EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — In East St. Louis, Engine House 4 is abandoned. It’s surrounded by weeds; its windows are boarded up.
Now, firefighters worry the same thing will happen to another firehouse.
The City of East St. Louis is closing the house at 1700 Central and laying off nine of its 40 firefighters.
“I'm afraid once it closes, we may not be able to get that one back,” said Capt. Brandon Wall, a firefighter with East St. Louis and union president. “These layoff notices came as a surprise. I expected some cuts would be made. I didn't think first responders would be the first to take the hit.”
Capt. Wall said the cuts could mean it will take longer for fighters to respond to an emergency.
“I can't see how we can manage safe response times,” Wall said.
The City of East St. Louis said the state of Illinois is to blame.
“This is a very difficult decision that had to be made in order to sustain City operations for the next few months,” City Manager Brooke Smith said in a statement. “Unfortunately, with 100% of the City’s state revenues being redirected to the police and fire pensions, we are faced with the difficult task of strategically reducing some services in order to continue to meet our financial obligations for the next few months.”
Residents said the cuts are worrisome.
“I wouldn't lay them off. They're busy. I stay here, so I see them constantly moving,” said Demarkis Hamblin, who lives down the street from the firehouse.
