Prince George’s County is a booming suburb just east of Washington, D.C. According to the 2020 census, the county added nearly 104,000 residents in just a decade and is now approaching 1 million residents, making it the second-most populous in Maryland.
That’s one half of the growth story.
Here’s the other: Local 1619 fire fighters say staffing levels have not kept up with demand, and the county administration cannot keep kicking the can down the road. Local officials believe short staffing has led to long response times, putting the public at unnecessary risk.
“The problem is that the fire department staffing has not increased enough to meet the demand,” Local 1619 President Grant Walker said. “Because we do not have enough fire fighters, our data shows that our response time, on average, to an emergency is nine and a half minutes. That’s five and a half minutes more than national safe firefighting standards recommend.”
Local 1619 requested a Geographic Information System (GIS) study from the IAFF to determine exactly where additional resources and improvements were needed. The report, which was completed in February, revealed response times were too long and other deficiencies.
For example, none of the ladder trucks were being staffed. So, currently, if a ladder truck is needed, fire fighters are taken off an engine to staff the ladder.
The study also found the Prince George’s County Fire Department needs an additional 250 fire fighters on the job today to begin alleviating concerns surrounding response capabilities.
“Prince George’s County Local 1619 has been sounding the alarm for years about the severe staffing shortage and the impact it’s had on response capabilities, safety, and department morale,” 4th District Vice President Andrew Pantelis said. “The issues associated with understaffing will not get better on their own. The county needs to make good on its hiring promises.”
Prince George’s County Local 1619 has been sounding the alarm for years about the severe staffing shortage and the impact it’s had on response capabilities, safety, and department morale. The issues associated with understaffing will not get better on their own. The county needs to make good on its hiring promises.”
4th District vice president andrew pantelis
Pantelis also cites lower wages and benefits as a secondary issue. Records show many of the surrounding departments have higher starting salaries, making it difficult for the department to recruit and retain fire fighters.
The fire department agrees. Officials have reported that the department is experiencing record-high attrition rates. In 2020, department officials said the Local lost 28 fire fighters to other jobs. This year, the number has already jumped to 66 departures.
Three recruit classes are scheduled over the next year, according to County officials, but it is unclear whether those classes will generate enough boots on the ground to start to alleviate the long-standing staffing issues.
