What Happened?
The Washington, D.C., fire and emergency medical services department is looking to adjust the work hours for employees to increase productivity as well as the safety of both staff and residents, while saving more than $30 million annually.
So What?
Under the current system, fire and emergency staff work 24 hours straight and then enjoy 72 hours off. The four-shift system also includes emergency medical technicians who work 12-hour shifts and have four days off to create a 42-hourwork week for all staff.
The fire and emergency services department is considering adopting a three-shift system that would require all staff including fire, EMT and paramedics to work 12-hour shifts so firefighters would put in a 48-hour week and EMTs and paramedics would complete 42-hour workweeks. The shift in scheduling practices would also ensure more workers were on duty when the majority of incidents occur to satisfy residential needs.
Furthermore, each shift would be better staffed so the city would pay less overtime. In a few years, various departments will be able to reduce worker counts to avoid the cutting of services, and the changes are estimated to save the city $30 million a year by 2017.
L.A. Shifting Fire Resources
The Los Angeles City Fire Department has recently experienced significant cuts to its budget, prompting decision makers to allocate some firefighters to ambulance duty in light of recent wildfires in Southern California. In assigning firefighters to ambulances, the department was able to equip 11 additional emergency vehicles to service the 85 percent of residential calls requiring medical attention. Falling $1.3 million short of needed funding, the fire department argues the reassignments may be necessary in the future if more fires break out and demand increases again.
Baltimore Chief Moving Department Locale
Just as fire departments in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles are moving around resources and manpower to better serve the community and reduce costs, the West Baltimore fire company is shifting its location to East Baltimore where two fire houses recently closed leaving the community strapped for resources. The city is looking to reassign fire department resources throughout the city to respond to citizen needs more efficiently without sacrificing safety.
Since two squads were shut down last summer, East Baltimore has reported up to 50 percent more calls to fire departments. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake reallocated $1.4 million in taxes and fees to preserve West Baltimore’s Truck 10. In doing so, provided an extra set of resources to the community that could be used in East Baltimore where needs are higher. As opening up another fire unit in East Baltimore would cost the city $2.1 million it does not have in the budget, reshuffling of available resources is the best option.
Other Fire Projects
Gov1 has followed many changes to fire department policies such as reforms to disability coverage and merging of services to save thousands of dollars.[/dw-post-more]