Firehouse battle heats up in Mount Vernon

Firefighters at Station 2 in Mount Vernon were back at work Wednesday after they say a lack of manpower forced it to close Tuesday. "The firehouse closed yesterday because we didn't have any supervision,"

News 12 Staff

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Jul 16, 2015, 2:05 AM

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Updated 3,395 days ago

Firefighters at Station 2 in Mount Vernon were back at work Wednesday after they say a lack of manpower forced it to close Tuesday.

"The firehouse closed yesterday because we didn't have any supervision," says Ernie Richardson, president of the Firefighters' Union. "We didn't have a fire officer to run the house."

Mayor Ernie Davis says the Fulton Avenue firehouse has enough manpower to protect the neighborhood. He says the firehouse has never officially been shut down.

City Councilman and mayoral candidate Richard Thomas says there is room in the budget to hire more firefighters. He called the closure "a dangerous game."

Firefighters say the station has closed three times before, once for a 12-hour period.