There were 30 fire deaths recorded in Philadelphia in 2009, the lowest number recorded since 1952, the year these statistics began to be kept. The number of people killed in fires has been on the decline both here and nationally for a years, due mostly to the increased use of smoke alarms. Since everything is political in Philly, there was
debate over what the numbers meant. The drop was a blow to the Firefighters Union, which has long argued any cuts in the number of firefighters would result in more deaths. And Mayor Nutter couldn't help but point out that the number of deaths went down 23 percent between 2008 and '09 even though he deactivated seven fire companies. Bill Gault. president of the firefighters union, grumbled that the city just had a "lucky year." The city and the union are in the midst of negotiating a new contract.
