Firefighters blast staffing change

More than a hundred Long Beach firefighters and their supporters blasted a new city policy that they said would cut staff and reduce services after City Manager Charles Theofan terminated a five-year-old minimum staffing agreement. The firefighters claim that the move has put the safety of residents and firefighters at risk.

Members of the Long Beach Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 287, the union representing the city's career firefighters, called on Theofan and the City Council members at Tuesday's meeting to reverse a decision to implement a staffing policy that took effect on Sept. 1, which members said could leave three or fewer firefighters on duty at Engine 3, their headquarters behind City Hall.

Previously, units at Engine 3 operated with four firefighters and one lieutenant, according to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that expired on Aug. 31. Members said that having at least five firefighters assigned to every shift, or tour, meets the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Fire Protection Association.

As of last week, members said that if a firefighter calls out sick, takes a vacation day or is scheduled for training, his colleagues would be forced to work with one fewer man, since three firefighters and a lieutenant would be considered sufficient for each tour under the new protocol. Members of Engine 3 said that in those circumstances, the new policy requires them to wait for a secondary, volunteer firefighter to arrive on the scene before entering a structure, a delay that could severely hamper rescue efforts and put firefighters' and residents' lives in jeopardy.

The city's Fire Department comprises roughly 165 volunteer firefighters and a 27-member career uniformed force, serving approximately 43,000 residents in the city, Atlantic Beach and East Atlantic Beach. Because Long Beach is one of the busiest departments on Long Island, responding to nearly 4,700 emergency calls a year, firefighters called on Theofan — who appointed himself fire commissioner this year — to reverse the change.