30 Firefighters Laid Off In Gary Due To Budget Cuts
GARY, Ind. (CBS) - They are the first to respond to fires, risking their lives to protect people. But at the end of the week, more than a tenth of Gary, Indiana's firefighters will be out of work.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports officials say a budget crisis is the reason for the cuts but firefighters say it could put people at risk.
"Anytime you lessen manpower, the chance for accidents and everything, it rises," said Gary Fire Captain and Union President Raynard Robinson.
Firefighter Eric Acevedo is one of 30 firefighters citywide to get a layoff letter. He got his today.
"It is crushing," he said, adding it was always his dream to fight fires and he thought it would be a secure job.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Nancy Harty Reports
Podcast
Gary officials say a budget crisis made the cuts unavoidable.
Fire Chief Jeff Ward says he fought for his firefighters but the decision came down from above. He says more than 50 firefighters were originally on the chopping block, but they got that number down to 30.
But firefighters say the loss of more than a tenth of the department citywide causes real safety concerns for firefighters and Gary residents.
Especially, says Fire Captain Aubrey Moore, when you consider the number of fire-friendly vacant buildings, and working fire calls rival calls in much larger cities.
"It might take me, or us longer to get in there to help the person because there will be no one there to back us up," Moore said.
Chief Ward says he is hopeful a federal safety grant might save those jobs for another two years, but they are waiting to hear if they will get that money.
Some firefighters wonder if other city positions, like that of Deputy Mayor, could have been cut to save firefighter jobs.
Mayor Rudy Clay did not return CBS 2's calls for comment.
