Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse Hancock International Airport expects to save about $4 million a year by replacing city firefighters with firefighters from the New York Air National Guard.

The airport told the city of the change after the guard’s 174th Attack Wing notified the airport it planned to create its own fire department. The 174th, stationed at the airport, operates MQ-9 Reaper drones.

Thirty-seven other U.S. commercial airports have a guard unit providing fire services, according to a spokesperson from the airport.

The 24 Syracuse firefighters currently stationed at the airport will be dispersed into fire department stations throughout the city, according to Syracuse city officials. The city has about 15 vacancies from retirements and expects more firefighters to retire in the next year, according to Fire Chief Michael Monds.

The fire department’s budget could increase next year by about $1 million because of the transfer of the firefighters, said Deputy Fire Chief John Kane, a spokesman for the department.

The airport had been reimbursing the city for about $2.28 million in salaries and about another $1 million in benefits, according to Kane.

“So far in this budget year the fire department has only been reimbursed for about a third of our expenses,” Kane said.

The 174th Attack Wing will provide 27 firefighters to serve the airport.

While the airport is set to save about $4 million, those savings are often passed on to the airlines, the airport spokesperson said. The airport is operated by the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, not the city.

“It will increase our competitive position to retain and attract new air service, and potentially reduce airfares at SYR,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

While airport officials could not pinpoint when the Syracuse Fire Department began providing staff to the airport, they said the move was made during former Syracuse mayor Matthew Driscoll’s tenure. He served from 2001 to 2009.

Airport officials said the airport authority has budgeted $1 million for any “unforeseen expenses” caused by the transition.

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