Firefighters are calling it an emergency situation in Franklin Township this weekend.
Officials had to shut down the Sullivant Avenue fire station Sunday because of a lack of personnel and now residents are alarmed.
"It could just be minutes and a person could lose their life because of it, because they're not there," said Franklin Township resident Connie Price.
Price's garage went up in flames last year and she was thankful the Franklin Township Fire Department responded quickly.
But now she's fearing for the safety of the public after learning the station house is closed.
"It distresses me very much because I know the importance of the fire department," she said.
Franklin Township fire officials said a staffing shortage along with budgets cuts forced them to take the drastic step of shutting down one of two fire stations on Memorial Day weekend.
Lieutenant Chas Adams said a firefighter called in sick leaving the fire house without enough manpower.
The big questions residents are asking now is how long with the station be closed.
"Well hopefully for right now it is only going to be for 24 hours," said Adams. "We hope to be up and running at 07:00 on Memorial Day on Monday the 25th as long as everybody that's supposed to come to work comes to work."
The fire department lost 11 firefighters because of recent budget cuts and a third fire levy last November designed to raise revenue failed to get voter approval.
Some see the closure of the fire house as a sign the township is facing a true emergency.
"I was hoping this day would never come," said Franklin Township Trustee John Fleshman.
Fleshman is one of two township trustees who supported the fire levy.
"We're trying to work this every way that we can," said Fleshman. "We're not going anywhere. We're still going to stay. We're not faltering. We're not as some people would say bankrupt. We're not. We'll still be here. We're still going to operate"
While the township looks for alternative funding sources, Price hopes the closure of the fire station is a wakeup call to other residents to support a fire levy in the future.
"And we really, really need it for our safety of ourselves and our loved ones and our property," she said.
Timothy Guyton is the only Franklin Township trustee who campaigned against the fire levy last November.
Guyton said he had two reasons for not supporting the levy in an e-mailed statement to 10TV.
"I campaigned against the levy because I already knew that the residents would not support a permanent levy as they had failed the same thing twice before," he said. "I stated this fact repeatedly during the build-up to the levy going on the ballot but my fellow Trustees, who in my opinion are completely out of touch with our residents, went with it anyway. My other reason for opposition was due to the fact that our own Fire Chief stated in an open public meeting that he needed $367,500 to cover shortfalls, not the $800,000 that was being asked for in the levy."
Trustee John Fleshman said he's now working on new funding measures including a joint economic district, which would allow the township to share part of the personal income tax the city of Columbus collects from working employees.
