BOSTON (AP) -- An outside consultants' report says the Boston Fire Department lacks a professional fleet manager and has no defined preventative maintenance program for its vehicles and equipment.

• Download the Full Report (PDF via Boston Channel)

Those are some of the findings in the report issued by the department on Wednesday. Mercury Associates was commissioned after a runaway fire truck slammed into an apartment building in January, killing veteran firefighter Kevin Kelley.

The report says the department's overall approach to maintenance is to react to problems with vehicles, rather than prevent them from happening in the first place.

The report calls on the department to develop a comprehensive vehicle inspection system and hire a fleet safety coordinator within the next three months, and also look into the benefits of a civilian-run maintenance division.

Fire officials were not immediately available for comment on the report.

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