The plan to cut 11 firefighters to balance the Lorain Fire Department’s 2010 budget is “devastating,” fire Chief Tom Brown said.
The chief lashed out about this week’s arbitration ruling in favor of firefighters who claimed the administration’s plan to defer some pay until next year violated their work contract.
Since the plan to save money this year was derailed, layoff notices sent to 11 firefighters become effective Saturday, in order to slash $185,000 from this year’s budget.
“This is absolutely devastating to the fire service,” Brown said. “I’m embarrassed to face the citizens of Lorain and tell them this is the level of fire service I have to provide.”
Brown said he has been placed in the middle of a battle of wills with two sides that refuse to come to any level of agreement.
That has caused the necessity to work out of one station, transfer multiple firefighters and demote or lay off others, Brown said.
After the cuts, Brown predicted most days the Lorain Fire Department likely will operate only from the Central Fire Station, 1350 Broadway.
“I need four stations, not one,” Brown said. “It’s pathetic that I’ve been operating with three, quite frankly.”
Station 4, 401 Idaho Ave., has been open about 10 percent of the time this year, Brown said.
“It won’t open, period, no way, no how,” Brown said. The other stations are Station No. 3 at 3042 Grove Ave. and Station No. 7 at 2111 W Park Drive.
The chief also said he has essentially 48 hours to shuffle his remaining staff to cover the weekend shift because eight of the 11 firefighters being laid off worked the same shift.
The fire training office will close within two weeks and the department will have one officer devoted to inspections, Brown said.
Federal guidelines recommend 15 firefighters respond to structure fires within eight minutes; that does not include a command officer or dispatcher, Brown said.
“I’m not going to be anywhere in the ballpark,” he said, with some shifts as low as 10 firefighters.
People recommend calling for mutual aid from other fire departments in neighboring communities, but that will take additional time for those crews to respond to a fire, Brown said.
“The simple fact is this 70,000 citizens, steel mills, hospitals, nursing homes, tons of residential areas — You can’t rely on other departments to protect your city,” Brown said.
“This has just gone too far,” Brown said. “This needs to be averted. This has gone too far and it’s time for everyone to find a responsible way to look at this.”
Too many city departments are status quo or got budget increases this year, Brown said.
“It’s time to ask the question, why?” Brown said. “With these layoffs I’m going to have over 23 percent of my department laid off.”
With the demotions, the total is 33 percent of the department cut or affected financially, Brown said.
The department will lose firefighters with 11 years’ tenure.
“That sickens me, point blank,” he said.
If citizens are concerned, Brown encouraged the public to call Lorain’s elected officials and voice their displeasure.
“There needs to be an emergency meeting and everyone needs to be locked in a room for 24 hours until they come up with a solution,” Brown said. “That’s my opinion.”
Brown said he regularly consults both the firefighters and administration. They have common goals, but neither side is willing to give, he said.
Most of the firefighters, even those who will be cut, support the union’s stand against additional concessions, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 267 President Jonathon George said.
Since the fire union filed the grievance over the pay deferral, the administration has threatened layoffs and has not considered other possibilities, George said.
Safety Director Phil Dore, through city Law Director Pat Riley, offered a plan to defer firefighters pay in 2011, and to push this year’s 27th pay period into 2011, as a way to save money in the 2010 budget, George said.
But that was a take-it-or-leave-it offer and the administration would not guarantee the firefighters there would be no layoffs if the firefighters take concessions, George said.
“We’re doing this because of the way those people have been treated the last two years,” George said, referring to a fire department that has had five layoff notices in two years.
“Eventually, the savings that we continue to give the city are going to have to be put to good use and I am not exaggerating that over the years we have saved the city millions of dollars,” George said.
Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko said he will meet with Brown today to discuss operational issues.
“I think first and foremost I don’t think anybody wants to lose any service whether it’s the parks or streets” or any department, Krasienko said. “There’s kind of a level of frustration in the city right now because everybody’s below staffing.”
However, the administration can only spend the money allocated by Lorain City Council, Krasienko said.
He also countered the accusation that the administration somehow prevented council from revisiting the fire department budget.
“The administration can’t keep council from talking about anything,” Krasienko said. “They set their own agenda.”
