UNION
Fire service , safety the focus of Fire Union Local 558
BY BROOKE MCAFEE
SGT . JOE HURT
Sgt . Joe Hurt , Jeffersonville firefighter and local fire union president , said the mission of the Jeffersonville Fire Union Local 558 hasn ’ t changed since it was formed in 1938 .
“ The point of the union originally was to get better working conditions , better wages , better staffing and better equipment ,” he said . “ Honestly , that ’ s still the mission today . We negotiate with the city council , and with the city and union working together , I can honestly say we ’ re one of the premier fire departments in the state .”
Hurt is also a registered emergency room nurse and the sixth district vice president for the Professional Fire Fighters Union of Indiana .
Currently , Hurt has worked with the Jeffersonville Fire Department for 10 years , seven of which he has served as the union president . He has been pleased to see a number of staffing improvements during that time , including the increase in ladder truck crews to a minimum of four firefighters per truck from three firefighters .
“ Everyone is in a group of twos , so you basically get a whole other crew doing a different task ,” Hurt said . “ Three would have to stick together because we ’ re not going to send one guy by himself .”
The increase of minimum staffing per fire engine to three firefighters is another accomplishment Hurt says supports the safety of both firefighters and those they are working to protect .
“ One guy can stay at the pump to get water for the two other guys , and we make sure we ’ re always putting two people going into a building , so you don ’ t have the dangerous situation where only one is going ,” he said .
Charles ( Mike ) Smith , a former Jeffersonville fire chief who helps maintain a lot of the department ’ s oral history , said that when Jeffersonville got its union charter , it was to help improve both the conditions and benefits for firefighters , and improve the service provided to the city .
“ They wanted to mechanize , they wanted to get strong leadership , they wanted to hire additional firefighter ... they wanted to do all that ,” he said .
Plus , having a union to negotiate better benefits helped public service agencies such as police and fire departments compete with other industries for workers .
“ Back in the early days , you had GE , you had Ford Motor Company , you had all the distilleries in Louisville ,” he said . “ Well , they couldn ’ t compete with that so they offered 20-year pensions , stuff like that . That was the intent — to give good benefits and better pay to hire quality people .
“ It ’ s not just the union ,” he added . “ It ’ s everybody working together to try to make things better and more competitive .”
Looking to the future , Hurt ’ s focus is preparing for growth in the city and updating information on the department ’ s run volume and population density in the community .
“ The union is on the front of that with state and local leaders , and we have to figure out what the staffing needs to look like moving forward ,” Hurt said . “ With the growth of the city , we ’ ll have to grow our fire department , and it ’ s not always easy figuring out where we need people , where we need the apparatus .
“ The big thing is keeping up the staffing for the safety of firefighters and also service for the citizens .”
Jeffersonville Fire Department / 150 years 57