The first budget address of Kathy Sheehan's mayoral career was themed "Building a bridge to a stronger future." Albany firefighters see that span as skipping over an entire neighborhood.
Both Mayor Sheehan and her appointed Fire Chief Warren Abriel were heckled and"booed" by firefighters when they announced the fire truck at Ladder 1 would be taken out of service during the budget presentation Wednesday.
Sheehan said " The South Station will remain open."
While no firefighters would lose their jobs, Sheehan pointed out that eliminating Ladder 1 would save taxpayers $1.2 million dollars. "We currently are staffed at 245 firefighters, but we have apparatus for 260. We've been staffing that apparatus on overtime."
Firefighters argue taking out Ladder 1 puts the public at risk. Abriel explained he and the mayor had looked at several different methods of trimming the budget. "I looked at closing a company, keeping our staffing at the full 245, that would give every position filled with the apparatus we had. Nobody would lose a job. The apparatus that we chose can be easily covered with ladders 2 and 4... 2 and 4..."
Firefighters didn't want to hear it. Ladder 1 serves the city's South End neighborhood, where oil trains lumber along a few feet behind apartment buildings en route to and from the Port of Albany. Firefighters union president Bob Powers, 16 years on the job, says in a disaster scenario, every minute counts.
"Now you'll have an apparatus coming from Truck 4 Delaware Avenue or Truck Two Arbor Hill, but if both of those are out, now you have someone coming from Brevator Street, the Washington Avenue extension area," said Powers.
- Albany Firefighters have been using Twitter to advance a number of facts related to the demands and its calls for service. You can follow them on Twitter: @AlbanyFFs in addition, they have been incorporating the a hashtag #518FireFacts.
Powers adds Albany’s residents, businesses and visitors rely on the department to respond to fires, accidents and emergencies at a rate of 22,000 calls annually; that's one alarm every 20 minutes. And minutes can make a difference between life and death. "We respond to not just fire calls. EMS calls, carbon monoxide, hazmat, tanker leaks, many different calls."
More than a week before the release of the city budget, the firefighters unveiled a suggested plan of action of their own that included a request for fully staffing the department to 260 individuals. They're also reaching out to citizens via YouTube, in English and Spanish:
Firefighters are taking the Ladder 1 elimination as both a snub and a disservice to city residents. The Albany Common Council is examining Sheehan's spending plan and will vote on it. Echoing the sentiment of firefighters and a few council members,
Community activist and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Marlon Anderson said the budget presentation fell short of remarkable: "All words. We'll see how well the words convert into action." If the budget is passed as is, Ladder 1 will close in January.
