NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -In early August, three companies with the New Orleans Fire Department temporarily went dark because they didn’t have enough firefighters to perform certain duties. To qualify for roles such as fire engine operator or ladder operator, firefighters must get required training to receive what’s called “in-class” status.
“The firefighters need qualifications. They’re driving a $2 million piece of equipment that has a lot of functions to it. You have to hook up the hydrants. You have to pull the right handles, adjust pressures to help us who are in the buildings in vulnerable positions during a fire,” said Aaron Mischler of IAFF Local 632.
Mischler is president of the New Orleans Firefighters Association, a union representing hundreds of city firefighters. The union recently filed a lawsuit in Orleans Civil District Court, alleging that Fire Superintendent Roman Nelson assigned firefighters to jobs they weren’t qualified for while denying extra pay for that work…