Firefighters Cross Brooklyn Bridge In Protest Of Budget Cuts

City firefighters crossed the Brooklyn Bridge in droves Friday morning in an effort to save 20 fire companies on the chopping block.

Hundreds of firefighters, City Council members and representatives of impacted communities later met up with thousands of others who gathered outside City Hall in protest of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's budget plan.

The mayor has proposed closing the companies as part of a cost-cutting measure that's expected to save the city $55 million.

Many who attended the rally blasted the plan, saying it will only add to increased response times within an already struggling fire department.

"We know the city's not doing too well right now. We're hoping they'll look somewhere else other than the fire department you know what I mean. It's really civilians that are in danger, their safety and all," said New York City Firefighter Chris Pagano.

"I think it's very dangerous to close fire houses at this time. We had our busiest last couple years than any other years in the fire department, any other consecutive years. We're doing more emergencies and fire while they may be down, they're still, response times have to stay low," said New York City Firefighter Mike McCragh.

Uniformed Firefighter's Association President Steve Cassidy said the cuts will increase response times, putting many at risk.

"The Bloomberg administration basically says that the time a 911 caller spends with a 911 operator doesn't count. It's outrageous," said Cassidy. "If your house is on fire, if you're having a heart attack, that minute or minute-and-a-half actually does count. So they're using deliberately false response times."

"We disagree it's not only the union that disagrees, his [Bloomberg's] fire commissioner has testified that these cuts will jeopardize public safety, and response times will increase dramatically and we have already proven that they are not telling us the truth about response times. The times are actually increased by at least a minute," said UFA Vice President Jim Slevin.

The fire houses where the cuts will occur all have two trucks under current staffing. Only one of the two crews would be cut.

In response to Friday's rally, a spokesman for the mayor said, "We heard a lot of the same comments when six fire companies were closed in 2003 - claims that people would die. But since those six companies were closed, we’ve hit all-time record lows in fire deaths."

Negotiations between the mayor and the City Council over the cuts continue.

The budget is set to take effect July 1st.

By: Michael Herzenberg

Let the NYC City Council know that Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget cuts will hurt our city --- SIGN THE PETITION