Firefighters, Wives Protest Closing of DE Companies

Fire stations across the country welcomed family members for Thanksgiving meals, but those gathered at Wilmington Fire Station 6 Thursday were standing around outside.

These firefighters and their wives were picketing the closing of Engine 6 due to overtime costs. The station was still open and Tower Ladder 2 was staffed.

"We've talked about it for years, like playing Russian Roulette," said Mike Wiktorowicz, an executive board member of Local 1590 told Delawareonline.com. "One day, somebody is gonna get hurt. But we never thought it would happen to us."

But this was two months to the day that Lt. Christopher Leach and firefighter Jerry Fickes 51 were killed when a floor collapsed inside a nearby rowhome. Several other firefighters were seriously injured and Engine 6 was also closed that night.

The picketers held posters that read "Trading dollars for lives" and "Closed fire stations = U wait 4 help."

Earlier this week, Wilmington officials restored the practice of closing fire companies instead of hiring firefighters on overtime because the city because the city has spent a half-million dollars on overtime in the first four months.

Firefighter will continue to protest when fire companies are closed.