PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria City Council voted on Tuesday to decommission two fire engines in the city to help plug the hole in the budget created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision has not been well received by much of the public, which has shown its support for the fire department throughout social media.
When asked about his initial reaction following the decision by the council, President of Peoria Firefighters’ Local 50 Ryan Brady said it surprised him.
“[The reaction] was one of shock, actually,” said Brady. “Some of the councilors were even taken back at the motion to permanently eliminate two fire engines and eliminate 22 positions from the fire department.”
Among the voices to not eliminate fire department was Councilor Chuck Grayeb, who said public safety should be first and foremost.
Brady agreed, saying that public safety should is the foundation of a city on which everything else should be built.
“Police, fire, and public works are the foundation of government; being able to provide those three core services,” said Brady. “After that, everything else should fall in line.”
In the last 21 months, 44 firefighter positions have been cut. This brings Peoria below comparable cities, like Springfield, in number of firefighters within the city.
According to Brady, Springfield currently has approximately 213 firefighters, while Peoria will now be down to 156 after the latest cuts.
In addition, Brady says calls have increased during the last 21 months, not decreased, leaving more work for a lower number of firefighters.
“It’s almost embarrassing to think that, in 21 months, the Peoria Fire Department has lost four pieces of apparatus, two fire squad companies, and now two fire engines for a grand reduction of 44 firefighter positions,” said Brady.
According to Brady, there have been three independent studies done that say the fire department could withstand cuts. Brady made it clear that the studies did not recommend cuts.
Even though the studies done said cuts could be withstood by the department, the fire department is below National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards in some areas.
“Peoria doesn’t meet NFPA guidelines for staffing,” said Brady. “We staff fire engines, ladder trucks and our previous rescue squads with three firefighters. NFPA recommends four on fire engines.”
Brady added that the city needs to take a long look in the mirror to evaluate how to adequately provide fire protection, or face the consequences.
Firefighters will continue to do the best job they can, Brady said, but he also added that a sense of hopelessness is around the fire department because at some point,”the odds are no longer in your favor.”
The decision to decommission the fire engines came Tuesday after council member Denis Cyr flipped his vote to yes on the matter from the previous Tuesday.
The Peoria City Council still has the ability to motion to reconsider their decision during the next meeting if they choose to do so.
Full interview with Ryan Brady:
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