Firefighters forgo wage increases to maintain public safety

The firefighters of South King Fire & Rescue have given back a 4.1 percent wage increase in order to better maintain emergency services to the citizens of Federal Way and Des Moines.

According to a South King Fire & Rescue press release the concessions on the part of the firefighters will save the department nearly a half-million dollars. The savings will be used to maintain equipment and staff that have seen recent cuts due to a dwindling budget. Since 2009, the department has experienced a 22 percent decrease in its budget, forcing them to cut 23 positions.

Ryan Herrera, President of South King Firefighters Union, Local 2024, says, “we know the community is struggling to support public safety financially, this was our chance to give back in order to maintain service levels.”

This is the second year that the firefighters have forgone their annual wage increase in an attempt to maintain emergency services. In 2011, the firefighters gave up a 2 percent increase in pay. The firefighters approved the concession on Jan. 19, 2011 and the Board of Fire Commissioners at South King Fire & Rescue approved it last week.

Fire Chief Allen Church told King 5 that the firefighters “want to keep the firefighter response at a safe level. They want to keep their people on the street and…keep providing the citizens with what they deserve and that is a very high level of fire advertency and protection.”