Craig Melvin is president of the Saint John Firefighters Association. (Brad Perry)
Saint John firefighters had a busy Victoria Day as they dealt with an sulfuric acid leak, a rescue operation, and two possible structure fires.
The president of IAFF Local 771, representing city firefighters, says those calls put them at maximum capacity, with no other trucks available had new calls come in.
At a time when city council is looking to make broad cuts to the fire department, Craig Melvin says Monday’s situation illustrates just how tight the department’s budget already is.
“There are gaps in the system already, and they will continue to widen,” said Melvin, a firefighter in Saint John for 20 years. “People are going to wait longer, businesses are going to wait longer, and in an emergency, that’s not right. The resources need to be there.”
At its April 20 meeting, council approved a plan to cut $1.36 million to the fire department as part of the city’s financial sustainability report.
At its subsequent meeting, council asked city staff to free up an additional $1 million in cuts from city payroll, which could see emergency services slashed further.
Melvin says the Saint John Fire Department is expecting a portion of the additional cuts to be allocated from their services.
He says the budget reductions will leave both firefighters and residents vulnerable.
“Public safety is very important, and that includes firefighter safety as well. As far as these cuts it’s going to involve cuts to firefighters, closures to fire stations, and that’s going to leave some communities with longer response time coming from other fire stations,” said Melvin.
Local 771 is calling for the city to push for tax reform from the province before making further cuts to emergency services.
“The provincial government has to address tax reform in New Brunswick, in particular for Saint John,” Melvin said. “We’re asking that council also re-address that issue with the province.”
He cites an Ernst & Young report, solicited by the city, which suggested the $1.36 million in approved cuts, as being a surface-level financial report.
“There’s no thorough review, and we would expect there would be a thorough review of fire services, so policy-makers know the ramifications of their decisions,” Melvin said.
