Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says he's laying off 164 city firefighters by the end of July.
The mayor made the announcement Monday, but also said he expects
the city will get a federal grant to fund and restore 108 of the positions.
And Bing says many of the remaining 56 firefighters will be recalled through attrition.
According to figures provided by the mayor's office, the number of firefighters being laid off represents about 18 percent of the 881 firefighters currently with the department.
The announcement came after Detroit fire crews responded to a string of about 16 building fires on the city's east side. Arson was a possibility in the blazes late Sunday and early Monday.
Bing says "fiscal realities" have made protecting police and fire jobs "untenable."
