Civilian firefighters working for the Navy in Hampton Roads said they are understaffed, overworked and burnt out.
Tidewater Federal Firefighters Union President Tim Welsh said they’re feeling helpless because their staff numbers aren’t going up, despite reaching out to Navy officials and lawmakers.
This year, Welsh said firefighters are regularly working six days out of seven. He said the schedule is “supposed to be” 24 hours on, 24 hours off, totaling four shifts in one week.
“They’re exhausted right now,” said Welsh, referring to the firefighters. “So mentally are they sharp enough to be able to respond to calls? Are they sharp enough to be able to do that? And the fatigue factor. It’s mentally draining and physically, physically as well.”
The Navy admits on 12 occasions this year in Hampton Roads, some firefighters worked five, 24 hours shifts in a row.
“It is a public safety concern because… when people pick up the phone and dial 911, they expect 100 percent all the time,” said Welsh. “Not 75 percent, not 80 percent. Not 90 percent. 100 percent all the time.”
In May and June, union officials sent a series of letters to every Commanding Officer at each Navy installation in Hampton Roads, and every member of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The letters call this “a scary trend” of excessive overtime that is “occurring almost daily.”
F25 Letter to Congress 2018 by 13News Now on Scribd
However, Interim Fire Chief for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Kevin Janney argues not all overtime is mandatory and many times is voluntary.
“Sometimes safety is a double-edged sword,” said Janney. “We’re required to have minimum staffing just so we can have enough personnel to manage an emergency.”
However, Welsh pushes back on Janney’s assertion.
“They ask us in the morning, ‘Do you want your overtime?’ Well, what are you going to say? I mean if you say no, you’re still going to get hit [with overtime], so guys just say yes,” said Welsh.
Captain Monty Ashliman, Director of Operations and Public Safety for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, said he’s aware of the excessive overtime issue, but he doesn’t believe it’s a safety concern.
“We are absolutely safe in going out there and doing, or they the firefighters, doing their daily job of protecting our assets of the people, the facilities and the equipment that’s out there,” said Ashliman.
Keeping the fire department at full staff has been an ongoing issue. According to staffing data provided by the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, the staffing shortage spiked in 2015 with 46 vacancies, dipped and then rose back up in 2018 to 44 vacancies.
Civilian Firefighter Vacancies in Hampton Roads:
- 2014: 26
- 2015: 46
- 2016: 32
- 2017: 33
- 2018 to present: 44
Ashliman said the cause of the staffing issue is the lengthy onboarding process. It takes up to eight months for each new firefighter to pass drug tests, physicals and get necessary security clearances. Ashliman said the onboarding process hasn’t historically taken this long, and much of that is outside Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s control.
“I don’t know, you know, why it’s 8 months right now,” said Ashliman. “I know there are certainly, everybody is feeling the stress of a lack of manpower.”
PHOTOS: Civilian Navy firefighters say they're understaffed, overworked
According to the Commander of Navy Installations Command, Vice Admiral Mary Jackson, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic developed a pilot program in June to address the lengthy onboarding process.
Ashliman said it shortens the onboarding process from eight months to less than six weeks. According to Navy spokesperson Beth Baker, 23 candidates are working their way through the hiring process and an additional 11 are going through the onboarding process.
Welsh said despite the initiatives, he won’t be satisfied until new hires hit the floor and start working.
“It comes down to an HR finger-pointing game and we’re still sitting back working the overtime,” said Welsh. “It doesn’t seem like anybody wants to fix it.”
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