Loss of engine company draws heated response

EDISON — Township officials ordered last week that one of the engine companies at the firehouse on Amboy Avenue, which services the Clara Barton section of the township, be discontinued.

The career fire company was one of two operating at the firehouse. A volunteer fire company also operates there.

Robert Yackel, president of the Edison Fire Fighters Association, said the move to put one company out of service creates a public safety issue.

“Our concern is public safety,” he said. “These firefighters are husbands and fathers, and our goal is to have them come home from every shift and be safe.” Yackel said the cutback “plays Russian roulette with the safety of the residents of what is the most vulnerable neighborhood in Edison.

“The Clara Barton section of town includes a large senior citizen population, several schools, adult living residences and Raritan Center,” he said.

Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said she has been assured by Deputy Fire Chief Brian Latham that no danger will be caused by the elimination of the fire company.

“I understand that the firefighters association is upset,” she said. “No one wants change. However, the deputy chief has assuredme that the residents will not be in danger by the elimination of the one fire engine company. And if anything occurs, overtime will be utilized. I will find the money somewhere.”

Ricigliano said that a shortage of firefighters prompted the Oct. 15 decision to close one of the fire companies in Clara Barton.

“Each of the eight firehouses in the township has one career fire company and one volunteer company,” she said. “It happened that the Clara Barton section had two career fire companies. Our decision makes the firehouse the same as everyone else.”

Ricigliano added that the decision will result in a reduction of overtime costs.

Yackel said the township is also expected to eliminate firerescue units.

“This will put an added strain on the town’s limited number of professional ambulance crews and more reliance on volunteer ambulance companies, whose response time is not always a certainty,” he said.

Yackel noted that the firerescue units in Clara Barton were barely there to assist the firefighters because they were so busy on emergency medical service calls.

“In fact, the Edison Fire Rescue provides a revenue source to the town,” he said. “If a patient has medical insurance, Edison can bill the insurance company for Fire Rescue’s services, which volunteer services are legally prohibited from doing.”

Hiring firefighters

Latham has said his 125-member department has been in urgent need of new firefighters for the past four years.

“Right now we are pretty short on staff and have to utilize a lot of overtime,” he said.

Latham said that in each of the past four years, the township has shelled out approximately $800,000 in overtime pay.

The department had a total of 143 firefighters in 2005, or 18 more than the present level. The department has had many members resign or retire in recent years.

“We have lost 20 to 25 people over the last four years,” he said. “This year alone we will lose six firemen; we lost four in July and two more by the end of the year.”

Township officials are expected to hire six to eight additional entry-level firefighters by Dec. 31, bringing the department up to the minimum level per shift. The Township Council unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance in September that permits the mayor to revive an expired volunteer firefighter list for a period of one year.

“On Monday and Tuesday [Oct. 18 and 19], all 17 people on the [firefighter candidates] list were interviewed,” said Ricigliano. “This is a process. We have to see if they fit the eligibility, and physicals and background checks have to be made.”

The mayor said she hopes to hire the six to eight additional firefighters by Thanksgiving, or by the end of the year at the latest.

Yackel, noting that the mayor earlier this year reduced the minimum number of firefighters required per shift from 22 to 20, said this has made it difficult for the departments to comply with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and National Fire Protection Agency standards.

“This is significant, as Edison routinely operates two-person fire engines while the minimum standard set by the National Fire Protection Agency is four firefighters plus an officer,” he said. “Federal OSHA regulations legally mandate a minimum of four firefighters on-scene before first responders can enter a burning structure. This is for the safety of the company, both civilians and firefighters. It allows for two firefighters to enter the structure with two as backup should conditions worsen.”

Yackel said that due to OSHA regulations, firefighters are not supposed to enter a burning building until a second engine arrives.

“That means precious minutes are lost as fires grow exponentially,” he said. “There is an increased danger to civilians and firefighters if a two-person crew has to perform search, rescue and recovery operations.”

Yackel said he was concerned about the decisions being made by Dennis Gonzalez, business administrator for the township, and Richard Laird, assistant business administrator.

“What’s especially troubling is that these decisions aren’t being made by fire department brass or even elected officials who live in Edison,” he said. “They are coming from the business administrator’s office ….”

Ricigliano, who is director of public safety in the township, said she ultimately made the decision.

“These are my advisers,” she said. “Also in the process are Deputy Chief Brian Latham and Bill Stephens [management specialist for the township].”

Yackel said the Edison Firefighters Association is working with its attorney, Ray Heineman, in order to file suit against the township administration.

“This is a public safety issue, and we are going to challenge this in Superior Court,” he said.