Letter to the Editors

Concern for Newburgh firefighters

By Linda Padden, Goshen
Posted 6/9/22

I have been a supporter of First Responders all of my adult life, and although I don’t live in the city of Newburgh, I have followed the news pertaining to the City of Newburgh Fire Department …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Letter to the Editors

Concern for Newburgh firefighters

Posted

I have been a supporter of First Responders all of my adult life, and although I don’t live in the city of Newburgh, I have followed the news pertaining to the City of Newburgh Fire Department with growing incredulity. This began when a large number of firefighters were laid off followed by the closing of a fire station in a very old city that has the potential for bad fires. The public was told that this was done in the interest of saving taxpayers money while cutting overtime expenses. However my dismay has plummeted to being completely appalled since it has been reported that two new hires have failed the  Fire Academy, but will stay on the payroll at $42,000 each while they clean the Fire House and study for the next academy in September. This is disrespectful to the people who could have gotten the job and successfully completed the Academy. Moreover it is an affront to an entire city that deserves to be protected and to a department that has continually been under pressure from the city government.  I guess it helps to have a family member on the council. That’s the only logic I can see for this disturbing situation.