Reality Check: California Congressman Explains How First Responder Budget Cuts Cost Lives

Firefighters in the city of Alameda, CA outside of San Francisco were forced to watch a man drown today due to a policy tied to recent budget cuts. First responders and more than 75 onlookers watched as the man committed suicide, drowning himself over the course of an hour in the San Francisco Bay. First responders were called to the scene. But according to interim Alameda Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi, due to 2009 budget cuts, his crews “did not have the trainingor cold-water gear to go into the water.”