Boston Fire Department Local 718 president calls for immediate action to address urgent safety issues in Boston’s Mass and Cass Corridor.
Sam Dillon said the situation was “worse than ever” and called it a “ticking time bomb”.
He told Boston 25 News that firefighters are at risk of violence and facing dangerous levels of burnout with dozens of medical responses in the area each day.
He said Dudley Street Fire Station was overwhelmed with 54 emergency responses in one day last week – many of them from Mass and Cass.
“It’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens and we can’t go back,” Dillon said. “We must act now to prevent this. If we don’t, everyone involved who let it fester will be held accountable.
Dillon said the fighters face the risk of being exposed to different diseases and the threat of being outnumbered by the large crowd.
“We have had firefighters, over the past 48 hours, responding to medical calls to Mass and Cass who have been threatened with violence, who have been shown weapons, who have been surrounded by unruly mobs threatening them,” he explained.
His appeal to city officials comes as police respond to a recent spate of violence at Mass and Cass.
This includes a triple stabbing that happened in broad daylight earlier this month.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced over the weekend that three suspects now face charges for their role in the crime.
Those suspects have been identified as Jaden Mathieu, 20, of Dorchester, Juan Shanks, 33, of Dorchester and Mikia Steed, 38, of Roxbury.
“What is happening at Mass and Cass is a human tragedy and a community nightmare,” Hayden said. “This alarming violence illustrates, once again, the urgent need for a collaborative approach combining all our resources – local, regional and state.”
Hayden said officers responding to that July 15 triple stabbing “were instructed to be aware of the hundreds of open and unplugged hypodermic needles in the area.”
On Sunday, Boston 25 News reached out to the City of Boston for comment and has yet to hear back.
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