Published: May 11, 2007 04:13 pm      

Firefighters keep watch on hot topics

PRINCETON — They came from near and far, but all of estimated 80 firefighters on hand in Princeton Thursday shared three common concerns: safety, pensions and pay.

Hosted by the Princeton and Bluefield fire departments, the annual Professional Fire Fighters of West Virginia convention kicked off Thursday at the Days Inn Conference Center with a series of business meetings designed to prepare for the 2008 legislative session.

The convention is one of the few ways the local chapters of the International Association of Fire Fighters have of enacting change in their profession.

“Being part of a union, as firefighters, we don’t have the same rights as other unions to strike or take other action,” Princeton Fire Department Capt. Steve Broyles said. “Conventions like this are how we take care of retirement concerns and work toward safety legislation.”

Most times, the issues stay the same, even if specific situations change.

“Almost always, we talk about issues that can make our job safer,” PFFWV President Brian Jones said during a break in the action Thursday. “We’re also always trying to solve some perceived problems in the police and fire pension systems.”

Jones explained that the firemen’s pension fund appears to be underfunded at a state level, which either leaves the workers without adequate pensions or forces individual municipalities to pick up the slack in pension payments.

“Pensions are always one of the foremost concerns,” Broyles said. “Princeton’s in fair shape. We’re not in great shape, but we’re not in poor shape either.”

In recent years, West Virginia Treasurer John Perdue’s website indicates a premium 1 percent tax was imposed on fire and casualty insurance policies in the state to help fund the policemen’s and firemen’s pension funds.

That decision, according to the website, resulted in a $748,038 increase in pension funding between September 2005 and September 2006, but local firefighters said they still