Medford Fire Detail
Police details at construction sites are a sore topic in Massachusetts politics. (For those of you just joining us, "details" are a required, privately paid police presence at all road construction and utility sites. Almost no other states require these, and the cost is ultimately borne by the taxpayer/consumer.)
Even more arcane, outdated, useless, and wasteful is the fire detail, which is required in the Boston area at a variety of events (link to Cambridge's regulations).
Across the city line in Medford, Tufts University recently bought the Sacred Heart Church and Rectory from the Archdiocese of Boston, helping the church pay off its dozens of abuse victims and fanning the anti-intellectual, anti-"expansionism" fears of blue collar Medford.*
Apparently Tufts is making the church into some type of convention center. Its rectory was just torn down, which surprised me, and I passed by the demolition zone at about 6:30pm. Pacing around the rubble was a Medford fireman talking on his cell phone. A beat up old Medford Fire Crown Vic was parked across from the demolition equipment.
I suspected that this might be one of those strange fire details. So I returned on foot around 10:30pm to see if the firefighter was still guarding the ruins of the rectory, watching the jagged chunks of brick and plaster for a wisp of telltale smoke. The cruiser was still there and the scene dark. As I grew closer, I spied a weak white light coming from within the vehicle. The firefighter was reclining under the reading lamp with the driver's door slightly ajar, relaxing with a newspaper.
So the fire detail does exist, and in Medford, firefighters receive overtime pay to guard piles of rubble 24/7. Both satisfied and disappointed, I walked to Davis to take advantage of the weather. There I found that new pavement markings were being applied in the square. And the striping crews were being protected by cops and cruisers from Everett and Somerville.
Even more arcane, outdated, useless, and wasteful is the fire detail, which is required in the Boston area at a variety of events (link to Cambridge's regulations).
Across the city line in Medford, Tufts University recently bought the Sacred Heart Church and Rectory from the Archdiocese of Boston, helping the church pay off its dozens of abuse victims and fanning the anti-intellectual, anti-"expansionism" fears of blue collar Medford.*
Apparently Tufts is making the church into some type of convention center. Its rectory was just torn down, which surprised me, and I passed by the demolition zone at about 6:30pm. Pacing around the rubble was a Medford fireman talking on his cell phone. A beat up old Medford Fire Crown Vic was parked across from the demolition equipment.
I suspected that this might be one of those strange fire details. So I returned on foot around 10:30pm to see if the firefighter was still guarding the ruins of the rectory, watching the jagged chunks of brick and plaster for a wisp of telltale smoke. The cruiser was still there and the scene dark. As I grew closer, I spied a weak white light coming from within the vehicle. The firefighter was reclining under the reading lamp with the driver's door slightly ajar, relaxing with a newspaper.
So the fire detail does exist, and in Medford, firefighters receive overtime pay to guard piles of rubble 24/7. Both satisfied and disappointed, I walked to Davis to take advantage of the weather. There I found that new pavement markings were being applied in the square. And the striping crews were being protected by cops and cruisers from Everett and Somerville.
Labels: medford, police details, somerville, waste
posted by Rob at 11:59 PM
2 Comments:
Oh so you thought the firefighter was there to guard the pile of rubble as if the fire dept was concerned if the pile of rubble was gonna get stolen. Maybe he was there in case a child wanted to play in the pile or hole and he was there to deter him or possibly rescue him. Or incase there was a pile of ignitable debris that no longer looked like a building but a nice place to light a fire, i mean why not light it its only a pile of wood, who cares if that gets lit on fire. Or maybe even the possibility of a ruptured gas line that no one knew about. Next time you want to know why a firefighter or a cop is DOING THEIR JOB , go ask them instead of thinking you have all the answers which you obviously dont.
That's a job that could be done by an effective fence.
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