● Heading: Firefighters Dying, City of Huntsville Won’t Buy New Equipment
○ WC: 9 words
● Lead: The chief of the Huntsville Fire Department spoke to the Downtown Rotary Club on Monday, November 18, about major concerns for the safety of the city’s firefighters.
○ WC: 27 words
● Second Paragraph: Chief Tony Sullivan describes the main concerns faced by the Huntsville Fire Department: low pay, long hours, and outdated gear. Firefighters start out earning between $2 and $3,000 less a year than police officers, despite working longer hours; furthermore, the state-of-the-art equipment the Fire Department needs has become more expensive, and the city won’t buy it.
○ WC: 57 words
● Third Paragraph: The city will not buy the state-of-the-art gear for firefighters because it has become too expensive. They seem to think it’s easier to replace firefighters than to outlay the money for better gear,” said Tony Sullivan, the chief of the Huntsville Fire Department for the past 6 years. “The Fire Department also posed the question about their low wages to the city council and were told that “it’s always been that way and it would cost too much to pay firefighters as much as the police,” said Sullivan.
○ WC: 88 words
● Fourth Paragraph: The firefighters work 24-hour shifts and an average of 56 hours a week compared to 40 hours a week that police officers work. Also, the outdated helmets they currently have melt in temperatures above 700 degrees; furthermore, the protective clothing they wear is made of a black, inflammable cotton that absorbs heat and blends in with a smoke-filled building. Chief Sullivan is asking for the public’s support in receiving a larger budget from the city council in order to offer better protection to the city. ○ WC: 85 words
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