Reported By Jason Wheeler
DELAND -- For part of the day Wednesday, one fire station was shut down.
It may not be the last time it happens in the county.
The Spring Lakes station sits between Orange City and DeLand. Usually, a two-person crew is inside.
However, thanks to scheduled mandatory training and a couple of sick calls, Volusia County Fire Services had to juggle crews around Wednesday.
This meant not enough people to staff the station.
The county and the union representing the firefighters are locked in a bitter contract negotiation, with overtime pay and staffing numbers front and center of it all.
"Obviously, they're playing Russian roulette with the public's safety,” said Carl Cusumano, a Volusia County firefighter. “They did it a couple of years ago in Oak Hill when a firefighter responded by herself to a structure fire. They vowed to never again let that happen. So instead of one person on a truck, they decided to take the whole thing out of service. And yesterday, as far as we know, they browned out the fire services, but they certainly did not brown out parks and recreation."
"We had the area completely covered throughout the day and anyone who claims there was any compromise in public safety, I think is mistaken and I think that is the message that needs to get out to the public," said Volusia County Spokesman Dave Byron.
Contract negotiations have been ongoing for the past three years.
County leaders said they can't afford to keep staffing levels at the same level when the need for county fire services is declining.
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