Deadly New Bedford fire raises questions about city policy

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — On Coffin Avenue, you could hear the sounds of a house being boarded up, where Tuesday 85–year–old Louisa Barboza died in a house fire.

Her next-door neighbor, Joe Carvalho, knew her for years.

“I feel so bad the way she’s gone, because she don’t want to die in a fire,” said Carvalho. “She always say that.”

The firefighters’ union in New Bedford firefighters’ says it did everything it could to save her, but pointed out the engine at the nearest fire house wasn’t manned at the time.

That’s because of the city’s “blackout” policy, which puts equipment out of service at fire stations on a rotating basis to save money.

“The next piece is coming from further,” said Tom Correiro, the union’s president. “That affects the response in the area. That’s just a fact.”

The firefighters’ union does not endorse the policy, which he says has been putting more equipment out of service in recent years.

“The decisions to fund the department all come from downtown, city hall,” Correiro said.

And on Coffin Avenue, calls for city hall not to compromise on a crucial public service where every second counts.

“I hope the city, they do something about it when it comes to fires, and they get here a little quicker,” Carvalho said.

“To save a couple dollars, there’s no price, for a loss of life,” said Chris Payton.

Mayor Mitchell deferred to the fire chief, who said in a statement that the response to Tuesday evening’s fire met the standard response time of under 6 minutes.

©WLNE-TV/ABC6 2019