More Than 200 Houston Firefighters Face Layoffs
Source Story by click2houston.com
HOUSTON --
Hundreds of Houston firefighters are getting calls that indicate they will lose their jobs as part of the city's budget cutting.
The Houston Fire Department is calling 238 firefighters to tell them to come to meetings next week. That is when they will get letters from the city informing them of their termination.
The Houston Professional Firefighters Association president said the city is required to give firefighters a 45-day notice before their jobs are cut.
"Difficult thing to swallow when you've got to go home and tell your wife and kids," HPFA President Jeff Caynon said. "The city is making a life-and-death decision for some Houstonians by laying off firefighters. There's no possible way to deliver the kind of service that Houstonians have become accustomed to with 200 less members."
The layoff meetings are scheduled for next Tuesday and Thursday. The layoffs take effect July 1.
The fire department is trimming about 4 percent, around $17 million, of its budget.
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