FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – Leaders with the Fort Wayne Professional Firefighters Local 124 shared results of a survey during a press conference held by the Fort Wayne firefighters union.
21 Alive News says the press conference was to “call for accountability and demand action to address unsafe conditions, delayed response times and mismanagement by Fire Chief Eric Lahey.”
It happened earlier in June. 301 Fort Wayne Fire Department firefighters took the survey this year.
Results revealed that almost 95% of the firefighters were in favor of removing the fire chief. About 4% were not in favor of removing the fire chief, and about 2% abstained from the vote.
Chief Lahey stated that he has no intention of stepping down, also claiming that the public has not been in danger. He claims that the problems discussed during the conference are problems not directly related to himself. He says that whether he or somebody else holds the chief position, the only way to solve the issues is through modifying the collective bargaining agreement.
Former Fort Wayne Fire Department Chief Amy Biggs, who spent 29 years with the department, says she is concerned about the current state of the department.
She told 21 Alive that the differences between the organizations really is unfortunate, as the focus should be on the firefighters, themselves, and the work that they do.
