Fire services feel economic pinch

By Jeanne Meserve and Mike Ahlers
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Furloughed firefighters. Shuttered-fire stations. Fewer rescuers on pump and ladder trucks.

And, at the same time, a growing number of fires in abandoned houses and more 911 calls from people too poor to see doctors.

It's all adding up to a two-alarm crisis for the nation's fire services, according to the nation's biggest firefighter union and some prominent government groups.

After cutting money for parks, libraries, recreation and other so-called "non-essential" services, governments from the east coast to the west increasingly are cutting public safety budgets - money considered safe in ordinary times.