LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Lyndon firefighters injured in an apartment fire last week blame their injuries on the department’s budget problems. One of the firefighters says the second degree burns to his hands could of been prevented. Last Friday, everyone at the station was called to an apartment fire in which three firefighters were injured fighting the blaze. The problem, they say, is they were three men short due to budget constraints.
Hot tar covers Lyndon firefighter Rich Bliven's hat and jacket that came down when the roof collapsed. Captain Bliven was going up the stairs last Friday at Partridge Meadows Apartments while flames shoot out of the roof. Bliven's hands were burned and blisters now cover them.
For months, Lyndon's fire chief, Russ Rakestraw, has been very public, even sending letters to everyone in the community, saying the department doesn't have enough money in the budget to run at full staff all the time. “We were behind the 8 ball when we got started,” Blivens says.
Last Friday, because some firefighters were on vacation, they were three men short and Lyndon firefighters say there is no money to pay people the overtime to fill in. Captain Blevins believes his burns, and two other firefighters’ injuries were caused trying to make up for the lack in manpower.
Chief Rakestraw says there are two solutions to their money problems. The options are to lobby to get a tax cap increased that was set back in 1944, or add an ambulance service that would be run by the fire department.
The problem for the Lyndon Fire Department is that neither of these options have received the approval necessary to move forward. So, for now, the fire department will have to scale back its firefighters on certain days.
