Orlando firefighters union calls for more firefighters to match city’s growth

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Published  November 27, 2024 11:29pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Firefighters say department falling behind growth

Orlando Professional Firefighters, the union representing 500 of the city’s firefighters, is calling for an increase in staffing.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Professional Firefighters, the union representing 500 of the city’s firefighters, is calling for an increase in staffing.

Doug Zabin, an Orlando Fire Department lieutenant and the union president, said the fire department has not grown to keep pace with the city’s expansion.

"In the last 10 years, the city has grown by about 100,000 people, and the fire department has not grown with it," Zabin said.

Most of the city’s 17 stations operate with four-person crews, the minimum recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). However, Zabin noted that five stations still use three-person crews, which he said could pose safety risks.

"The speed at which we can search a building or put a fire out is about 30% slower with a three-person crew, and it’s also about fatigue," he said.

In response to these concerns, the Orlando Fire Department emphasized that multiple crews respond to confirmed fires, often resulting in 27 crew members on the scene. The department stated that its staffing procedures have been "in place for decades."

"The National Fire Protection Association standards are consensus standards that are generic in nature and don't vary based on agency size, resources, and response time," OFD said in a written statement to FOX 35 News.

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Zabin, a 23-year veteran of OFD, leads Action 8, a station near Orlando International Airport that operates with three-person crews. As union president for the past year, Zabin represents 500 firefighters and has proposed hiring 15 additional personnel to ensure four-person crews department-wide.

"What we’ve asked the city to do is just to develop a plan that over the next five years adds three people per year," he said.

The union also advocates for increased staffing on the EMS side, which it says would help reduce response times.

According to data shared by the union, the average EMS response time in Orlando is nine minutes—higher than the national average of five minutes and the goal of four minutes.

"When we don’t have the resources to handle all of those calls, it draws from other neighborhoods and leaves those areas without protection. It’s kind of a domino effect throughout the city," Zabin said.

The fire department did not confirm or deny the union’s data but emphasized that OFD maintains the highest ISO rating, a nationwide standard for fire response and mitigation capabilities.

Zabin said he has been engaging with city leaders and hopes to find common ground by next September, when the union’s contract with the city is up for renewal.

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