GREENBELT, Md. — Some neighbors in Prince George's County are having to wait a little longer for emergency help after calling 911. This is causing frustrations among people who live in these areas where several career firefighters were moved to different fire stations.
In June, Greenbelt and other municipalities received an official notification from the county regarding the “temporary” summer staffing plan. The plan included the reallocation of 55 firefighters from four stations, removing 24 career firefighters from Greenbelt Fire Station 35, and 6-day work firefighters from Berwyn Heights Fire Station 814.
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Thursday the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department hosted a town hall meeting that got heated as neighbors tried to get answers about when those firefighters are coming back. The meeting was a call to action on what’s next because city leaders say this has become a safety and health issue.
“I think our public safety is being compromised and we’re not even being told why,” Greenbelt resident, Laura Moore said.
Moore was in the crowd Thursday at a Town Hall held in Greenbelt, organized around a Prince George's County plan to move 55-career firefighters to different stations that need help staffing.
“I understand that we have to think about the county as a whole and if there’s needs elsewhere in the county, I totally understand that, give us that information so that we know,” Moore said.
In June, a few days after receiving word of this plan, Greenbelt formally requested data and consultant’s reports that justified the staffing changes outlined in the summer staffing plan.
Leaders in Greenbelt, Berwyn Heights, and College Park say, it's taking firefighters longer to answer calls.
“It’s very difficult with sort of a skeleton crew to provide the service and that’s what we’re concerned about,” President of the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department, Greg Gigliotti said. “Hopefully they’ll get the message, and the county council will understand that we’re concerned about the problem.”
“These are valid concerns,” Prince George’s County Councilman, Eric Olson said. “We need to make sure we get the career firefighters back at these stations.”
That same month, the three cities joined forces and filed a lawsuit and requested the county to reconsider this decision. On June 30, the summer staffing plan went into effect. This raised concerns immediately among residents, city councils and volunteer fire companies regarding impact on response times and coverage. On Sept. 10, the county motioned to dismiss the lawsuit filed in June.
Meanwhile frustrations are building towards Prince George's County Fire Chief Tiffany Green who announced this plan who was invited to this meeting. She sent a spokesperson in her place.
“It’s pretty offensive that she wouldn’t show and that she’s been so unresponsive,” Moore said. “He’s some kind of information officer, we ask him for information, and he literally said that’s not my strong suit.”
WUSA9 asked Prince George's County Councilman Eric Olson if he’d spoken to Chief Green.
“We’ve spoken several times over the summer about this and I do continue to say we need to get the firefighters back,” Olson said.
County leaders say they’re still in the evaluation period through the rest of this month. It’s unclear when those career firefighters will return.