BOSTON GLOBE: US taps state's homeland security official

Governor Deval Patrick's homeland security undersecretary has been tapped to serve as a top official at the US Department of Homeland Security. The department announced Thursday that Juliette Kayyem, the first Arab-American appointed to serve as a homeland security adviser at the state level, will be an assistant secretary for intergovernmental programs under Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

BOSTON GLOBE: Consultant finds Boston Fire Department lax on maintenance

An outside consultant concluded that the Boston Fire Department has failed to adequately maintain its firetrucks and that the city should hire an inspector to ensure that the vehicles are safe, Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser said yesterday.

"It's going to say pretty much the same thing I've already said, that preventive maintenance is not being done," Fraser said in a telephone interview.

BOSTON GLOBE: Boston is wasting millions on overtime, watchdog says

The city of Boston is wasting millions of dollars on unnecessary overtime, building maintenance, and out-of-state consultants, draining resources at a time when the city is so cash-strapped that it plans to lay off police officers and teachers, according to a report issued yesterday by the Boston Finance Commission.

The commission criticized public safety officials in particular, for failing to keep overtime costs under control. It cited overtime costs exceeding the budget of $17 million in the Police Department and of $5.3 million in the Fire Department. It also cited $1.1 million in unnecessary overtime for security guards, most of whom patrol City Hall.

Those three categories accounted for nearly a third of the $75 million in all overtime paid in the city last year.

BOSTON HERALD: 3 more fire trucks out of service

The Boston Fire Department pulled three more trucks from service yesterday, raising serious questions about the safety of the fleet on the day they buried one of their own, who was lost in a crash being blamed on apparent brake failure.

Ladder 6, Engine 18 and Engine 21 - all located in Dorchester - were grounded yesterday after an independent inspection by respected fire apparatus expert Ralph Craven, who was hired by the firefighters union.

Local 718 has blamed Friday’s death of Lt. Kevin M. Kelley on a failure to replace antiquated trucks.

BOSTON GLOBE: Union links firefighter's death to city's inaction on vehicles

The Boston Firefighters Union yesterday blamed the death of a veteran lieutenant Friday on the fire department's failure to replace aging vehicles and called on the state to inspect the city's fleet of ladder trucks and engines.

Local 718 president Edward Kelly said at an news conference that a ladder truck crashed into a parked car outside fire department headquarters yesterday morning, the third time a Boston firefighter has lost control of a vehicle and crashed in less than two weeks.

BOSTON HERALD: Fire commish not confident in fleet

Three days after a hero jake lost his life to what investigators believe were faulty brakes, the Boston fire commissioner says he can’t rule out another tragedy on the aging department trucks while the union lays the blame on Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

“Under the Menino administration, changes were made in how we replace apparatus,” Boston Firefighters Local 718 President Edward Kelly told the press yesterday, “and quite frankly we feel it was that detriment to public safety that killed Lt. (Kevin M.) Kelley.”

Reached by phone and asked whether he was confident in the safety of his fleet and that another similar tragedy would not occur, Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser Jr. told the Herald, “No, I can’t be confident in that.”

AP: Boston fire truck smashes into building; 1 dead

BOSTON – A Boston Fire Department ladder truck coming down a hill plowed through an intersection Friday and crashed into a high-rise apartment building, killing one firefighter and seriously injuring a second.

Dozens firefighters bowed their heads and held their helmets over their hearts as they created a pathway for the body of one firefighter — covered in a black body bag on a stretcher — to be carried from the wreckage and put into an ambulance.

The truck was returning from a medical call when it barreled down the steep Parker Hill Avenue, went through the intersection at Huntington Avenue and slammed into the building, said Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Lt. Kevin Kelley, 52, of Quincy, a 30-year veteran supervisor riding in the truck's front seat, died at the scene, MacDonald said. Another firefighter aboard had a broken leg and two others had minor injuries. He said another firefighter helping at the scene suffered a broken ankle.