies. On Jan 1, 2011, Rescue Company #1 was placed out of service due to budget cuts. Engine Company's 1 and 3 were reformed as squad companies and given the added responsibility of rescue and special operations. The engines located at these stations had additional equipment placed on them, and both companies were given one of the existing rescue apparatus to cross-staff as needed, redesignated as Special Ops 1 and Special Ops 3. Shortly after the closing of Rescue 1, a grievance was filed by the Wilmington Firefighters Association (IAFF 1590) regarding the cross-staffing of the rescue companies. In short, according to the contract all in-service apparatus must start every shift staffed by four personnel, the rescues (or special ops units as they were called) were not. This past summer, an arbitrator ruled in the union's favor, essentially forcing the city to put Special Ops 1 in service full-time. The department's answer to this was to purchase 3 18 ft. cargo trailers, and equip the engine companies with hitches to pull them. When the Dash CF squad was placed in service, Special Ops 1 was placed out of service permanently. Here is a photo of Engine 6's 07 Pierce towing one of the trailers.