TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson Fire Department chief Chuck Ryan says staffing shortages are the department's biggest challenge right now.
That’s especially true during holiday weekends like this one.
Ryan took over as TFD chief nearly three years ago. He says the department’s staffing shortages have “slowly improved” since then, but the department is still about 50 firefighters short of an ideal total of roughly 700.
“I’m really confident that we will see some real relief,” Ryan said Friday. “We’ve already seen a little bit of it.”
His confidence comes from TFD taking on more recruits.
Starting this year, the department goes from one annual 25-person recruit academy to two academies with at least 35 people each.
Twenty-nine recruits just graduated in June. The second academy starts later this month, with the class set to graduate this December.
“Those numbers will go a long way towards easing some of the current staffing stresses,” Ryan said.
One of those stresses is ‘Emergency Constant Staffing’ — a form of mandatory overtime. The model calls firefighters in on days off to prevent units from being shut down.
Ryan says it’s a common practice at many fire departments in urban areas, but not an ideal one.
“It’s really designed to do the right thing by the citizen and maintain the service coverage that we promise to deliver,” he explained. “It does, admittedly, put a strain on the employees at times. And it doesn’t help us always avoid having to ‘brown out’ a unit here or there. But it’s gotten a lot better than when I first arrived.
“And right now, especially on weekends and around holidays, it’s implemented on a fair degree of regularity. But we’re really trying to get away from it.”
Ryan says adding more firefighters will do that. And with more on the way, he believes the department is in a “really good place.”
He says the same is true when it comes to pay, after last year’s market adjustment raises for city employees.
Ryan says he does not worry about losing firefighters to other departments.
“We work closely with the city, we work closely with our labor groups to make sure that we’re doing everything we can, as quickly as we can, to avoid those burnout situations,” he said.
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Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
