LYNCHBURG, Va. – Traci Henderic lives close to Fire Station 7 on Lakeside Drive in Lynchburg.
If there were a fire in her neighborhood, the president of Lynchburg Firefighter Association, Jamie Maxwell, says the crew members from Fire Station 7 could be two to five minutes slower to responding.
This is because a call was made to put Fire Engine 7 out of service. The station doesn't have enough staff to operate the engine.
"The fact that they don't have enough people for today. Anything is possible for today so it really concerns me," Henderic said.
Maxwell said it concerns him, too. So much so he tweeted about it. He tells 10 News there are normally nine firefighters on schedule for Fire Station 7, but on Friday they were down three.
"We've had some resignations unexpected," Fire Chief Greg Wormser said. "We also have some folks that are on vacation, folks that are out on military leave and folks that are out sick. And so the combination of all of those things impacts the ability to have enough staff every day."
The department is allocated for 179 firefighters every year, and it currently has an academy of firefighters going through training. But Maxwell says this has been a problem for years, and believes citizen should know the department is still in need of more firefighters.
"I can only say, that if I was. I wish many people... if they're available please help them out," Henderic said.