Israeli firefighters protest flammable new uniforms

Israel Fire and Rescue Service says new duds not meant to be worn while fighting fires, accuse firefighters of power play

Israeli firefighters across the country have publicly criticized the Israel Fire and Rescue Services for purchasing thousands of new uniforms made of flammable material. A spokesman for the authority said the new clothes are not meant to be worn while actually fighting fires.

The protest began on Saturday, according to Army Radio, which reported that firefighters were shedding their assigned uniform shirts, made mostly of the flammable polyester fabric and were remaining in their undergarments. The pants appear to not be an issue at this time but the chairman of the firefighters workers’ union, Avi Ankori, said the service had previously also purchased pants made of a polyester blend that the firefighters refused to wear.

According to the radio report, the firefighters were forced to purchase appropriate attire out of their own pockets. Ankori accused a Human Resources official of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service of trying to save money at their expense while ignoring the nature of the job and providing them with “fire-trap” uniforms that were “inappropriate and unsafe.”

“All the firefighters in the country have taken off these shirts, put them back in storage, and we will not wear them … Someone needs to wake up… Perhaps Gilad Erdan will get his bearings,” Ankori said of the public security minister, whose office oversees the police and the firefighter services.

Ankori said the Fire Commissioner’s Office had already wasted millions of shekels on pants that were made of flammable fabrics and tried to save face by saying that the firefighters did not have to wear them, “but spotters and volunteers did.”

The firefighters were also protesting a shortage of spokespersons and said they could not fight fires and simultaneously serve as spokespeople for their stations.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Services said in response that the protest was part of a power struggle with the workers’ union and that the details were inaccurate.

“This is some strange and pathetic muscle-flexing,” said Dedi Simhi of the Fire and Rescue Services. “Everything will be resolved… It will be taken care of, just not in this way. I refuse to work like this.”