SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Springfield Fire Department and city leaders are deadlocked over the 2022 budget.
The mayor said action needs to be taken for the future of the city, but the firefighters' union argues the safety of residents is on the line.
"We are stretched very thin right now. Especially with COVID-19, which is not going away anytime soon, that we can tell, our numbers are through the roof in calls," Local #37 President Vince Zummo told WAND News.
Zummo said Springfield firefighters have taken on more responsibility and they're stretched to the max.
"The technical rescue team, a dive team, a sonar team, we even have a drone team. We have added so much. And that doesn't even include the much higher level of EMTs that we now have," Zummo explained.
A clause in the union contract requires 49 firefighters to be working at the city's 12 fire stations each day. But without new hires, many are getting called in on their days off to fill that quota.
"If you don't want to pay outrageous amounts in overtime, then you need to hire. I mean its a simple fix," said Zummo.
Local 37 leaders said those 49 minimum manpower comes from the fact that there are three trucks and 12 engines in the city, with each requiring three firefighters to man them.
"The 1970s fire department is not the same structure you should have post-pandemic. And that's the same with all the departments. I've challenged all the departments, everybody has made changes throughout the years," Mayor Jim Langfelder explained.
Langfelder said it's time to update the 49-person minimum, to give the chief more flexibility and help with overtime costs.
"Let the chief be a leader for the fire department and for the city to provide those essential services to the best of our ability," Langfelder added.
He said the department can better protect the city with the same manpower by relocating four fire stations. The new locations are expected to improve response times to growing areas of the city. The mayor also wants to see the department embrace technology, like devices that change traffic lights for fire trucks on their way to emergency calls.
"We're moving to the modernistic world and we just want the organizational structure to move in the same direction," Langfelder said.
But Zummo argues without more firefighters, the city may not be safe.
"Lets not wait for a tragedy to happen. Let's make sure we take care of our citizens first," Zummo said.
The mayor has approved a class of nine firefighters, who still need to complete training.
He said his 2022 budget includes the four new fire station buildings, and only three of the existing stations would be torn down, increasing the city's total number of fire stations to 13.
