UNIONTOWN, Pa. --
Seven firefighters laid off by a cash-strapped western Pennsylvania city are suing to get their jobs back.
Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike says he doesn't understand what the firefighters hope to accomplish because he says the city can't afford to pay them.
But Joshua Bloom, the attorney for the firefighters, says it's only a matter of time before residents or the city's six remaining paid firefighters are hurt or killed because of the staffing shortage. That's why Bloom's federal lawsuit filed Thursday is also asking for an injunction to force the city to rehire the firefighters.
The state is auditing the finances of Uniontown, a city about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh. The city cut 41 of its 87 workers in October after Fike said the city was broke.
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