Long Beach Fire Department officials say that — at long last — their ranks are fully staffed, something that could bring relief to employees who have complained of fatigue, mental health issues and unsafe working conditions because of firefighter and paramedic shortages.
In a memo published by the city last week, Long Beach Fire Department Chief Dennis Buchanan said that an influx of new firefighters means the department is now temporarily overstaffed by 20 probationary firefighters, something that could provide needed flexibility in the coming months.
Perhaps more importantly, it could provide rest to veterans of the fire department. Buchanan said that because of the previous staff shortage, the department had to resort to mandatory callbacks, or what’s often called “force hiring.” In September and October, 303 shifts for firefighters and 225 shifts for paramedics were filled by personnel who were supposed to have the day off, Buchanan wrote.
“The requirement to fill these high number of mandatory callbacks has put a significant strain on the current Firefighters and Paramedics who must work their current shift schedules in addition to mandatory callbacks identified above,” Buchanan wrote.
Last year, the Long Beach Post reported on a 481-page draft report compiled by consulting firm AP Triton detailing the struggles that fire personnel said they were facing because of such extreme workloads. They said firefighters were facing failing marriages, substance abuse and concerns about colleagues hurting themselves due to the persistent demands of the job and extra pressure caused by vacancies, illness, injuries or other absences that left the department shorthanded.
The city has yet to release the final version of the report, which was supposed to include recommendations for how to improve the department’s finances and working conditions.
Long Beach Firefighters Association President Rex Pritchard said the new staffing increases are much needed and will help alleviate some of the stress firefighters and ambulance drivers have been facing but there is still work to do.
“The staffing is huge and super helpful, but nobody should be spiking the football right now,” Pritchard said Friday.
He pointed to “run loads,” which is how often a crew responds to calls during a 24-hour period, something that has contributed to fatigue.
In April, it was revealed that the two ambulance operators who crashed into a power pole after falling asleep while responding to a call had responded to 19 calls in 21 hours, something Pritchard said was “insane” at the time.
Ambulance operators help offset the load of calls normally handled by fire personnel and paramedic rescue units, with ambulance operators responding to less serious medical calls while paramedics provide more advanced life support services.
The department’s memo last week said that the additional staff will allow for 14 firefighters to leave for a multi-month paramedic training course to help bring the department up to its 90 budgeted paramedic staff spots.
It also will be able to utilize the $500,000 the department was budgeted for this year to pay for an additional 24-hour paramedic rescue unit that will operate for about half the year during the busiest time and days of the week, the memo said.
Pritchard said the first step in addressing the years-long problem has been completed by hiring more people, and now the department needs to introduce more resources to help ensure that personnel are getting to rest between calls.
“Now that we have people, put them on an ambulance and let’s get to work,” he said.