Over two million people ride on buses operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in New York City every weekend. The MTA’s expansive fleet of buses needs to be stored, maintained, and refueled somewhere. Though, the fire suppression system at one bus depot has been dysfunctional for nearly two years leading to a 24-hour fire watch being used as a makeshift replacement. The fire watch’s overtime staffing has cost the MTA at least $2.4 million.
The New York Daily News reported the MTA’s East New York bus depot in Brooklyn has been dealing with critical safety issues, the sprinkler system has been down for at least 20 months and the fire alarm system hasn’t worked properly since 2020. Workplace safety regulators have cited the facility and mandated the fire watch as a requirement until the systems are repaired.
The handling of the repairs and the fire watch has been abysmal. Deadlines set by the New York Department of Labor have been passed without the issues being resolved. The work done has barely yielded any progress. The sprinkler system’s aging pipes are still leaky and failing water pressure tests. The MTA hopes that epoxy patches will be installed by the end of the year as a temporary fix.
Rich Davey, MTA New York City Transit President, told the Daily News:
“The place is safe, no doubt. But we’d rather a working fire suppression system than having to pay a 24-hour fire watch. I’m very involved in it and keeping a close eye on it, because it’s costing us money.”
Yes, a lot of money. An overtime document obtained by the newspaper shows that the MTA paid $2.4 million in overtime wages to 19 employees over the past 52 weeks. A single electrician made $254,800, three times more than his $83,200 base salary. The staffing for the fire watch is more than the document’s 19 employees, with at least 30 people per day being assigned to the task.
To compound the problem, many concerned employees at the bus depot don’t believe that the fire watch is being done as assigned. All of the issues are expected to continue until the entire fire suppression system is replaced, which could take years.