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Domiciliary firefighters still await last word on unit's end By JILL BRISKEY WHITE CITY - Veterans Affairs Domiciliary firefighters are still in the dark on whether their 10-member department will be disbanded. Domiciliary spokesman Bill Petrocine said there's been no word from the federal government directing them to keep or disband the department. "We just don't know," Petrocine said. "We're just in a holding pattern right now." Domiciliary officials have proposed disbanding the White City Veterans Affairs Fire Department and seeking fire and emergency medical services from Jackson County Fire District 3. Since the 1940s, the federal facility's fire department has handled all fire and medical emergencies within the facility, as well as safety inspection, sprinkler maintenance, fire drills and staff and patient training. The Domiciliary - which employs 400, can house 820 residents and treats more than 5,000 outpatients annually - is on federal property but is within the jurisdiction of Fire District 3. The Domiciliary has proposed paying Fire District 3 almost $1 million over four years if the duties were shifted to the district. That proposal is still under legal and technical review within Veterans Affairs, Petrocine added. Petrocine said Friday he has no idea when a decision will be announced. Petrocine said that the events of Sept. 11 could slow the process considerably. If the department is disbanded, Iverson said, Fire District 3 is set to take over. "We'll be ready to go in two months," Iverson said. "At this point, it's totally in (the Domiciliary's) lap." The proposal to disband was drafted last spring when Domiciliary officials began looking for ways to keep its costs down while maintaining patient care. In 2000, the facility spent $550,000 to maintain its fire department. Petrocine estimates that Fire District 3 would handle 200 calls for service each year. The Domiciliary would retain all 10-members of the department and offer them other positions within the federal facility. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.