Fire union, chief, try to stop reducton in personnel

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The head of the union representing city firefighters said Monday the department’s overtime crisis has been caused by a manpower shortage.

That crisis, in which the department is approaching its OT budget for the year, may cause the city to cut back on personnel at Fire Station No. 2 on East Indianola Avenue near the Brownlee Woods area on the South Side.

Tony Ciccone, president of Youngstown Professional Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters Local 312, said the city is not hiring enough firefighters to take the place of those who retire.

Ciccone said the reason overtime costs are up is because other firefighters have to work over to maintain staffing.

Fire Chief John O’Neill said Station 2 has two trucks, an engine and a ladder truck. If they have to reduce staffing, the station will go from six to eight firefighters to three to four, and those firefighters will answer calls in whatever truck is appropriate for the situation.

O’Neill said his department is budgeted for $130,000 in overtime this year, and the department is already at between $80,000 and $90,000. The reason, he said, is the department has 123 firefighters, down from 128 at this time last year.

O’Neill said the department has been hit hard by on-duty injuries, including some that have some firefighters off long-term.

“One hundred twenty-three [firefighters] just isn’t cutting it,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill told council’s Safety Committee about the plan last week, and they were going to make the reductions, but Mayor John A. McNally has given officials until Saturday to see if money could be found to keep the station fully manned the rest of the year.

O’Neill said the McNally administration gave him the mandate to cut personnel because of the high overtime numbers. The decision to reduce personnel at Station 2 was made after he consulted with his command staff, O’Neill said.

Ciccone said the union is willing to work with the city to come up with ways and ideas to save money. Another option would be to move money from other city funds to the fire department to keep the station fully staffed.

O’Neill said it is up to the administration to decide if the city can afford to hire new firefighters or keep paying out the overtime.