When a two-alarm fire ripped through an east-end townhouse on Saturday, more than 40 Toronto firefighters and 12 fire trucks responded to the blaze.
Among the first vehicles arriving at the scene was a pumper from Fire Station 215. It helped to extinguish the fire that had started in a garage.
That blaze, however, may be one of the last calls for Pumper 215 due to budget cuts.
Pumper 215, along with three other trucks, will be taken off the road Monday after city council voted to reduce the city's fire fleet in order to save money.
The decision has sparked the ire of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association (TPFFA).
According to the group which represents fire fighters, the cuts will only save average taxpayers "a measly two cents a day" while potentially jeopardizing their safety.
"Starting Monday, it will take fire fighters longer to reach addresses in the event of fires, medical emergencies such as heart attacks and other emergencies such as vehicle accidents where victims may be trapped and require extraction, due to the decommissioning of four truck trucks," TPFFA said in statement.
The retirement of the pumpers comes just days after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had used a fire truck as a prop at his re-election campaign launch.
The truck, owned by the mayor’s brother, Randy, had a sign that read, "Saving the taxpayers from getting burned."
TPFFA president Ed Kennedy called the use of the truck "utterly tasteless."
"As an affected resident, I’m furious that Rob Ford is jeopardizing the safety of my family and my property in exchange for what is a cheap photo-op in support of his baseless financial claims," he said in a statement.
In response to the criticism, Ford's brother Coun. Doug Ford told reporters that the truck was purchased by their brother Randy at an auction for $4,000, and that it wasn't a Toronto Fire truck.
