Published March 18, 2003 in The Star Tribune
Dealing with the deaths of three firefighters has been the hardest thing Minneapolis Fire Chief Rocco Forte has faced in his 28-year career. Telling cadets and firefighters that they need to look for another job would be next on the list.
Forte met with almost half of the 55 employees who were sent layoff notices Monday as part of the department's plan to cut $7 million this year. The Police Department is expected to present a plan to the City Council to eliminate from 80 to 100 jobs April 1.
A last-minute restoration of $2 million to the departments last week will save about 20 jobs in each agency but force deeper cuts in street and traffic-light budgets.
Minneapolis' Fire Department, the most diverse in the United States, will lose 28 of its 188 minority and female firefighters, Forte said. The department also will demote 11 firefighters and cut one of its four battalion chiefs, he said.
In the next two weeks, Forte will talk with all the firefighters who will work their last shifts April 18. Besides his show of support, he is explaining things such as the benefits package, employment seminars and the department's program to help them keep up their emergency medical technician certification.
"They were very respectful and very sad," he said. "They understand the whole state is going through this economic turndown. But I made it very clear we want to hire them back as soon as possible."
Among the firefighters to be released are 10 cadets who are still in training but were less than two months away from being on rigs, Forte said. They could be hired by another department, but "it was made clear to me that they want to work for Minneapolis," he said.
Since word of layoffs became public, firefighters had handed out fliers throughout the city, urging residents to call City Council members.
The department says it will be able to reach two standards set by the National Fire Protection Agency: to have a first rig at a fire scene within five minutes 90 percent of the time and to have 15 firefighters at the scene within eight minutes 90 percent of the time. But with the cuts, rigs will carry three firefighters instead of four.
The department expects from 12 to 15 firefighters to retire this year and is looking at an early retirement plan, Forte said. For every two firefighters who retire, three others could keep their jobs, he said.
Of the department's 460 sworn personnel, 41 percent are minorities and women, he said. It's very important to maintain the department's strong diversity recruitment program, he said.
"They are highly qualified, well-trained and loyal," he said. "All the cuts are devastating, but we'll get through it."
Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. Republished here with the permission of the Star Tribune. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the express approval of the Star Tribune.
