Underfunding Concerns Raised By Alexandria Firefighters Union

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A firefighters union in Alexandria is raising concerns about underfunding impacting some emergency services in the city. The concerns come amid staffing challenges at the Alexandria Fire Department.

IAFF Local 2141, which represents over 250 firefighters, medics, EMTs and fire marshals, wrote a letter to the city manager, mayor and City Council members. The letter identifies three key concerns related to staffing and funding: not having advanced life support personnel on all emergency response vehicles, the disbanding of the Heavy Rescue Squad and concern about potentially shutting down a fire station due to staffing shortages.

In a statement, IAFF Local 2141 president Josh Turner said the concern isn't with the fire chief or previous fire chiefs. Rather, the union directed criticism at the city for how it funds critical resources.

"We all got into this work because we want to serve our community," Turner said. "You have to be a certain type of crazy to want to run into a burning building or try to pull someone from a car in a flooded street, to risk your life for someone you don't know. It's a shame that, for a city that we're willing to put our lives on the line for, they’re not even willing to provide us with the necessary tools to do that. It puts our medics, firefighters and civilians all at a much higher risk."

The union says the fire department's staffing shortage has caused some in-service ambulances and engines to not have advanced life support personnel.

"ALS providers are, medics and firefighters certified to administer medication and potentially life saving airway equipment, cardiac life support, and cardiac monitoring," the letter to city officials states. "This means that, if an ambulance arrives today, the staff on board may not even be able to give a citizen ibuprofen, yet alone provide the life saving drugs or intravenous medicines needed on many of the emergency calls we perform."

The Heavy Rescue Squad was disbanded to help alleviate the staffing shortage in other areas of the fire department, the union claims. The squad is defined as "firefighters trained to handle extreme situations, such as swift water rescue, vehicle extrication, machine entrapment, and building/construction emergencies, has been disbanded in order to help alleviate the staffing crisis in other parts of the department."

The union highlighted the importance of the Heavy Rescue Squad in emergency situations involving the city's large amounts of construction, presence near heavily traveled highways, and flooding.

Lastly, the union believes the fire department could have to close a fire station if the staffing shortage isn't fixed, limiting services in the fire station's area.

The union called for funding to hire 70 additional personnel and improve the salaries, benefits and working conditions of current personnel for retention purposes. A sign-on letter is available for the public to support the union's request.

"We strongly implore you, the City Manager, Mayor, and City Council, to fully fund and fully staff our Fire Department," the letter reads. "We can only hope that it will not take a completely avoidable emergency or disaster for you to do so."

A firefighter who requested anonymity highlighted the burden the staffing shortage places on current employees.

"With the way our shifts work, I won’t be home for 48 hours straight, and then, once
my shift is done, on my way out the door, I’m told that I’m being held for an additional 24 hours
due to our staffing shortage," the firefighter said via an IAFF Local 2141 news release. "That’s missed doctors appointments, missed dance recitals, calling my wife to see if she can change her work schedule or get more childcare."

A city spokesperson provided a statement highlighting its response to staffing challenges and hope to fill 60 current and future vacancies.

"The City recognizes that the stressed labor market has contributed to Alexandria Fire Department staffing challenges," the statement reads. "As a result, the City has instituted, like some of its neighbors, dynamic staffing which establishes shift staffing based on firefighter and medic availability. This has meant transferring firefighters from desk jobs to fire stations, utilizing overtime, better aligning basic and advanced medical services with the type of call received, and planning for a fall 2021 recruit school and a recruit school in the first quarter of 2022 which should result in approximately 60 persons being hired to fill existing and likely future vacancies."