CARBONDALE, Pa. — "As far as I'm concerned, I'm standing here, now I'm unemployed, and don't give me the 'you can apply for a job at Cottage' that's not what you were hired for. I got hired to work for the city of Carbondale," said Joe Chowanec Jr, a firefighter at Carbondale City Bureau of Fire.
Joe Chowanec Jr. was just one of many outraged firefighters at the city of Carbondale Council meeting Thursday night.
In a five-to-two vote, the city council advanced an agreement that would allow the Cottage Ambulance Foundation to take over staffing and some personnel matters from the Carbondale City Bureau of Fire to cut costs.
"The city is still the complete owner of the fire department, and the reason it was done, to begin with, was that the present system is unsustainable," said Dr. Joseph Marzzacco, President of the Carbondale City Council.
The council says the decision was made after years of paying for overtime and short staffing and with future debt in mind.
Right now, the city employs four full-time drivers, who are all scheduled to retire in the upcoming months.
"You impacted the overtime in the last six months because there was nobody to hire. Did you attempt to hire? No. Did you give a test? No. So, the four remaining drivers are working 36-hour shifts," said Capt. Kevin Colgan with Columbia Hose Company.
"That directly affects our safety as the people who are going into burning buildings in the city," added Michael Mchale, a former firefighter at Carbondale City Bureau of Fire.
Some community members are concerned that the city council is rushing the decision, and others are worried about public safety.
"It's fine if you guys want to do this, but if you don't have the answers, why are we voting on this tonight?" said John Brennan of Carbondale.
"There's gonna be hires that staffing company is going to hire, the people on the T-shirts but don't know how to do the job they're gonna show up and do," added Chowanec Jr.
Cottage Ambulance Foundation will hold a board meeting this upcoming Tuesday, where a final decision will be made.