Fulton firefighters encourage protest of job cuts

For a matter of such gravity — 32 Fulton County firefighters about to lose their jobs — turnout was light among their firefighting brethren Saturday at Fulton County Fire Station No. 23 on Cascade Road.

“I messed up on my e-mail, or there would have been a lot more of us here,” said Wayne Hines, 43, a vice president for the Fulton County Professional Firefighters Local 3920.

Along with a handful of other firefighters, Hines planned to knock on doors and hand out fliers Saturday to encourage public pressure on the Fulton County Commission to not cut 32 of the county’s 160 firefighter jobs.

“You see that engine in there,” said Hines, motioning at a firetruck in the bay of the fire station. “If these layoffs go through, it will be running around with only three firefighters on it. The national standard is four. That’s dangerous to the public and dangerous to other firefighters.”

Fulton County said in July it would reduce the number of firefighters because of a $1.6 million budget reduction. The starting salary for a firefighter is about $32,000. A senior firefighter makes about $50,000 a year.

One of the firefighters who will lose his job, Ryan Seelbinder, 34, said that because of county regulations he couldn’t comment as a firefighter, only as a member of the firefighters union.

“At this point we’ve done all we can do,” he said. “Unless the citizens get involved, we’re going to be out of work on Oct. 7.”

A spokesman for the Fulton County Fire Department, Lt. Gregory Chambers, said Saturday the department’s position on the reduction of its firefighter force has not changed.

“The citizens of Fulton County are still safe, and that will not be diminished because of these cutbacks,” Chambers said.