The president of a local firefighters union said Monday night that Topeka Fire Department Chief Greg Bailey plans to close two fire stations and three or four fire companies.
Randy Phillips, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 83, told a crowd at the Oakland Community Center, 801 N.E. Poplar, that Bailey’s recommendations to city manager Jim Colson include the closure of Fire Station 6 in Oakland, along with Station 11 in North Topeka.
“There is no way you can make these sort of closures and not affect coverage and response time,” Phillips said.
Phillips said Bailey’s plan calls for the closure of Station 6 by Jan. 1, 2016, and the closure of Station 11 later that year.
“That’s what we’ve been told,” Phillips said.
Phillips said Bailey told the firefighters of his plans last week.
“All we’re asking for is the support, the resources to do our job effectively,” Phillips said.
The plan would require city council approval. Speaking at a meeting of the Oakland Neighborhood Improvement Association, Phillips was introduced by District 3 Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz.
“This is about public safety, your safety,” Ortiz told the crowd.
District 2 Councilwoman Sandra Clear, who was elected earlier this month, also voiced her support for Phillips and Topeka firefighters at the meeting.
“I can assure you my number one priority is the safety of my community, its officers and its firefighters,” Clear said.
Local 83 said Friday it would hold meetings Sunday and Monday to discuss the proposed changes. The union currently staffs 12 firehouses and 18 companies throughout the city limits.
In an interview Friday, Bailey acknowledged that he had made downsizing recommendations to Colson but declined to say what those recommendations were.
“I think it would be irresponsible for me to share that, specifics, because basically we’re looking conceptually at recommendations about potential station closures, potential merger of companies, et cetera, to try to show how we can achieve the objective of more aligning ourselves with what the resource allocation study said,” Bailey said.
Among the other ideas being considered in the downsizing is the use of quintuple combination pumpers, commonly called quints, which serve as both an engine and ladder truck. Phillips said Monday the use of quints will allow for the closure of as many as four companies.
“We’ll only have one piece of equipment north of the river,” if the two stations close, Phillips said.
On July 1, 2014, the Topeka City Council was presented with the results of a resource allocation study of the fire department that showed Topeka spends more money on fire services per capita than most comparable cities in the state and across the country.
The study, which was finalized in June 2014, found Topeka residents pay about $204 each for fire services, compared with an average of $167.63 across 17 comparable cities. The average number of firefighters in the comparable cities was 1.52 per 1,000 residents, compared with 1.92 in Topeka.
But Phillips said the study didn’t examine response times, a variable that will be negatively affected by the proposed closures. Phillips and Ortiz urged Oakland residents to call city council members, Mayor Larry Wolgast, and Colson to show their opposition to the closures.
“It’s going to take more than these two,” Phillips said, referring to Councilwomen Ortiz and Clear.
