Fire Station #21 to reopen for summer months
by Chuck Hoven

(Plain Press, June 2008) At a May 20th meeting at OLA St. Joseph Center in the Tremont neighborhood, Cleveland Fire Department Chief Paul Stubbs announced that Fire Station #21 at Scranton and Carter Road would be back in service through Labor Day for the festival and boat season.  He said the station was being reopened to respond to a greater life hazard during the summer months. The budget would be re-examined in the fall with no guarantee the station would remain open beyond Labor Day.

The City of Cleveland has kept the station closed for most of this year in what it says is an effort to control the cost of overtime and live within its budget. Questions by residents in attendance at the meeting revealed that to man the station full time year round would cost $1.5 million.

Station 21 houses Engine 2 which is the first responder for Tremont, the Flats and the West Downtown and Warehouse districts, and Engine 21, Cleveland’s Fire Boat. The firefighters assigned to the station are cross-trained to be able to respond to emergencies on both land and water.

Fire officials showed a map of response times for first responders with and without the Fire Station 21, claiming that most locations in the neighborhood could be reached within six minutes of receiving a call for help. Questioning by residents revealed that when the first responder was out at the time of the call for help, the response time could be longer. In addition to the busy near-by stations being out on calls, fire officials questioned by residents revealed that due to other cost cutting measures, not all stations have in house refueling capability. Thus nearby fire companies will not only be at a greater distance when out on a call, but also when refueling.

Fire Chief Stubbs admitted to residents that every possible scenario was not covered by the city’s fire coverage plan. He could not guarantee that a fire engine was always six minutes away.     

A resident asked about increased insurance cost if the Scranton station was closed. Chief Stubbs said he didn’t think that would be the case. Another resident contradicted the Chief, saying she received a discount on her insurance for being within a mile of the fire station.

Other residents asked if the city should be increasing, not decreasing fire protection due to all the hazards created by vacant houses.

A representative of the Flats Industry Council and the Flats Oxbow Association shared concern about the safety of businesses and the growing residential population in the flats. The representative also expressed concern about lowered response time caused by the closing of the Eagle Street Bridge. He offered to assist the city in compiling data about the number of residences and businesses in the flats. He also expressed concern about the safety of freight traveling on the river.

After the meeting, Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman said he had scheduled a meeting with the Director of Finance for the City of Cleveland to find dollars to fully fund Fire Station #21. He also noted that the Ohio Department of Transportation had promised to include the rebuilding of the Eagle Street Bridge as part of plans for the Innerbelt project.

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