Civilian Navy Firefighters in Hampton Roads say they are overworked, understaffed and it's causing a public safety concern.
13News Now looked into the issue last month where we discovered that some Navy firefighters have to work 24-hour shifts back-to-back for several days sometimes due to the staffing shortage.
The President of the Tidewater Federal Firefighters Union, Tim Welsh, said firefighters regularly work six days out of seven.
“They’re exhausted right now,” said Welsh. “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.”
Despite pleas to the Navy and lawmakers, Welsh said nothing has changed. The Director of Operations and Public Safety for the Mid-Atlantic region, Captain Monty Ashliman, said the shortage is partly caused by the six to eight months it takes to hire someone.
“The number of qualified candidates is not our number one problem,” said Ashliman. “Currently it’s onboarding.”
Ashliman said the onboarding process, which includes pre-employment physical, drug tests, as well as, background checks, is outside Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s control.
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
13NewsNow spoke with Sarah Roberts, who oversees the CNIC Center for Excellence, which is responsible for the onboarding process across all navy regions. Roberts explained it takes time for candidates to complete the onboarding process.
“I believe that there is a process in place that we must vet candidates who are selected for positions and it takes a while to do that,” said Roberts.
When asked if she believes the process takes too long, Roberts replied, “I think any process can be improved, and certainly the onboarding the hiring process is constantly being reviewed and improved.”
13NewsNow uncovered the average time it takes to hire civilian firefighters across all Navy regions:
- Navy Region Northwest: 91 days
- Navy Region Southwest: 63 days
- Navy Region Southeast: 112 days
- Navy Region Mid-Atlantic: 178 days
When asked why hiring times vary across different Navy regions, Roberts explained it depends upon various parameters, such as the location of the candidate and whether or not local resources are readily available.
“There are various steps in the process within that one various act in the process that can take, you know, an enormous amount of time,” said Roberts.
However, Welsh said if firefighters continue working excessive amounts of overtime, it’s a public safety concern.
“It wears you down,” said Welsh. “If you’re tired, you’re not going to have the same strength you would as when you’re well rested. So responding to calls you may not have your all.”
Ashliman said the biggest issue is the lack of hires coming through the door.
“If we don’t solve some of these vacancy problems, if we don’t solve some of these onboarding process hiring problems, then we’re going to get in a place where individuals may be going out fatigued to execute their mission and that’s something that nobody wants,” said Ashliman.
Representatives from CNIC said they started expediting the onboarding process this past January, by allowing commands to use direct hire authorities. Navy Region Mid Atlantic said the direct hiring initiative as well as it’s recent onboarding pilot program, allows them to cut the onboarding time to eight weeks and they’ve identified 27 candidates.
► Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13News Now App.