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Firefighters Avoid Layoffs after Levies Pass

Updated: Wednesday, February 6 2013, 08:16 PM EST

DELAWARE -- Firefighters in Orange Township and Liberty Township are breathing a big sigh of relief.

Voters overwhelmingly approved levies in each township to fund the fire departments.  Many firefighters faced losing their jobs if the levies failed.

More than 80 percent voted in favor of the Liberty Township levy while nearly 70 percent approved the levy in Orange Township.

Many of these same voters rejected similar levies on Election Day in November.  That led to layoff notices for five firefighters in Liberty Township and 22 in Orange Township.

The 22 firefighters in Orange Township would have been laid off officially on Wednesday had the levy failed.

Months of campaigning to save their jobs have now paid off.

"That is a big relief," Orange Township Assistant Fire Chief Matt Nobles said.  "I can speak to the face that has been weighing very heavily for quite a while knowing that was a possibility and to be able to go home tonight knowing that's not the case (feels great)."

The five laid off firefighters in Liberty Township will not get their jobs back.  The approved levy will simply allow the township to not dip into its reserve funds to pay for fire protection.