NEWBURGH – The City of Newburgh Fire Department will have to lay off 10 firefighters by the end of the year since a federal grant that has been paying their salaries is not being renewed. That will drop the department’s full-time compliment of firefighters down to 58.
The money came from a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
Chief Michael Vatter said that the department has enough money left over
from the previous two-year $2.4 million grant to keep the men on through
the end of the year, but they will be getting pink slips in time for the
holidays.
Vatter had applied for a new grant, but received a letter from FEMA informing him that his department would not be receiving one.
The chief has begun to look for other job openings for his men.
A couple of the firefighters in his department may be able to make lateral moves to other area departments including Poughkeepsie and he will work with others in an effort to find them new employment.
How the reduced manpower will impact firefighting operations has yet
to be determined as Vatter crunches numbers.
