EFA, twp. feud over firehouse staffing
EFA: Clara Barton firehouse may close. Twp: No, it won't
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer
Aflier distributed by the Edison Firefighters Association (EFA), the union representing the township's 140 paid firefighters, says that the municipal government may transfer staff from the Clara Barton firehouse, on Amboy Avenue, to the soon-to-be-built Public Safety Center in Raritan Center, resulting in the firehouse's closing, an assertion that township officials have strongly denied.

The flier, which has been circulating in the township since late last week, says that Mayor Jun Choi and Director of Special Projects Howard Dill told the union that the staff from the Clara Barton firehouse would be transferred and the firehouse would be closed for renovations. The firefighters from Clara Barton, according to the flier, would staff the Public Safety Center, a state-of-the-art, 17,000-square-foot facility that will house police, fire and emergency medical services personnel as well as a training center for all three departments. Previously when firehouses were renovated, temporary quarters would be set up; the flier says that no such plans are in the works for the Clara Barton firehouse.

This, says the flier, would add two miles, or at least three minutes, depending on traffic, to emergency response times, an unacceptable delay to the firefighters.

Township Communications Director Jerry Barca said in a phone interview that the assertions made on the flier are completely false.

"Professional firefighters will remain in the Clara Barton firehouse, which will absolutely remain open. The addition of the public safety center will add to the safety in this community," said Barca.

However, Stu Miller, a public relations spokesperson with the EFA, said that this was disingenuous, and it leaves the question as to how the new public safety center is going to be staffed; he wondered where the manpower is going to come from.

"Are they going to just magically appear?" asked Miller.

The township has thus far declined to comment on how the new facility — originally set to open at the end of December, but with the target date now set for sometime in the spring — will be staffed.

The EFA and the township, both the administration and the council, have a history of conflict.

Two weeks ago, the firefighters and the

council's public safety committee feuded over whether a meeting about the impact of new administrative procedures in the fire department should be open to the public; the firefighters said it should, but most of the committee was against the idea. This led to a protest outside town hall on Nov. 17.

The EFA also sued the township in May over a contract

dispute regarding what the firefighters felt was a deliberate withholding of shift differential wages, as well concerns over the random drug testing policy. The EFA and township had recently finished contract negotiations at that time, through which the average Edison firefighter receives a salary of $92,000 a year, not including overtime and longevity pay.

In December 2007, the EFA called for the resignation of then-acting Chief Norm Jensen over changes to administrative policy.

In the spring of 2006, Choi, whom the firefighters had initially supported for mayor during the 2005 campaign, proposed replacing the chief position with a civilian fire director, a move that, after a great deal of conflict with both residents and the EFA, was eventually rejected by the council.

Contact Chris Gaetano at sentnorth@gmnews.com.