WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The fight to bring on more firefighters in Michigan is on, now that a bill has passed the state senate this week.
The house has yet to vote, with only days remaining before the end of legislative session.
I recently rode with Warren firefighters to hear more about a troubling shortage, and is now raising the voice of a Hazel Park captain and a lawmaker looking ahead to next week.
Captain Anthony Galati tells me it’s not just about speed of response times, but also how many firefighters are showing up in an emergency.
“It’s the difference between responding with one guy, two guys, three guys. Here in Hazel Park we’re short staffed," Captain Galati said.
Bills that have stalled until now seem to be making progress, but the Michigan House still has to take action by the end of the year. In order for a new law to pass, which opens up talk of staffing levels at the bargaining table, the firefighter's union tells me Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, the House would have to pass a bill in order to give the Governor time to sign it.
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“I hope they understand lives are on the line of people we serve and firefighters lives are on the line. I hope they take it seriously and pass this," Captain Galati said.
This weekend, I asked State Rep. Matt Koleszar for his take on his bill, and what's happening behind the scenes, now that the state has passed it.
“How is this bill viewed in the state house and how likely is it to be resolved?" I asked Rep. Koleszar.
“This bill has been very highly debated throughout the state house, and I tell my colleagues this doesn’t mandate staffing levels, you are simply allowing them to have a conversation about it with the cities and townships."
My reporting highlighted how Michigan has less than 5,000 firefighters, half the amount of neighboring states. Opponents have argued about costs, while supporters say response times and lives are at stake and oftentimes citizens are not aware of the size and scope of the problem.
I also talked with Union President Matthew Sahr to get a better sense of where things stand, and the push to make an impact by Friday.
"What's at stake in your mind?" I asked Matthew.
“What’s at stake is the safety aspect here in Michigan," Matthew said. "Compared to other states it’s upside down. Here in Michigan we have 50 firefighters to every 100,000 people. That’s compared to Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with over 100 firefighters. When you look at the stats Michigan is half of what other states are doing.”
I’ve also reached out to the Governor for comment on where she stands on this issue, but so far we’ve not yet received a response.
