TOLEDO, Ohio — A message to the people of Toledo on the sign outside the Toledo Firefighters Local 92 Union hall on Washington St. sends a clear message about what the union thinks about staffing levels at the fire department and what it means for the city.
As of Friday, the sign read “Your Fire Dept. is dangerously understaffed today.”
WTOL 11 reached out to Dan Desmond, the president of Local 92, who says the department, more often than not this month, has not been able to meet minimum staffing requirements, something he says is a dangerous situation for the people of Toledo.
“It's not like we can be Family Dollar when they're short staffed and just close the door and lock it up until they get someone to work - KFC can't open until 2 p.m. because they can't get someone to come in in the morning. We have to be staffed. We have to be ready to respond, it's a huge safety problem,” said Desmond.
Desmond says with many firefighters nearing retirement staffing is extremely important. He says the fix to the problem is a simple one - hire more people.
On Saturday, Private Sterling Rahe, Public Information Officer for the Toledo
Fire and Rescue Department sent a response to the union’s concerns on behalf of the department.
According to the statement, the COVID-19 pandemic is mostly responsible for slowing down the hiring process, which was well underway in 2020 until testing sites were closed.
The statement goes on to say the city has 49 recruits in the fire academy at this time and has plans for additional classes.
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The sign at the union comes on the heels of another staffing issue brought to WTOL 11’s attention.
Earlier in the week, a letter was sent to some 9-1-1 dispatchers from TFRD offering them the option of giving up their vacation in exchange for the pay.
The letter says anyone who wishes to forego vacation can take the money instead.
Private Rahe says there's not a staffing shortage of dispatchers but it's something that has been expected as the city works to transition to a new county-wide 9-1-1 system.
"Just like we've struggled throughout the country, we are no different to that. The difference is, it’s a 24/7 operation, there is no shutting down,” said Rahe.
The regional 9-1-1 system is expected to be in place this fall.
Read the complete statement from Toledo Fire & Rescue:
The City of Toledo and the T.F.R.D. Administration have been working to increase staffing for some time now. The efforts to recruit and hire a class were well underway until the Covid-19 Pandemic occurred. The Pandemic impeded the hiring process efforts indefinitely as the National Testing Network (NTN) resource sites were closed. NTN is the agency that provides entry examinations and the physical agility testing (the Firefighter Mile) for the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department. The testing sites were closed for several months, which negated our goal of hiring a fire class of 50 in December of 2020. As the testing sites reopened, the City Administration resumed the hiring process without delay. At this time the City of Toledo currently has a class of 49 recruits that are well into the academy process. To that end, we are also well underway with hiring additional classes. In no way has the City of Toledo Administration neglected its duty to hire sufficient number of firefighters. We understand the negative effects that were created by the Pandemic and we are truly empathetic. The city plans to hire a sufficient number of firefighters to relieve the current members and to reduce the potential of staffing issues.