Port Chester Fires Last 8 Professional Firefighters To Go All-Volunteer
PORT CHESTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Port Chester has fired its last eight professional firefighters to go all-volunteer.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, union firefighters from as far away as Peekskill and Garden City, Long Island, were protesting the decision Monday.
Ryan Cantore, a Port Chester firefighter, was shocked.
"I got a phone call saying we'd been placed on administrative leave. We've been abolished. We don't have a job anymore," Cantore said.
Port Chester's professional firefighters responded to 1,200 calls a year, bringing equipment to the scene for arriving volunteers.
"You have a dedicated engine with 750 gallons of water right to your home right away," firefighter Vinny Lyon said. "You don't have that guarantee anymore."
The village paid an annual up-front cost of $800,000, which Mayor Dennis Pilla said they could not afford anymore.
"With equipment, training apparatus, sick time – it costs a lot more," Pilla said. "Change isn't easy, it's always tough. Letting good people go is always tough."
Port Chester provides overnight fire coverage to neighboring Rye Brook.
Rye Brook sued when the professionals were let go and got one of them reinstated temporarily.
"If we're not able to get some sort of resolution, we'll be back in court on Friday," Rye Brook Mayor Paul Rosenberg said.
For now, the village board is standing fast, voting four to three to not revisit the controversial decision.
The eight firefighters remain on the books until the end of the month.
