Local firemen
need your help

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

The firefighters at Engine 22, Ladder 31, Medic 20 are asking the Northeast community to help them build a concrete structure to store lawn equipment and trash bags.
No, local citizens don’t have to pour concrete and lay bricks. They need only to log on to their computers and press a few buttons.
"We need the votes," said Capt. Nick Fortuna.
The fire station, at Academy and Comly roads, is in the running for $10,000 in prize money from Maxwell House. The coffee maker invited stations across the country to submit 300-word photo essays that outlined why they deserve the money.
Most of Philadelphia’s 60 stations entered the contest, which is now down to two finalists. The local station is battling Engine 2, Ladder 3, Medic 31, at Second and York streets, which wants to renovate its kitchen to get rid of "Marty" the mouse once and for all.
Fortuna, who served as a lieutenant at the West Kensington firehouse for three and a half years, acknowledges that the station needs a new kitchen, but he believes his station’s needs are more pressing.
Right now, the station’s trash and lawn equipment are kept in the boiler room, which is located in the basement.
Mice and rats have been tearing apart the trash bags. If the men put the trash outside, it would probably be devoured by raccoons, possums and cats.
Meanwhile, the gas-powered snow blowers and lawn mowers are a potential hazard.
"They’re right next to the boiler," Fortuna said. "It’s a safety issue."
The answer, in his view, is to build a 16-foot-high by 16-foot-wide exterior structure so the rodents don’t enter the fire station and the lawn equipment is away from the boiler.
The vermin also feast on the dead grass dragged in by the lawn tractor. The lawn equipment cannot be placed outside because it would probably be stolen or damaged by the weather.
"The only way to correct the problem is with an exterior shed," Fortuna said. "It should have been done a long time ago."
The 50 or so firemen and paramedics who work at the station have made improvements to the station in the past. For instance, they removed a curb and built a walkway to make it easier to wheel equipment into the station. And they built racks to hang gear.
The men would be willing to build the shed themselves, knowing that the city does not consider their issue a budget priority. But, they’ve never been given the OK.
Now, the station is on the verge of something special. Maxwell House, the firefighters’ favorite brand of coffee, is sponsoring Spruce Up Your Firehouse, a nationwide contest that will give 10 stations $10,000 apiece for various projects.
Voting continaues through Friday for stations in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
Fortuna said the money would be well spent.
"We can build ourselves a nice exterior shed," he said.
The firefighters and their families have been busy logging onto www.maxwellhouse.com to vote for the station. Fortuna’s daughter, Nicole, has been rallying support among fellow students and staff at Archbishop Ryan High School.
The fire captain, who’s been at the station for two and a half years, is also counting on the immediate community and the Northeast as a whole to vote en masse.
Winners will be announced on or about May 22.
The HGTV cable network is co-sponsoring the contest. The winning stations will receive expert help from Kristan Cunningham, host of the network’s Design on a Dime. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com

How to vote

• Go to www.maxwellhouse.com
• Click on "Spruce Up Your Firehouse"
• Enter your e-mail address and hit Go
• Scroll down to Philadelphia and hit Go
• Click on the red helmet in the bottom right corner of the screen