Fires still happen during a recession, less manpower = more danger.

 

Understaffing at Fire Departments Hampers Towns’ Abilities to Fight Fires

On January, 27, 2011, a fire in Springfield, New Jersey, spread to multiple levels of a three story home and caused significantly more damage than would have been caused if the local and area fire departments had higher staffing levels. The response from the local fire department was exemplary, with firefighters on the scene within four minutes of the fire report. However, the first crew only consisted of three firefighters. It wasn’t until 12 minutes after the initial call that crews from Millburn, Union, and Summit arrived, and by that time the fire was becoming increasingly harder to control.

In an NJ.com article by Richard Khavkine, “Short-staffed Springfield firefighters had to await aid from nearby towns before attacking blaze”, Union County’s fire coordinator, Lathey Wirkus, who was at the fire scene 10 minutes after the initial call was quoted as saying:

“‘That fire in Springfield expanded because they didn’t have enough manpower. They were totally undermanned to fight that fire.’

The article continues:

“According to the National Fire Protection Association, which establishes and disseminates firefighting standards and recommendations for departments worldwide, a minimum of 14 or 15 firefighters should have been on the scene within nine minutes.

Recent layoffs and retirements of hundreds of New Jersey firefighters are making those staffing levels increasingly difficult to meet, Wirkus and other fire officials said.

‘It’s taking and will take a longer time to get needed apparatus and manpower to the scene,’ Wirkus said. ‘Our ability to save lives and property is going to diminish.’”

Although fire departments have wrestled with staffing declines for the last decade or so, shrinking municipal budgets and New Jersey’s 2 percent tax cap have slashed manpower to all-time lows in the last few months, fire officials said.”

Despite the state’s budget difficulties, maintaining appropriate staff levels in local fire departments must be a priority. Firefighters keep our families safe, protect our property and communities, and provide an invaluable public service.

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