Fire Dept. has restored all 7 stations closed 15 years ago [Video]

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The last of seven fire stations closed in 2009, to balance the city budget during the Great Recession, has been brought back online. On Thursday, the Philadelphia Fire Department reactivated Engine Company Six, in Port Richmond.

City officials marked the occasion with a ceremonial coupling of the fire hose, symbolically reconnecting Engine Six with the community it serves.

It has taken 15 years to restore the Fire Department to its full capacity, but Councilmember  Mark Squilla says it’s remarkable that it happened at all: “It’s not very often that, once something is removed that it’s replaced.”

Restoring Mayor Michael Nutter’s 2009 budget cuts has been a years-long effort, begun by his successor, Mayor Jim Kenney, the son of a fireman, who budgeted capital funds for equipment and renovations and secured federal grants for staffing.

Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson says it’s important for all the fire houses to be operating.

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