Leaders of the city's fire department feel they're playing a game of Russian Roulette when choosing which engine companies should be taken out of service during staff shortages, Fire Chief Darren Rivers said.
Rivers' rare public admonishment of the administration was joined by Freeholder Bill O'Dea at a public safety meeting at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center on Monday night, where Rivers said he went to "address the issue of closing firehouses."
The fire department's quandary reared its head in May when a 64-year-old man died inside home after a fire on West Side Avenue. Two days later, a three-alarm fire displaced 25 residents from their homes on Ege Avenue. In both cases, the Kearney Avenue pumper truck, housed around the corner from each fire, was not in service.
Firefighters previously told The Jersey Journal they believed the city could keep all companies open by paying more overtime. Rivers -- who said he understands the budgetary constraints the department faces -- said overtime cannot be triggered for firefighters until fewer than 22 companies are in service.