Pa. Community Closes Fire Station in Favor of EMS Station

Dec. 08--Bethlehem on Wednesday began closing the North Central Fire Station, part of Mayor John Callahan's restructuring plan that would turn the fire house on Dewberry Avenue into an EMS station.

Fire Commissioner George Barkanic said the Company 7 engine is moving to the station on Easton Avenue and will be in service so long as enough firefighters show up to man it. He said he is confident that the nearby stations will adequately be able to serve the North Central neighborhoods.

The pending closure of the station had prompted backlash from firefighters who have been regularly attending council meetings and budget hearings to protest the closure. While city officials have pointed out that there have been just four structure fires a year in the North Central's district, firefighters have argued the department has hit a record 4,200 calls for other types of incidents, including water rescues and EMS.

"The firefighters have stood by the construction of an EMS facility from Day One, but not at the cost of closing fire stations and placing units out of service," David Saltzer, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 735, said in a statement. "There are other options that are available but were never considered. Risking public safety should never be an option and we oppose this decision."

Callahan had proposed closing the station during firefighter contract negotiations, which went to arbitration. The award did away with the minimum number of firefighters working any given shift. That allowed the city to curtail the number of off-duty firefighters called in on overtime when too many people called in sick or took vacation on any given shift.

Since that arbitration award came down in October, the city has periodically closed the station on Dewberry when it didn't have enough firefighters to staff it.

The closure comes two weeks after Councilman David DiGiacinto suggested postponing the closure for up to another year so the city could study the effects of the arbitration award and study the EMS issues.

Council has agreed that it's the mayor's decision to close a fire station, but council controls whether to spend the money on a new EMS facility.

Council had authorized the construction of a new facility for the 2010 budget, but the administration spent it on bills when money got tight. Council voted to dedicate a .75-mill tax hike this year to fund the new EMS facility, but the money didn't cover the bids that came in.

Callahan proposed a cheaper solution in converting the Dewberry station for the paramedics, who have outgrown their station on Stefko Boulevard. Under the plan, EMS would be run out of two locations.

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