Hogan for Maryland today sent an open letter to County Executive Angela Alsobrooks urging her to reverse her policy of reallocating all professional firefighters away from the Greenbelt Fire Department to account for staffing shortages and underfunding.
“As a result of chronic underfunding, career firefighters have been relocated from the fire department from four locations across Prince George’s County…This will double response times and put an unfair burden on our volunteer firefighters who are already severely understaffed. This is not a sustainable or financially feasible approach. Excessive mandatory overtime has already cost taxpayers over $30 million and resulted in excessive burnout for these first responders,” Governor Hogan wrote in part. “I urge you to heed the warnings of these first responders, listen to your constituents and address this public safety crisis immediately.”
Governor Hogan recently met with the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department, where he got a firsthand briefing on this issue from the affected first responders. Following the meeting, he spoke to Prince George’s County TV about the crisis.
Watch the full interview here.
The Fire Department warned Governor Hogan that the pervasive understaffing will lead to increased response times and lower quality of service for Prince George’s County residents, putting residents and first responders at risk.
