Pawtucket firefighters to boycott PawSox opening ceremonies

April 7, 2016 7:25 am

By: Melissa Randall

@MRandallABC6

After years of taking part in "public safety night" during opening ceremonies at McCoy a boycott was a difficult decision for Pawtucket firefighters to make.

“With the looming closure of the station and our belief that it would be a detriment to public safety we will not be participating in the event,” said Will Maher, president of local 1261.

He’s talking about the Columbus Ave station, which happens to be located, be right in front of the stadium. The union and the city have been at odds for months now over the future of the building which is in dire needs of repairs.

In an interview with ABC6 News last month Mayor Donald Grebien said response times would not be jeopardized by the closure at station 3. There are two nearby fire houses that would pick up the responsibilities. The mayor added the city is facing a $1.5 million shortfall in the budget, making the necessary but costly improvements to the station impossible.

“At the end of the day it was about saving 15 jobs rather than investing in this fire station that isn’t needed,” said Grebien.

But the union head disagrees, saying the city is putting the PawSox future at McCoy ahead of public safety.

“We believe the only really valid reason for that is they want to offer up the land to the Red Sox to entice them to stay,” said Maher.

While making a pitch to keep the PawSox the mayor told the Providence Journal that the fire station lot offered extra land should the club want to build. While it’s unclear what will happen in the future the firefighters are vowing to continue to fight to keep the station in service.

“It’s centrally located in the city. It’s one of our busiest companies in the city. It responds to every fire,” explained Maher.

During the game state law requires that 2 firefighters be inside the ball park in case of an emergency. The union official telling us that will still happen.

ABC6 News reached out to the mayor’s office Wednesday for comment, but did not hear back.