Plans for two local units to swap hours were put on hold after residents and employees voiced their concerns to City Council.
Medic 11, 13th and Shunk streets may eliminate its overnight services after the fire department provides its reasoning behind its recently proposed changes (Staff Photo by Greg Bezanis).
The community started buzzing last week when news broke about the most recent proposed slashes to the fire department, which would’ve changed the hours of five medic units across the city, including two in South Philly Monday.
But after calls were placed to City Council members, the plans were at least temporarily put on hold.
Medic 11, Engine 49, 13th and Shunk streets, was proposed to halt night services and operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. whereas Medic 35, Ladder 5, Broad and Fitzwater streets, was scheduled to change from part-time to a 24-hour service.
Medic 11 was notified via a memorandum of the expected change July 1, but with no reason why, said a source with the fire department, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“It doesn’t make sense,” the source said.
“That makes even less sense,” added Ed Davis of 13th and Shunk streets, who thought it may have been a result of the city’s budget cuts. “So what are they saving? Basically what they’re doing is cutting this area without saving money.”
After calls from residents and even more from firefighters and paramedics to Councilman Frank DiCicco’s office in addition to many resident’s phoning Council President Anna Verna’s office, the two became aware of the situation and called Mayor Michael Nutter and Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Lloyd Ayers.
“This is a basic city service providing EMT services for the people, so I don’t blame them for being upset,” Verna spokesman Anthony Radwanski said.
This resulted in a reversal until the rationale behind it is presented, he said.
“[Fire department officials] are not planning on closing it as we speak,” Radwanski said last Thursday following Verna and DiCicco’s meeting with Ayers. “The problem is they’re going to make some cuts. They had promised to not make any cuts until they give [Verna] a full written report.”
However, DiCicco’s legislative director Brian Abernathy said, the scheduled changes were not due to budget cuts, but a result of service needs.
“There are certainly concerns with medic coverage in other portions of South Philly,” he said, adding the fire department wanted to move the 24-hour service to Medic 35 because it had “a lack of medical coverage as well as a more dense neighborhood with an aging population.”
“We’re aware of the situation, we’re working with the department to ensure safety and we’re going to continue to do that,” Abernathy said. “And if we feel that anybody’s safety is jeopardized, we’ll certainly actively intervene.”
The fire department’s Executive Chief Daniel Williams did not return calls before press time and was out of the office this week.
But there also is a large senior citizen population in the area of 13th and Shunk, which could be impacted, the source with the fire department said.
“They can say they’re not taking it away, but you are taking it away,” the source said.
Medic 11 would lose half — or four — of its paramedics if the proposed cuts eventually take affect. It has four platoons — two of which were scheduled to transfer to Medic 35 Monday, the source said.
“The paramedics [at Medic 11] are not happy at all,” the source said. “They’ve all been here for a while. They like it down here.”
The International Association of Fire Fighters – Local 22 is concerned about what its members deem as unnecessary paramedic reassignments.
The Philadelphia Fire Department has begun brown outs, which include three engines locally.
Disasters never discriminate. Awareness of that fact prompted about 150 residents of the Pennsport and Whitman sections of South Philadelphia to show dissent early Friday evening for the initial brown out of Engine 53, 414-16 Snyder Ave. Bellowing chants and vowing further forms of outcry, they assembled to rebuke the City’s latest initiative to dwindle its deficit.
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1. Marty said... on Jul 9, 2009 at 03:14PM
“I agree in this age of ecomonic (bull crap )which, their salaries (City Council) are on the increase and the city workers giviing back and unemployment very upscale. Now good people I know and even High school kids need something to keep them off the streets to show the what it takes to understand the value of money. And respect! Everyone should have a job! The word is No! As a possible memeber of the East Passyunk Assoc. I say No! We all pay high taxes! I want to see an audit! Of Philadelphia`s other books! In order to do good business, any business knows of two sets of books! One for the I.R.S. (another fraud) and the other one which us tax payers don`t see, oh my! Start asking for that one! ! We have too many people living in this City paying high taxes to lose services (last I check it was 1.6 million,). Think about it! No way in hell do we need to pay more for what! If anything we need more City services for South Philly , West Philly (which the University of Pa is a $$$ thing), the Northeast, the Northwest (Chestnut Hill, G town, Logan,all the North Philly Federal programs. I`m sure Temple took good care of that, (Temple the biggest employer in north philly) Hummmm. What happenned to that $$$$ Get out of here, And Temple closing Northestern Hospital, are you kidding, Temple makes billions of dollars a year! Oh I get it, it`s that C.E.O` salary. Now, what does he do!???? As another part of our City suffers now it` time to send everyone either north or south from their hood! Bull#$@%! You money hunger people that we voted for are crap! You go on vaacation in July and August and don`t think about nothing until September wow that`s just great! City Council! Really, City Council takes a hoilday for the summer! What about changing the City Charter vote! No Council person goes on vacation when they know that people who live here are unepmloyed! You people are not with the times and we need young people with fresh blood and ideas! Hey this City is great and we can move it to better, big time! Think you tax payers! We run this city not them, we voted for them!Think! The hell in a hand basket wit New York or Miami or L.A. We are the revolt of the country we (Philadelphia) California is doing OIU`s what is that?Are, we freedom,passage, the rights that we have been choosen for, the best and the worst of any city in this freedom bearing country! It is time to stand up and say, NO! Really! My thing is this we pay taxes too (too much, so were is the money) and we run the City we put them their! They didn`t! We did!”