Official decries firefighter cuts

Mayor Ed Rendell has decided to save about $250,000 next year by cutting one firefighter from each of the city's 30 fire department ladder truck units, including the one that serves the University. James Cunningham, the vice president of Local 22 Philadelphia Fire Fighters union, said he is upset that the mayor made "safety cuts" when making budget cuts. "You aren't getting the protection you deserve," Cunningham said. "You are especially at risk." Although the last fatal fire he remembered at the University occurred 25 years ago, Cunningham said that losing a firefighter from each truck could make a deadly fire more likely. "Back when I started in the department in 1965, we had six or seven men on a truck," he said. "Now we only will have three plus an officer. That's unsafe for citizens and firefighters." Citizens that live around the University would be at an unusually high risk, Cunningham said. The high number of false and accidental alarms on campus makes the firefighters from the house at 43rd and Market streets much busier than those from many other fire companies. He said the fire department investigates every alarm, real or not, and if there were two emergencies on campus, one response team would most likely be coming from at least 10 blocks away. "If there were three medical or fire calls on or near campus, one response team would be coming from [the Center City area]," said Cunningham. "That situation really is not safe, especially when they're going to cut another man from the ladder trucks. There is no backup if we have two alarms that are close to each other." The mayor told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he is cutting back at the fire departments to prevent the elimination of entire firehouses. He added that other major cities have also cut back ladder truck teams to four members. Cunningham said that the National Fire Underwriters organization, an independent group that reports on firefighting issues, recommends that each ladder truck carry six men and a supervisor. The union and city have entered into binding arbitration to solve the problems between them. They are looking to create a new contract to replace one that expired in July of last year. "We will certainly be dealing with manpower issues," Cunningham said. "Hopefully the new contract will make our jobs and citizens safer."