Beaumont Firefighters spent Tuesday afternoon picketing Beaumont City Hall.
The move comes after a 2-alarm house fire Monday sent six firefighters to an area hospital. Authorities say 2 firefighters rushed into the home in the 2100 block of Neches because they thought someone was inside. Those men as well as four other firefighters were injured when crews began battling the blaze from outside, causing a flash over. The homeowner was not at home at the time of the fire. Fire investigators say the fire was started by a space heater placed too close to a bed.
Officials say the department dispatched multiple engines for Monday morning's fire, all having three men to a truck. When the first one arrived on the scene, two firefighters went inside to search the house. while the other worked the pump. This tragic event happened just a few days after contract negotiations between the firefighters and the city resumed. Firefighters are asking for a 6 percent pay raise retroactive from 2006. From there they want a six percent increase in 2008 and 5 percent the two years after that. The city proposed an immediate 12 percent increase in salary and 5 percent increase over the next two years. That offer is not retro-active. The contract also offered the option of four men on a truck, but with the stipulation that firefighters would have to work eight more hours a week. The union didn't agree with the contract and is in the process of forming a counter-offer.
Republished with permission from KBTV-4
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