BOGALUSA, La. — The City of Bogalusa has begun temporarily closing some fire stations on a day-to-day basis. It's a decision Mayor Tyrin Truong said is saving money, but some residents are concerned.
“We need the firemen," Bogalusa resident, Robert Stucker, said. "I mean they came and helped me out four weeks ago. My wife fell on the back porch at 1 in the morning. If it wasn’t for them, she would probably still be lying there," he said.
A social media post by the Bogalusa Firefighters' union claims that residents are in jeopardy because staffing shortages are impacting response times.
President of the Local 687 Union, Michael Mathews, said while Bogalusa's population has dropped over the years, call volume is up and staffing is down.
“The response time is going to be slower by at least a minute or two to most calls," Mathews said.
Mayor Truong pushed back on social media, claiming that firefighters are taking advantage of overtime hours. Truong has recently started cutting those hours.
“Response times have not suffered so please don’t believe the fear-mongering that’s out there," Truong said, "Every dollar that’s going to overtime for firemen is a dollar I can’t spend to pave your street so I’m kind of between a rock and hard place here.”
Truong said he started the so-called 'rolling blackouts' after a state audit showed that the city paid firefighters more than a quarter of a million dollars in overtime.
Now, when a firefighter calls out sick, no one works overtime to fill their position. If a station is then left with less than three firefighters, it closes for the day and staff are redirected to other stations.
“We would like to go home and spend time with our loved ones, but we want to provide the best protection for our community that we can. So right now, the overtime is a necessary thing to keep every station open to provide the best public safety," Mathews said.
Mayor Truong said his top priority is balancing the city's budget.
“What would you want to see? Close one or just do a rolling blackout temporarily until we can get more manpower?” Truong said in a Facebook Live.
Mathews said he hopes the administration and union can find a compromise.
“That’s our biggest concern right now is to resolve the issue.”
The mayor also said there are agreements in place with nearby fire departments if additional help is needed.
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