AUSTINTOWN Fire station's closing begins process

Firefighters say there are other ways for the township to save money.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Township trustees say closing fire station No. 4 is the first step in a process that would save $100,000 through cuts affecting part-time firefighters.
And trustees say they'll have to follow the process to the end if they don't receive additional revenue in the near future.
The second step in the process is to close station No. 3 on South Raccoon Road, Trustee David Ditzler said. Both stations No. 3 and 4, which is at the corner of New and South Turner roads, are staffed by part-time firefighters.
Those part-time firefighters would be reassigned to station No. 1, on state Route 46 or No. 2, on Wickliffe Circle.
Once stations No. 3 and 4 are closed, Ditzler said, trustees will begin laying off part-time firefighters based on seniority. The township has 33 part-time firefighters.
"There's no way to save other than getting to the wage end of it, getting to the people end of it," Ditzler said.
Firefighters will no longer be called out of No. 4 as of Sunday. Ditzler said trustees should have a better idea about the rest of the cuts by the end of May, after they've gone through arbitration with the union for full-time firefighters and the state budget picture is clearer.
Trustees discussed the closing of station No. 4 and their budget situation at a contentious meeting Monday night. Several firefighters and their families packed the township meeting room.
The discussion became heated when Trustee Bo Pritchard cut off some of the firefighters and residents to make a point about the budget. Both Pritchard and a resident or firefighter were nearly shouting.
When a firefighter shouted a comment from the audience, Trustee Richard Edwards banged his gavel and said anyone who interrupted the meeting would be asked to leave.
Some firefighters said after the meeting that they didn't believe the trustees' statements about the budget.
"They're making the figures say anything they want," firefighter Tom Matas said. "When you can change the rules in the middle of the game, you can get things to go your way."
Pritchard said trustees are slated to pay $383,000 out of the general fund this year for the fire department because the township's fire levy doesn't generate enough revenue to pay for salary increases, equipment and supplies.
Other firefighters said they think trustees will put both themselves and residents in harm's way by closing station No. 4.
"I don't want to see any of you three put in the situation where you have to attend someone's funeral," firefighter Bill McMahon told trustees.
Once the station closes, the only firefighters who will be called to immediately respond to an alarm will be those in the full-time stations. The captain on duty will determine if part-time firefighters should be called.
Response time
Full-time firefighter Capt. Chris Ludt told trustees it recently took nearly eight minutes for firefighters from the state Route 46 station to respond to a medical call on the west side of the township. The average response time from the full-time stations to a call on the west side of the township in 2002 was about 5.4 minutes.
Some firefighters and residents said that to save money, trustees could cut cell phone use, change how safety forces respond to medical calls, and ask part-time firefighters to serve as volunteers. Part-time firefighters are paid between $8 and $9 an hour.
Trustees already have laid off a maintenance employee, a police officer, a part-time firefighter, and a full-time and two-part time caseworkers from the police juvenile diversion program, which has been eliminated.
Earlier in the day, part-time firefighters at No. 4 had given out fliers questioning the decision to close the station to drivers stopped at the intersection of South Turner and New roads. Part-time Capt. Lloyd Gruver said most drivers were surprised to learn the station was closing.
hill@vindy.com