City Management Guts the Fire Department and Decides to Gamble With Your Safety all to Save Less Than 3 Cents Per Day Per Resident
As we celebrate our 150th The City of New Rochelle slashed its first responder protection on Thursday cutting its minimum on duty firefighting contingent to 24 firefighters, 5 less than 2 years ago. Additionally, one of the department’s three ladder companies (LADDER 12), which conduct search, rescue and recovery operations, is no longer in service.
The city is gambling with the lives of its citizens to save less than 3 cents a day per resident. Will fire victims stuck on the upper floors of a building be able to hold their breath or survive the extra minutes it will take to rescue them, “if we ever get to them?”
New Rochelle’s proposed 2012 city budget calls for the Fire Department to eliminate another 9 firefighter positions on top of the already 16 reduced in the 2 previous years. This action will permanently close Ladder 12. The $770,000 budget saving would amount to less than 3 cents per resident per day or ½ of 1 per cent of the city’s total budget.