Firefighters' union alleges that Baltimore County Fire department practices create safety issues
CATONSVILLE -- A firefighters' union is questioning the safety of operational practices within the Baltimore County Fire Department that aim to address staffing and overtime issues.
Firefighter union president John Sabiga told WJZ that the practice of rotating fire engine closures throughout the county impacts firefighter safety and, in turn, impacts the safety of residents.
Since about September of 2023, the fire department administration implemented the closure of two engine companies per day during weekdays and over certain timeframes within the county, according to Sabiga.
"I think that maybe the fire administration would disagree that this is a safety concern, that this is less services available but I would have to respectfully take an opposite position," Sabiga said. "I think those double engine houses are there for a specific reason, those daytime engines are there for a specific reason and that is obviously for firefighter safety, for our safety."
Concerns over staffing and overtime issues within the Baltimore County Fire Department came to the surface again after a house fire in Catonsville on Tuesday afternoon.
Just before 2 p.m., first responders were dispatched to a residence along Lambeth Road.
A person suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, according to fire officials.
At the time of the fire, the union president said one of the Catonsville fire engines was placed out of service at 11 a.m. to address staffing and overtime issues.
"Our assertion is there would have been two fire engines on the scene within four minutes as opposed to one engine," Sabiga said. "The ladder truck is responsible for ventilation, search and rescue."
In a statement to WJZ, the Baltimore County Fire Department wrote a response to the concerns raised by the fire union:
"At 1:48 this afternoon, 911 received calls reporting a Catonsville house fire in the 400 block of Lambeth Rd. Units were dispatched and a truck from the Westview station arrived within three minutes, followed by a unit from our Catonsville station. While searching the home, the first arriving unit located and removed an adult occupant suffering from life-threatening injuries, who was immediately transported to a local Hospital by EMS as crews worked to extinguish the fire. The safety of our residents and first responders remains our top priority. To be clear, the department's response to this incident was immediate and operational deployments did not impact the response time of first responders in this incident. The department will continue to provide the level of service that both the County and our residents expect and deserve."
The fire administration said earlier this year there are ongoing efforts to fill vacancies within the department.
There are currently two recruit training programs in place.