The budget proposed by Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner for 2013-14 calls for the closure of Fire Station No. 7.

Located on 1039 E. Fayette St., station No. 7 responds to most calls on the Hill and at Syracuse University. But the station is in poor condition and would require nearly $1 million in rehabilitation costs, according to Miner’s proposed budget.

The fire department will save $1.9 million from the consolidation and realignment of operations, according to Miner’s budget. In addition, the number of on-duty fire staff will be cut from 69 to 65, decreasing the amount of overtime paid to firefighters.

The budget is just a proposal for the time being. Syracuse Common Councilor Bob Dougherty said during their April 9 meeting that many members of the council said they hoped the station would not close.

But the station could close as early as May, said Lance Denno, another member of the common council.

Denno expressed concerns about reducing the number of on-duty firefighters.

“Closing the station is a small problem,” he said. “Cutting the on-duty strength will hurt public safety throughout the city and will seriously harm firefighter safety.”

While the budget states that no layoffs are scheduled, firefighters currently located at station No. 7 will be reassigned across the city.

Even though the staff at station No. 7 will still have jobs, Lonnie Johnson, president of the Syracuse firefighters union, said public safety could become a concern if the station is eliminated.

“The good thing is nobody is losing their job, but our biggest concern is public safety,” Johnson said. “Syracuse is lucky they have men and women who are compassionate about keeping the city safe, but I just worry about the firefighters being stretched too thin.”

Johnson said an additional concern is how the other stations will adjust to having more area to cover with one less station responding to calls. He said stations No. 6 and No. 7 together received one-third of the city’s calls last year. He believes the total number of calls will increase this year.

Johnson also said familiarity with SU buildings is a key part of responding to calls on the Hill, something engine No. 1, located at 900 S. State St., will now be responsible for.

“I’m pretty sure the station that’s going to cover the university is going to do their homework and familiarize themselves, but that takes time,” Johnson said. “Most of the guys who cover it now know the area, so when they come in, they know exactly where everything’s at and exactly where they’re going.”

Another worry Johnson had was how the closure of station No. 7 might affect response times to fires. Johnson said for every minute a fire is burning, it doubles in size, increasing the risk of property damage and injury to civilians and firefighters.

Johnson said there wasn’t a significant change in distance from SU to station No. 1 compared to station No. 7.

Syracuse Fire Chief Paul Linnertz couldn’t be reached for comment. But in an April 9 article by The Post-Standard, Linnertz said he didn’t believe the closure of station No. 7 would have an effect on public safety or response time to fires in the SU neighborhood.

— Staff Writer Alfred Ng contributed reporting to this article

Published on April 15, 2013 at 10:52 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27