Omaha, Nebraska firefighters say cuts impacted rescue. Closest ladder truck not available for woman trapped in fire.

Click the image above to hear the story Omaha Fire Department Captain Jeff Randall tells KETV-TV of a rescue firefighters from Engine 61 made last weekend of a woman trapped in her burning apartment. Randall makes the case that the rescue was made much more difficult because the ladder truck from the same station was not on the scene working alongside his crew. The truck was put out of service three weeks ago due to budget cuts and the resulting repositioning of equipment. The closest ladder truck took ten minutes to get to the scene.

A spokesperson for Omaha's mayor agreed with an earlier comment from the city budget director that the cuts will impact response times.

Here are excerpts from the KETV-TV report:

"We would have had ventilation, search and rescue, and fire suppression,” Randall said, speaking of ladder truck 61 that had been taken out of service.

“The ladder truck makes the environment more survivable,” Omaha Fire Union President Steve LeClair said. He said a crew on a ladder truck handles search and rescue efforts, while a crew on a pumper truck simultaneously puts out a fire.

On Saturday, LeClair said Captain Randall and his crew initially had to handle both.

“The truth is, if that (fire) had flashed over on us, I don't know how bad things would have got, but it didn't, thank God," Randall said.