JEFFERSON CO., Mo. – When Matt Ritter starts his shift at the Antonia Fire House, he makes sure all of the equipment on the truck is in order.
“You make sure everything is fueled and topped off," Ritter said.
It’s part of keeping himself and his community safe.
“If a call goes out, I could be the first one at my own house,” Ritter said. “I take this responsibility very seriously.”
Ritter said being a firefighter is a good fit for him. He is a veteran.
“The people I work with are my brothers, my second family,” he said. “It's a hard thing to replace when you get out of the military and I found it here.”
Ritter and some of his firefighter brothers will lose their jobs. The Antonia Fire Protection District has to release eight firefighters. A federal grant that had paid their salaries for the last two years is due to expire in March. Antonia Fire will apply for more grants, but there is no guarantee.
Currently, fire trucks are staffed with at least four firefighters. With the cuts, that could go down to two or three.
“That's when we're going to see the reduction of services,” said chief Mike Arnhart. “We just will not be able to maintain what we've done in the past two years. If you drop down to two firefighters per apparatus, one pumps the truck and that only allows one firefighter to make entry into that building.”
The Antonia Fire Protection District has asked voters for more funding through a tax increase. Voters have rejected it twice in the last few years.
Now, firefighters are taking to social media to try to raise awareness of the lack of funding.
“They don't understand our world, how much of a different three or four guys on a fire truck compared to two,” he said. “It's a shame when you find something you truly love, and you aren't able to do it anymore.”
