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(CBS) BROOKLYN The union representing city firefighters claims the manufacturer of their fire trucks is unreliable, citing a firehouse in Brooklyn that's been using a truck from the 1990s ever since their new vehicle broke down. The firefighters of Ladder 175 in East New York, Brooklyn, were using a beat up, 14-year-old truck on Wednesday. Defects sent their brand-new truck back to the manufacturer, Seagrave, after only five days. “This is entirely unacceptable it compromises firefighter safety and public safety,” said Steven Cassidy, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. As WCBSTV.com first reported in September, the Fire Department has had a beef with Seagrave over repair issues and the quality of its rigs. Last September CBS2 found the new Ladder 175 sitting in Seagrave's East Brunswick, N.J., sales and service yard. But it was not delivered until last week. It had problems almost immediately. Last Saturday it was taken out of service. Sources said a Seagrave mechanic worked on the truck in the fire company's East New York quarters for 10 hours. Hours after the mechanic left, the truck broke down again at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Highland Place. Smoke poured out of the engine and the firefighters were stranded. They had to wait four hours for a tow. Now the company has to use a truck so old its broken odometer stopped at 76,400 miles and the number “175” is held on with tape. “The procurement process under this administration, under (Fire Commissioner) Nick Scoppetta, is a disaster,” Cassidy charged. “He's compromised the safety of my firefighters and the public. It's outrageous and instead of admitting they made a mistake, they will stick with this company and try to fix it. They've made more mistakes on top of more mistakes and they’ve compromised everyone in the City of New York.” Fire Department spokesman Frank Gribbon says the problems with Ladder 175 are not the commissioner’s fault. What’s more, he says the commissioner is giving Seagrave a new $10 million contract for 12 new tower ladders. Steve Cassidy says the problems with Ladder 175 should be a warning to the FDNY not to do business with just one company.
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