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Firefighters press city to require extractor backups and faster repairs amid safety concerns
Summary
Union negotiators sought contract language requiring extractors (contaminated-gear washers) at every station, spare units and a clearer replacement timeline; the city said procurement realities and vendor availability limit what can be enforced in a CBA.
Union members at contract talks on behalf of Laredo firefighters urged the city to include firm language about extractor machines that clean hazardous firefighting gear, saying long outages endanger crews’ health and increase overtime costs.
The union proposed that each station maintain an extractor and a standby unit and that equipment deemed beyond repair be replaced within a set period. Firefighters described situations in which broken extractors forced personnel to wash contaminated gear off duty or shuttle equipment between stations, creating safety and logistical problems.
City negotiators acknowledged the health concern but pushed back on an absolute replacement requirement. They said procurement rules, vendor lead times and equipment availability can make a guaranteed 30- or 90-day replacement infeasible and proposed wording that would require the city to make "reasonable efforts" to restore service as soon as practicable.
Union negotiators said that phrase risks indefinite delays and pointed to examples raised at the table of extractors failing for years at individual stations. One union speaker said the problem has persisted for years and that a contractual acknowledgement might force prioritization.
City staff asked the union to provide cost estimates for spares and replacement options; during the discussion $7,000 was raised as a reference figure for a standby extractor depending on model and capacity. Budget staff said they will need concrete pricing and procurement options to evaluate whether a contract requirement is budget-feasible.
Negotiators agreed to continue work offline: the union will try to provide costed options for backup extractors and logistics for laundering contaminated gear, and the city will outline procurement and budgeting constraints. Both sides said they want the safety issue addressed but differed on whether a binding contract clause or an administrative policy was the better tool to guarantee results.
