SAINT JOHN, N.B.- The Saint John Fire Department is preparing to take a major hit in the city’s 2013 budget.

A draft document has the department receiving 500-thousand dollars less next year.

Paul Stackhouse, President of the Saint John Firefighters Association, says the city can’t afford to lose any more firefighters.  “We’re way,way below, as I’ve stated many times, the amount of firefighters we need to protect the citizens of Saint John as well as ourselves”, says Stackhouse. “I don’t know how many times this year that we’ve seen that we haven’t had fire trucks to be able to go to the next call because they’ve all been out on calls”.

A recent arbitration decision awarded salary increases to most firefighters at a time when other bargaining units had agreed to wage freezes.

Mayor Mel Norton says he hopes the fire department sees the wisdom of taking into account the impact looking for pay raises during difficult times can have on a city budget.

Stackhouse says cuts to fire service have more than paid for the financial impact of the arbitration decision.