Fairfax County’s firefighter’s union is calling on the county to increase the number of personnel riding on ladder trucks, arguing the current staffing poses a danger to firefighters and slows operations.
Michael Mohler, the union’s president, wants to see four firefighters on each of the vehicles, which would meet national staffing recommendations from the National Fire Protection Association. Currently, the department makes due with three people on each truck.
Under what fire officials consider ideal circumstances, firefighters can work in pairs, with two entering a building while the others set up ladders outside. As a result of the staffing shortfall, Mohler said the driver is often left carrying a number of ladders designed to be carried by two or three people to the structure, leaving him open to not only physical injury from lifting, but also striking overhanging power lines by working without a spotter.
“It entices our members to work beyond their capability, which then subjects them to unnecessary risk. So it’s a safety issue,” Mohler said.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has about 1,350 paid staff and operates 14 ladder trucks.
The department agrees with the union on the matter, said John Caussin, deputy chief of support services. The county was able to bring rescue companies to four-person staffing, and plans to do the same for ladder trucks, he said.
“We just need to get that done,” he said. “There is a direct correlation to more efficient and safer operations with that additional person.”
The department’s chief plans to submit a request for the increased staffing through the county budget process, Caussin said.
