The president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, Kevin Gallagher, held a news conference to urge Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the City Council to conduct the investigation, saying he was deeply concerned for firefighters' safety.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney slashed jobs for teachers and vetoed millions of dollars for firefighting safety and life-saving equipment for firefighters.
"The proposed changes could damage firefighters' confidence – and impact on community and firefighter safety," the union said.
An experimental apparatus designed to study firefighter safety equipment exposed to a thermal environment was developed.
The results demonstrated favorable improvements in firefighter safety, workers' compensation injury claims and costs, and complement what we have seen in other countries where similar RM methodologies have been institutionalized for all fire services.
"None of us want a strike, but we cannot compromise on public and firefighter safety".
She, too, has been pushing for greater safety for firefighters.
"Manning is a key issue for firefighters, because it's a safety issue," Stephen J. Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said at a City Hall news conference announcing the deal.
"Always in the incident commander's mind is early withdrawal of the firefighters for their safety," the chief said.
