The union representing Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters says reduced staffing at one of the city’s 31 fire stations is putting public safety at risk.
According to Isaac McLennan, vice president of the Portland Firefighters Association Local 43, only two on-duty firefighters are currently regularly staffed around-the-clock at Station 23, located on Southeast 13th Place.
Staffing at Portland’s 30 other fire stations is currently on par with firefighters’ training: crews of at least four, McLennan said.
“I feel like the city of Portland is kind of playing roulette with the people that live there,” McLennan said.
Despite a near 12 percent increase in population over the past decade in the Rose City, the total number of on-duty firefighters at any given time also decreased from 169 in 2007 to 165 in 2019.