As \’brownouts\’ start, firefighters continue opposition

The Fire Department started closing fire stations on a daily rotating basis Monday in a budget cutting measure that firefighters union officials claim threatens public safety and which the Nutter administration says will have no discernible impact. The \”rolling brownouts\” will affect three fire houses per shift and the truth of what that will mean lies somewhere between what both sides say. Some response times will be slower, but the city won\’t burn down. At Engine Co. 57 in at 5559 Chestnut Street on West Philadelphia — one of the first three stations affected — officials of Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters held a news conference Monday morning to again denounce the brownouts.