Rolling Closures of Phila. Firehouses Begins
KYW Newsradio Team Coverage:
The city has begun temporarily closing fire stations to help balance its budget.
KYW's Mike DeNardo reports that what the fire commissioner calls rolling "brownouts" began today with the closing of three fire companies during the day shift that started at 8am.
The city says these rotating brownouts will not have an impact on public safety, that firefighters from those companies will be redeployed to other companies or go for training.
Fire commissioner Lloyd Ayers points out that before now, five companies a day were closed to training. Now, only two will go to training. It's a move that's expected to save the city about $4 million a year in overtime costs.
But the firefighters' unions says the plan is putting lives at risk.
Local 22 president Bill Gault says the rolling brownout plan will only make response times longer. He wonders why the Nutter administration would cut back on fire protection:
"This is just Russian roulette with people's lives for a minimum amount of money in a $4-billion budget. And he seems to be picking on the fire department a little too much here."
Firefighters outside Engine 57 -- one of the temporarily closed stations -- handed out leaflets, urging people to call City Hall and ask the mayor to find another way.
Sandy Hackney, who lives near 56th and Chestnut Streets, says she doesn't want her local fire station closed for any amount of time:
"This is really close to me. And I need them to be around for rescue, fire. Anything can happen. There's too many children around. We need them."
KYW's Mike Dunn reports from City Hall that when Mayor Nutter was asked this afternoon about the firefighters' union protest, he repeated his assertion that the plan does not compromise safety.
And the mayor said the union is simply fighting to retain overtime for its members.
Nutter insists that the use of rolling closures at fire stations to cut costs is an accepted practice throughout the country that will not impact the safety of residents.
And he says it was "an insult" to firefighters for the union to suggest otherwise:
"Not one firefighter -- not one -- has lost a job here. Everyone is working. This is about overtime. That's all its about."
In fact, Nutter's plan for rotating closures of fire stations will eliminate $3.8 million in overtime in this budget. He accused the union of trying to create "unnecessary hysteria" to retain their OT.
On Monday the Philadelphia Fire Department posted the "brownout" schedule of firehouse closures on its web site but warned that it was subject to change.
Read the Full Schedule of "Brownout" Closures
(Photos by KYW's Mike DeNardo)
