Collingswood Fire Department sounding alarm over firefighter shortage: "Something has to be done"
The Collingswood Fire Department says they are understaffed, and firefighters are struggling to handle the call volume, which has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Camden County IAFF Local 3249, the Collingswood Fire Department responds to about 4,000 fire and EMS calls a year. The union is once again sounding the alarm about staffing shortages, delayed response times and gaps in emergency coverage.
"The people in Collingswood should be and are concerned," Keith Kemery, president of IAFF Local 3249, said.
Kemery says each day the department splits crews to handle both fire and EMS calls. He says sometimes that leaves ambulance services understaffed, and other times firefighters are responding to a fire call with only two people on the engine, which is below the goal of four.
"That represents an ability for the fire to spread, increased risk to any people that need help in the fire, as well as an increased risk to the firefighters themselves," Kemery said.
"I feel for them," Collingswood Deputy Mayor Amy Henderson Riley said. "I want to do what's right by them."
Henderson Riley says she met with the department last year a few months after taking office. Since then, the borough hired an independent consultant to conduct a study of Collingwood's current fire and EMS procedures, and recommendations were presented at Tuesday night's commissioners' meeting.
"Recommended as their top line was to privatize EMS, which will provide needed relief for our professionals here, and that is what I intend to take as our next step to privatize EMS," Henderson Riley said.
Members of the union are now looking to schedule meetings to discuss how to move forward, and people who live in the borough say they want to be reassured they're being protected.
"My expectation is if I call 911, someone will respond promptly," Joe Kish said.
"Absolutely, very concerning, so something has to be done, whatever that is," Jay Calderwood said.
Henderson Riley told CBS News Philadelphia she has a meeting scheduled next week with other leaders in Camden County to work together and discuss privatizing Emergency Medical Services.
