A steady stream of men, women, and children in white T-shirts traveled from Foster Park to City Hall last night as the Kokomo firefighters hosted a "Walk for Public Safety." The purpose of the demonstration was to draw attention to the recent lay-offs at the Kokomo Fire Department, the elimination of the city's ambulance transport service, and the alleged risk to public safety created by these cuts.

The crowd of more than 1,000 gathered 90 minutes before the regular meeting of the Kokomo Common Council, and members of Firefighters Local 396 rallied those in attendance. Vice president Jeremy Shaw explained the position of the union and noted that the cuts in service inside the city have an impact on the larger community.

"The firefighters acknowledge that the city, the state, and the nation are facing tough economic times," said Shaw. "But public safety is not where you start your cuts. We're not pushing to shut down the senior citizens' center. We're not pushing for the pool to be closed. We just know there are other avenues available to save money or make cuts before you cut public safety.

"When the hospital's ambulances are busy, outside departments such as Greentown, Harrison Township, and Galveston are coming to Kokomo, leaving those communities unprotected. This isn't just a fight for city residents. People in those outlying areas need to think about it. If their family member lives in Galveston and has an issue while that ambulance is in Kokomo, how much longer is it going to take to get there?"

Tom Hanify, president of the Indiana chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, also spoke the crowd, a preface to address to the council later in the evening. He said that in 28 years of service, he never has witness cuts to fire safety such as those that have occurred in Kokomo, and he pledged that firefighters across the state would lend their support to this community to try to restore that which had been lost.

To that end, Hanify pointed out the presence of firefighters from Anderson, Muncie, Marion, Mishawaka, Logansport, Fort Wayne, and Jeffersonville. Representatives from those fire departments made the trip to Kokomo in a show of solidarity.

Once the walk began, it took nearly 30 minutes for the legion of supporters to make its way a mere four blocks to City Hall. Upon arrival, the demonstrators filled the council chambers to its 235-seat capacity and packed the foyer as well. An overflow crowd choked the Union Street entrance to the building and filled the parking lot across the street to the west.

Inside, the council listened to the firefighters' advocates. Hanify called upon the council to work with the firefighters and the city administration to form a community group that would sit and resolve public safety issue created by the cuts and lay-offs.

"The solutions are out there," said Hanify. "The mayor expressed a willingness to participate and work through this problem. Let me express the urgency. We have 16 firefighters laid-off. We will do anything we can to work through this. There has to be some trust. There have been some bad feelings, but we need to put these things aside. We ask the council to encourage this committee to come together."

On Sunday, June 7, Hanify and the firefighters union met with mayor Greg Goodnight and several members of the council to discuss the creation of the committee, similar to a group in Muncie that was formed to address impending lay-offs there. The result in that city was an arrangement that reduced the number of planned lay-offs by 30, among other adjustments and concessions.

Hanify stated mayor Goodnight has expressed a willingness to be involved in the talks, and he suggested that Center Township trustee Jean Lushin and the local chamber of commerce also be included in the discussion. Council president Mike Kennedy expressed support for the idea.

"I pledge to you this council will do whatever we can do," said Kennedy. "You want to meet; you let me know how many you want and who you want, and we'll put them there. It's gotta happen. Hopefully we'll find an equitable solution. I want that to happen."

See expanded coverage of the march and the firefighters issue in next week's print edition of the Kokomo Perspective.