Fire Service Staffing
Kansas City fire department officials and union members say outdated facilities and rising call volumes demand urgent upgrades, but they remain divided on how to fix it
A PFD commander is under investigation for harassment while two employees who made complaints against him face scrutiny over OT records
State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said a new report on firefighter staffing should serve as a wake-up call to secure more resources for fire departments
LAFD spokesman Peter Sanders said the department relies on overtime as part of its “constant staffing” model
The bill mandates overtime pay for local firefighters after they work an “average” 42-hour week — which is already the case in most, but not all, Rhode Island communities
The disagreement centers over paying overtime for firefighters called back to duty from vacation, who the county wants to pay as straight time, not overtime
Overtime added 30 percent to the city’s tab for firefighting services in 2018, during a period of ramped up hiring
Since 2007, the R.I. State Association of Firefighters has logged more than $290,413 on political spending
Two bills would strike from R.I. state law an exemption that shields the cities and towns from having to pay firefighters overtime after 42 hours
The Baltimore City Fire Department is paying overtime to fill nearly a third of its firefighter and medic shifts every day
The county will pay $7,600 for Bobby Bohn’s school, and will also pay him to take 1,200 hours of classes, 450 hours of ambulance rides and hospital hours
The city’s goal is to increase the number of firefighters from about 900 to more than 1,100 over the next five years
Firefighters claim in a federal lawsuit they have been denied overtime pay for nearly a decade
Waterloo Fire Rescue is seeking additional taxpayer support to keep its frequently “browned out” Station No. 6 open full time
The city of Kettering will have to pay more for full-timers, but the lack of part-timers has already boosted overtime costs they want to avoid
Reading Fire Department Chief William Stoudt said a lot of the costs are associated with an inability to recruit and keep paramedics
Danville officials must vote to reject or accept a $1.4 million federal grant that will allow them to hire six new firefighters
Newburgh officials are discussing how to reduce fire and police department overtime that is on pace to fall far short of more than $700,000 in hoped-for cuts
First Selectman Rudy Marconi said “the eight-man shift has worked out very well” and that the department has seen a “definite reduction” in mutual aid needed
Expected shortfalls in both fire and police overtime savings have spurred a citywide spending freeze
The Newport News Firefighters’ Association attended a city council meeting and said the mandatory overtime policy is exhausting its members
A Richmond Fire Department memo said they often do not have enough personnel to meet minimum staffing requirements and that morale is low
Instead of formally logging the hours, employees struck agreements with their supervisors, privately keeping track of “pocket time” in the fire department
Some city officials and cycling activists questioned the proposed use of the money for overtime rather than to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians
The 600-member Buffalo Fire Department has been operating without a commissioner or deputy commissioner since the beginning of May
The firefighters allege that East Greenwich is shorting them on overtime by violating the Fair Labor Standards Act
City council members proposed doing away with a plan to purchase new fire department equipment to pay for overtime, but Fire Chief Jim Parrish opposed the idea
The suit claims the city of Hermosa Beach violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying firefighters the correct amount of compensation
The billboard was paid for by a former firefighter in order to stop mandatory overtime for firefighters
The city council decided to establish a new policy that will not allow firefighters to be brought into work when others call in sick
The growing cost of overtime increases when firefighters call in sick and the city cannot afford the trend
The new agreement creates a faster training pipeline for new hires and vacation hour restructuring
Last year, about 31 percent of the budgeted overtime expenses were associated with firefighters calling in sick
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