Escambia County firefighters are warning that the county's Fire Rescue Department is facing a "financial crisis" without more funding. Nick Gradia, a lieutenant with Escambia County Fire Rescue and president of the Escambia County Professional Firefighters union, sent an open letter to the county warning the operational budget has been stripped to such a degree of "negligent inefficiency" that the only place left to cut to meet other requirements is from firefighter's salaries. The Escambia County Professional Firefighters and the county have been in negotiations over a new contract for a year. Gradia told the News Journal on Friday that the issue goes beyond the union's negotiations with the county and is about the fundamental way the county fire department is funded.