By CHRISTIE ROTONDO and LYNDA COHEN, Staff Writers from the AC Press
About a dozen Ventnor firefighters came to Wednesday’s City Commission workshop to question Mayor Mike Bagnell about a possible fire department consolidation.
But Bagnell said a merger between Ventnor, Atlantic City and Brigantine only had been discussed informally with Atlantic City’s fire chief and deputy chief last summer.
He said he agreed to look into whether it would be feasible and what the possible benefits could be.
“Why do we want to be a part of their problems?” asked Joe Iannuzzelli, Ventnor’s fire union president, calling Atlantic City “a sinking ship.”
“I don’t want to be in the boat with them,” he said.
Bagnell, a retired Ventnor firefighter, said......Continue Reading
Wednesday he would support a regionalized fire department if it met certain criteria. It must maintain the safety of the firefighters, the safety of the public, the quality of service in Ventnor and the professionalism of all three departments.
“In my mind, it’s just helping out our brothers in Atlantic City,” he said.
He added that a regionalized fire department was one of the recommendations Gov. Chris Christie made to stabilize Atlantic City finances.
But, with the possibility of 80 firefighting positions being cut in Atlantic City, Iannuzzelli said he is concerned about positions in Ventnor being cut as well.
“You’re talking about our jobs here,” he said.
Atlantic City’s fire union was meeting Wednesday night, and President Chris Emmell said the topic likely would be brought up.
“We can’t really talk about it, though, because we don’t know any details,” he said.
The two departments already respond to large fires together as part of a mutual-aid agreement.
Brigantine’s firefighters have not been informed of any plans, officials there said.
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