Montgomery County Fire Chief Tom Carr was “almost dead-on” in his estimate of the staff positions necessary to fill 24-hour shift assignments without resorting to overtime, Montgomery County Council Public Safety Chair Phil Andrews said Tuesday.
The Office of Legislative Oversight released a budget review Tuesday that said an average of 4.53 non-paramedic positions are necessary to staff each 24-hour shift over the 365 days in a year. Carr had estimated 4 1/2 positions were necessary, according to Andrews.
“It’s an important review because this helps us determine the level of staff necessary to avoid filling staff positions with overtime hours,” Andrews said.
The study saidthat during 2006, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service first responders, on average, were available to respond to emergency calls during about 77 percent of their total work hours.
The remaining 23 percent of work hours were taken up by annual leave, light duty, sick leave, compensatory leave, training and special assignment.
The report also showed that paramedics use annual, sick and compensatory leave at higher rates than non-paramedic firefighters and are more likely to be assigned to light duty because of injury.
“This is not a surprise,” Andrews said. “Paramedics are out on calls more regularly, and there’s less downtime for them.”
The County Council had requested an independent review of staffing needs in the Fire and Rescue Service Department.
“The council said they were going to take a firmer look at many things that in the past had often been approved without a microscope being put to them,” council spokesman Neil Greenberger said.
