Lawrence has been short a fire engine most of the day Thursday, and firefighters expect that to happen again — maybe as soon as this weekend — because of staffing shortages and overtime cuts. Seamus Albritton, president of IAFF Local 1596, the firefighters union, said normal daily staffing for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical operations is 39 firefighter-paramedics, but that minimum has been cut to 36. “Usually if we did not have 39 people available to work due to various reasons such as leave, we would call firefighters back for overtime to fill those vacancies allowing us to keep all units in service for the shift,” Albritton said via email. “The City is no longer calling back firefighters for overtime to fill these vacancies until we drop below 36 employees.” The result of that? Engine 5, the fire engine for Station No. 5 at 1911 Stewart Ave., will go out of service for a shift, Albritton said. Engine 5 is out from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, and “is likely to be out of service more frequently as the summer goes on and for entire 24 hours shift routinely,” Albritton said. “This may be happening again as soon as this Saturday.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
