Staffing issues have plagued many Hudson Valley businesses over the last year, you can now add one Orange County Fire Department to that list.

On Saturday, January 15th, the City of Newburgh NY Professional Firefighters shared the photo above with the following caption:

Good morning citizens of the City of Newburgh NY today on duty covering the City are Engine 3 & Truck 1(7 firemen & the on-duty chief) Two of those firemen are drivers so they won’t be entering the building if there’s a structure fire. This is the reality and it’s scary.

Sources close to Engine 1 explain to us:

The city cut the minimum manning for 10 to 7. If we have 10, then Engine 1 can be open. However, due to injuries and retirements, each shift only has 9 working bodies. Therefore, Engine 1 will be closed for the foreseeable future.

This means the City of Newburgh will have 1 Engine and 1 Ladder instead of 2 Engines. Does this affect how The City of Newburgh Fire Departments respond to calls? The City of Newburgh NY Professional Firefighters documented how the closing of Engine 1 affects them on the job.

They shared a photo from a call over the weekend and wrote:

At approximately 09:41hrs Engine 3 & Truck 1 were toned out to 96 overlook place. On upon arrival car, 4 (Group 3 chief) saw smoke & immediately called for a second alarm. Every crew member had to do extra work because NFD is short an apparatus due to the City’s cut back. The Hydrant man on E3 had an issue with the hydrant because it was frozen & it delayed the water operation. With the help of a pedestrian  the hydrant man & the pedestrian together opened the hydrant. This would of not been an issue if E1 was in service. They would of grabbed the opposite hydrant because it’s their district & the manpower is there to help if an issue arises.  This is the danger the NFD is facing.

For more information on the City of Newburgh NY Professional Firefighters and Engine 1, follow them on social media.

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