Fourteen members of the South Tucson Fire Department submitted their resignations this week, citing concerns about safety on the job and what they said are misplaced budget priorities of the City Council.
Among those leaving is administrative Capt. Cory Lakosky, considered the defacto head of the department.
The decision to quit comes as the department is being asked to reduce the number of personnel responding to emergencies in the one-square-mile city.
The small department β most employees are classified as part-time and many hold other jobs β was asked starting next month to shift from four-member response crews β a nationally recognized safety standard β to three-person crews, as the department deals with the cityβs budget problems.
In a letter to the City Council, Lakosky said firefighters could not accept the changes in staffing for calls for safety reasons.
βThe Fire Department has been placed in a position where we have to make our stance and ensure the safety of our firefighters and residents is placed above all,β Lakosky said. βA large basis of the recall election is running on city leaders jeopardizing lives and safety with their decisions.β
Shortly after talking to the Arizona Daily Star on Friday, Lakosky was put on immediate administrative leave by the city manager for the two weeks he had planned to work before leaving, effectively firing him.
City Manager Sixto Molina said the city will move forward with plans to move to three-person crews on its fire engine, but says he hopes it will be a temporary measure.
If city revenues β which mostly come from sales tax β increase, Molina said the top priority is to return to four-man crews.
Last April, the council was asked to consider eliminating the entire department and contracting with another agency as it attempted to address a projected city budget shortfall of $624,000. The annual budget for the fire department is $677,103.
Molina would not discuss why Lakosky was put on administrative leave, saying it was a personnel matter.
City officials were told earlier this week that another round of budget cuts is expected in the next fiscal year.
Molina refused to discuss the specifics, saying the revenue projections are still being finalized.
Staff familiar with the figure suggested the budget shortfall could be as much as $350,000.
A recall election next month is targeting Mayor Ildefonso Green and three members of the council β Rufino Cantu, Robert Larribas and Carlos Romo β over controversial decisions, including cuts in fire personnel, possible tax increases as well as the abrupt firing of the police chief last year.
At heart of the problem for firefighters is what is called the βtwo in, two outβ federal safety standard, which requires that as two firefighters go into a burning building to fight a blaze another two stay outside. Waiting outside the burning structure allows the second set of firefighters to be ready to rescue their colleagues if they become trapped or injured inside.
With the start of three-person crews next month, South Tucson crews will have to wait for another engine to arrive from the city of Tucson if they need to enter a burning structure. Time spent waiting could vary depending on whether nearby firefighting units are on another call.
While about 90 percent of calls the South Tucson Fire Department responds to are medical-related, firefighters leaving the department say that having only three firefighters on a truck is still an issue.
Responding to someone having a heart attack β where medical care must be administered in minutes to save lives β ideally requires three or more fire personnel just to render medical care.
A recent shooting in South Tucson, Lakosky said, easily overwhelmed his entire department and required the help from outside agencies, including from the city of Tucson.
Lakosky and other firefighters are wary of the continued reliance on the city of Tucson, noting that a secondary response from outside agencies isnβt always immediate β as other fire crews are often on separate calls.
Of the 33 people currently working in the department, almost all are classified as part-timers.
To get an accurate count of the number of firefighters associated with the department, the city manager used a list of fire employees who received a turkey as a bonus on Thanksgiving.
The department is a mixture of retirees and firefighters from other agencies working extra shifts. Several South Tucson firefighters work the equivalent of two full-time shifts β about 96 hours every two weeks β but are not considered full-time employees.
Some, Lakosky said, are making as little as $10 an hour.
Molina said the city has historically turned away other firefighters interested in working in the city, saying they wanted to be loyal to those already working for the city.
And if some of the firefighters who quit this week change their minds, Molina said the community would welcome them back.
Lakosky said it might be time for city residents to consider disincorporating the small city, with the hopes that the city of Tucson would eventually annex the area.
βThe residents of South Tucson deserve better than this,β he said.
