Philadelphia Fire Department to begin 'rolling brownouts'

To close a $3.8 million budget hole, the Philadelphia Fire Department will implement "rolling brownouts" that will see three fire companies closed each shift around the city.

The rotating closures will allow the city to avoid shuttering firehouses or laying off firefighters, Everett Gillison, the deputy mayor for public safety, said at a news conference Monday evening.

Gillison and Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said the temporary closures will not compromise public safety.

Ayers discussed the changes with his rank-and-file at the Fire Academy after the news conference.

The changes will take effect next Monday, and are intended to reduce overtime costs.

Bill Gault, president of Local 22, the firefighters' union, called the plan - and the city's promises of no safety compromises - "smoke and mirrors."

Ayers said that firefighters in companies that were closed for a shift would be reassigned to another company for that shift. Those reassignments would otherwise have been filled by a firefighter on overtime.

Gault said his members were told that three companies would be closed during the 10-hour day shifts and two more during the 14-hour night shifts.

"You're not going to do more with less; you're going to do less with less," Gault said, arguing that response times would be increased. "Minutes count in fires. Minutes count in heart attacks."

Gault also said Center City would lose a ladder company at night, which could be problematic during a major high-rise fire.

Of the department's 56 companies, only 23 will be part of the rolling brownouts, Ayers said.

Several factors were considered when determining which fire companies to close and when, including: the size of the area covered by the company; the company's workload; the amount of time spent fighting fires in 2009; the proximity to other companies recently shut for a period of time; the capability of surrounding companies to respond; and the security of the firefighting facility itself.

Which companies will be subject to the brownouts will be disclosed later this week, Gillison said.

The department has about 2,200 firefighters, paramedics and officers, with approximately 500 personnel per shift.

Brownouts - typically associated with electrical shutdowns - is an old firefighter term, Ayers said.

Other cities facing budget woes, including New York and Los Angeles, are utilizing brownouts, Ayers said.

One company, Engine 38 in Northeast Philadelphia, will be closed while the city builds it a new firehouse. In the meantime, firefighters assigned there will be redeployed.

Gillison said that further budget cuts had not been contemplated based on the city's fiscal situation but that the city would cut more if necessary.

"If it is required, we will have to do it," he said.