Firefighters To Call Budget Cuts Unsafe

ATLANTA -- Thursday afternoon some Atlanta firefighters will return to the scene of a suspicious fire that destroyed 3 homes on Ormond Street last Friday morning. They won't be going back to search for clues, but to claim such tragedies could only grow worse for Atlanta's citizens.

The protesting firefighters are jumping into the middle of a heated budget battle between Mayor Shirley Franklin and city council members. The Mayor closed Fire Station No. 7 in Atlanta's West End neighborhood and eliminated 190 fire positions just a few days before the suspicious Ormond Street blazes.

The now vacant fire station is only a few blocks from where longtime community activist Mattie Jackson lost her home. She and her family had complained of a delayed response time, which the fire department officially denied. But the protesting firefighters are expected to claim the budget cuts are partly responsible.

Since April, Mayor Franklin has laid off more than 400 city workers and cut services to try and make up a $140-million deficit in the 2009 budget. She blames the new cuts in public safety on the city council's refusal to pass what she'd called a "modest" tax increase.

Now some council members have introduced legislation to reopen the fire station and restore other fire department cuts. Some are also asking for the public's support in their battle with the mayor, like the more than 1,600 citizens who've signed petitions to restore Station 7.

"We did what the people told us to do," says councilman C.T. Martin, referring to no new taxes, "and so it's up to the people to stay behind us." Martin and several other council members want to restore the fire department cuts with $1.2-million from other budget items. He gives their effort about a 70% chance of success.