Firefighters: Cuts to Mpls. Fire Budget Impacting Safety

At an informal hearing at the State Capitol, Senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Minneapolis) heard from firefighters injured in the Walker Community United Methodist Church fire last month.

Senator Torres Ray hosted the meeting to draw attention to the impact cuts to local government aid have had on essential services.

"This is about people's lives," she said. "I argue that it shouldn't be political."

According to Capt. Joe Mattison of the Minneapolis Fire Department, there is a link between funding cuts and increased risk to firefighters and property.

"Because of funding, we are not being provided the resources to do the job that residents of Minneapolis expect us to do," he said.

Capt. Mattison says the department has suffered due to budget cuts.

"The bottom line is, the Minneapolis Fire Department is not a first class fire department," he said.

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