Mayor Toni Harp is speaking out against criticism from the New Haven Fire union over proposed changes to the city’s fire department.
"We’re not reducing staff," she said defending the proposal. "We’re making people in the city of New Haven safer."
As NBC Connecticut first reported Friday, the city proposal reassigns four firefighters from one district’s fire truck to staff two new paramedic units serving the entire city.
"I think the union has in fact misled the public," Harp said. "(Ricci) is skewing the whole question in a way that makes people afraid that we are doing something that will harm them. We are not, he is."
On the union website main page, the headline in bold writing reads: Save Your Neighborhood Engine.
Harp is reassuring the residents near the Ellsworth Avenue station that they are not at risk of losing their neighborhood fire truck.
"They have two now, they really just need one," Harp said. "And the rest of the city needs for there to be the medical vehicle staged there so that it can get to the rest of the city on time, so they’re not going to a have a problem having their fires put out."
Local
While the firefighters from Engine 9 at the Ellsworth station would redeploy to the two new city-wide advanced life (ALS) support paramedic units, Deputy Director of Emergency Operations Rick Fontana said the Squad 2 Company, also stationed at Ellsworth, would serve at the new local engine company.
One of the new ALS paramedic units would be stationed at the Ellsworth station; the other at the Whitney Avenue fire house.
Over the phone Monday, Ricci said the city cannot afford to take a fire truck out of service because of the growing population, which includes an increasing number of undocumented residents. He added the city’s proposal violates language in the union contract and a shakeup could affect the reliability of firefighters who respond to an emergency within four minutes.
The plan would save taxpayers money, Mayor Harp said, while improving coverage for emergency calls. Nearly 75 percent of the calls are medical, according to the city’s data analysis.
"All we’re are doing is saving wear and tear on equipment that costs us a lot of money," she said.
Larger fire apparatus cost around $800,000, compared to the paramedic units that are $80,000, Harp said.
Soon, the mayor plans to announce which of three final candidates becomes the fire department’s new chief.
"All three thought what we’re doing made sense and they would support," she said.
