Hyattsville Fire Department Understaffed?

On Friday, July 30, the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department missed eight calls for service, including a call for a baby that was not breathing, said Deputy Fire Chief James Hook. That call took seven minutes for a response, he said.

According to Hook, this situation was due to a miscommunication between the Prince George's County Fire Department –- which regularly alerts local fire departments when they will not be staffed by professional fire fighters -- and the HVFD.

For July 30, there was no alert, Hook said.

The HVFD is staffed with both volunteer and professional fire fighters.

"Prince Georges hires the fire fighters who work at Hyattsville and most other fire departments," said Stephen Tabak, Executive Representative for the Prince George's Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association.

"During the day shift the county provides four career firefighters to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday while from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. volunteers come to relieve day workers. The volunteers are primarily used as drivers."

 The county's involvement with hiring career firefighters and bringing in volunteer firefighters differs for different stations. Some stations allow volunteers to take over shifts while some stations have career fire fighters on staff 24 hours a day. However, none of the Hyattsville firefighters leave the station until someone arrives to relieve them from their shift.

The Hyattsville station is too understaffed to handle two emergencies at once, according to Tabak.

"If a fire call comes into the station first then all four firefighters leave but if there is a second call which could be for an ambulance then no one would be available to get to that location even if it's just around the corner or a few blocks away," he said.

When Hyattsville is unable to get to a location due to staffing issue they have a "failure to respond" and the call is then transferred to other stations such as Queensbury, Riverdale, or Chillum-Adelphi Fire Departments.

A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that the size of firefighting crews has a substantial effect on the fire service's ability to protect lives and property in residential fires. The study found that four-person firefighting crews were able to complete 22 essential firefighting and rescue tasks in a typical residential structure 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 25 percent faster than three-person crews.

However, the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department is hiring. The HVFD offers residential recruitment for students pursuing a higher education with experience in fire/EMS fields.

Repeated requests for further comments and clarification from the HVFD over two weeks received no response.

Editor's Note: A follow up story with comments from the PGFD is coming.