Rye Fire department still ‘staffed for failure’

[Viper 139]

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Despite petitions from the Rye Professional Firefighters Association to address the lack of a sufficient number of trained fire personnel, it is currently unclear whether the city Fire Department will receive additional funding from the City Council for 2017.

 

According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, despite the Fire Department’s historical label of being “staffed for failure,” it’s likely that the department will continue being “dangerously understaffed” in the next calendar year, as the city’s 2017 tentative budget does not earmark any additional funds for hiring new employees. The final city budget is expected to be adopted on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

 

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Further, he said an Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, representative visited the department during the summer to file a random report of its operations and compliance to federal requirements. He added that the department is expecting to receive a failing report for breaking the two-in, two-out rule. “My understanding is that, instead of fining the department, they would rather have the department in compliance by solving the problem,” he said.

 

 

 

ARTICLE: http://www.ryecityreview.com/news/fire-department-still-staffed-for-failure/