Firefighters protest staffing changes
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published Feb. 13, 2008

A change in fire station staffing levels as part of the city’s dealing with the ongoing budget crunch has prompted city firefighters to take their pleas to the public.

Members of the Bay Village Firefighters Association sent an open letter to the public which is included in this week’s edition of West Life as a paid flyer about Mayor Debbie Sutherland’s reducing the minimum staffing level for the department from six firefighters to five when a firefighter calls in sick.

Jim Wilts, president of the Bay Firefighters union, said the group felt people needed to know more about the issue.

It puts people at risk,” said Wilts. “It causes potential safety problems by reducing staff to that level.”

Sutherland said the move only affects the department in a few situations.

“This is only when there is an overtime or sick time sitation,” said Sutherland. “Normally, there are six to eight firefighters on duty plus the administrative staff and officer in charge. The difference now is when a firefighter calls in sick, we are not going to call someone in right away.”

Sutherland said the city has had to take tough measures to deal with the ongoing budget problem.

“This is not a permanent, all- the-time reduction in staffing levels,” Sutherland said. “This is only when there is a sick call-in. We’ve got to take some measures because of budget issues.”

She said department overtime has doubled in recent years, citing the $269,000 spent in 2007 as opposed to an average of between $125,000 to $130,000 in prior years.

Wilts said the department has maintained at least six firefighters for many years.

“It’s a number which is used by many departments as the minimum standard,” he said. “This puts the public at risk by not having as many firefighters going out on a call when they’re needed. It also puts the firefighters at risk by not having as many on a call.”

In the letter, the firefighters start with a headline ‘Bay Village Safety Compromised’ and then note Sutherland’s administrative decision.

“Effective February 8, 2008, Mayor Sutherland reduced the minimum staff requirement for the Bay Village Fire Department from six firefighter/paramedics to five. At least six firefighter/paramedics have been on duty since 1976 when a measure was overwhelmingly approved by voters. In the past 32 years, the number of emergency calls has nearly doubled,” the letter said.

“The Mayor elected to decrease manpower and directly compromise your safety and the safety of our firefighters. This choice was made without the approval of City Council or the Fire Chief. More importantly, it was not approved by the citizens of Bay Village.”

Sutherland said that when Bay Village joined the West Shore Central Dispatch, it eliminated the need for having a firefighter stay behind.

“When you had six men previously and two calls came in, which happens about 100 times a year, you had three go out on one truck and two on the other, while one stayed at the phone,” she said. “This would be similar to that.”

Sutherland said she has worked with Fire Chief Jim Sammon and City Council on the situation. She said there is an average of $800 overtime on four calls a day for the department, she said.

“We can’t keep doing that all the time,” she said. “So, we’ve worked very closely on this for awhile. There was some sentiment with some who wanted to do this sooner in the budget process. I’ve kept council apprised of the situation and will continue to work with them and everybody in the process.”