Nearly one year after the New Bedford ended its controversial blackout policy, the firefighters union is asking the city not take one of its fire engines off the street.
The blackout policy, which took one of the city’s fire stations out of service on a rotating basis, was initially implemented to save money, according to city officials.
But stopping the practice came at the cost of one of the department’s 10 fire stations, since city officials said they did not have the financial means to support them all.
Now Local 841 is pushing to prevent one of the city’s fire engines from meeting a similar fate.
“They want our fire department to do more with less,” Local 481 President Billy Sylvia said.
Kendra Frederic, a New Bedford resident, said without that engine, her house wouldn’t still be standing.
She said last month, the apartment above hers caught fire, forcing her family to evacuate.