Trending Topics

Maine fire union: Budget cuts will threaten public safety

The proposal would lay off two firefighters and officials said response times will suffer as a result

Bangor Daily New

LINCOLN, Maine — Proposed municipal budget cuts could leave the town with no firefighter on duty to immediately handle simultaneous emergencies on nights and weekends, the town firefighters’ union president warned Monday.

Under a proposal to cut two positions from the Lincoln Fire Department, town leaders would have to call in mutual aid from a nearby town or wait at least 10 minutes for a firefighter to come in to cover the station when an emergency occurs and the town’s ambulance is already on a call, said Cory Stratton, president of Local 3030 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Stratton’s warning basically matched Town Manager William Lawrence’s May 6 announcement that the town would lay off four workers, including two firefighters, and leave two positions unfilled under a $3.8 million budget being compiled.

Full story: Firefighters’ union president tells Lincoln council that budget cuts threaten public safety

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU