The City of Hialeah is losing firefighters faster than it can replace them, leaving fewer crews to respond to a growing number of emergencies and forcing the city to spend millions of dollars each year just to keep fire trucks on the road.<\/p>\n
The Hialeah Fire Department\u00a0employs 226 firefighters, about 74 fewer than it did two decades ago, despite responding to more than 31,000 fire and medical emergency calls each year amid growing demand for services. The staffing shortage is expected to worsen: At least 14 firefighters are preparing to leave the department, according to\u00a0Miami Herald\u00a0interviews with several department personnel.<\/p>\n
The firefighters\u2019 union has been warning city officials for years that the department is operating with dangerously low staffing levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t afford to lose another firefighter. Right now, we have 22 budgeted vacancies, and we\u2019re already operating with a very low staffing level,\u201d\u00a0Eric Johnson, president of the Hialeah Firefighters union, told the\u00a0City Council\u00a0during a recent meeting as he outlined what he described as the department\u2019s staffing and operational challenges.<\/p>\n
Johnson noted that over the past two decades, the department has shrunk even as demand has continued to rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur call volume has increased by 40%, and we\u2019ve added two more fire stations,\u201d he said. \u201cOur city has grown, and the\u00a0Fire Department\u00a0has to grow with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many firefighters point to a combination of reasons for the decreases in staff numbers: lower pay, pension reductions and limited career opportunities. The problems have left\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0struggling to compete with neighboring departments for both new recruits and veteran firefighters.<\/p>\n
Fire Department Lieut.\u00a0Harold Estrada\u00a0has spent nearly a quarter-century with the fire department. Hired in 2001, he said he remembers a time when firefighters competed for the opportunity to work in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cHialeah is no longer competitive,\u201d Estrada said. \u201cWe are far behind other fire departments in\u00a0Miami-Dade County, but it wasn\u2019t always like this, it was a great department. Everybody wanted to work at Hialeah Fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, he is preparing to leave for the\u00a0Jupiter Fire Department\u00a0in\u00a0Palm Beach County.<\/p>\n
Records show that over the last eight years,\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0has hired 149 firefighters, but at least 65 have since departed, while another 34 have retired over the past three years.<\/p>\n
A department under strain<\/p>\n
Interim Fire Chief Humfredo \u201cFreddy\u201d Perez acknowledged that staffing levels have forced the department to operate below industry recommendations.<\/p>\n
During a recent tour of Hialeah\u2019s nine fire stations, he told the Herald that all department vehicles\u2014including engines, ladder trucks and rescue units\u2014respond with three-person crews rather than the four recommended by national fire service organizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the only municipality in the surrounding area that staffs a suppression unit with three firefighters instead of four,\u201d Johnson, the union president, told the Herald. \u201cRegardless,\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0firefighters get the job done, doing more with less.\u201d<\/p>\n
The International Association of Fire Fighters\u00a0and the\u00a0National Fire Protection Association\u00a0have long maintained that four-person staffing is the minimum standard needed for firefighters to safely and effectively respond to emergencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything less puts lives, property and firefighters at risk,\u201d the association says.<\/p>\n
Beyond pay<\/p>\n
For firefighters on the front lines the issue extends beyond paychecks.<\/p>\n
Nearly 90 percent of the department\u2019s calls are medical emergencies. Those incidents often require advanced life-support interventions that only certified paramedics can perform.<\/p>\n
Yet firefighters say\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0has increasingly relied on hiring Emergency Medical Technicians instead of paramedics because of a shrinking pool of qualified applicants and lower salaries. While EMTs provide basic emergency care, paramedics are trained to perform advanced life-support procedures.<\/p>\n
As a result, at least 30 of the department\u2019s firefighters\u2014approximately 13% of the workforce\u2014are unable to perform advanced life-support procedures such as administering intravenous medications or intubating patients, placing additional demands on the firefighters who are fully certified as paramedics. Firefighters say that places greater demands on certified paramedics and can create challenges during critical emergencies.<\/p>\n
But the staffing shortage is not limited to medical certifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of staffing puts strain on officers and creates a potential safety risk for residents as well,\u201d Estrada said.<\/p>\n
His concern about having enough personnel to respond to emergencies is shared across the department, where firefighters say staffing shortages have become an ongoing challenge.<\/p>\n
\u2018Far behind\u2019<\/p>\n
The loss of firefighters that began during the administration of former Mayor\u00a0Carlos Hern\u00e1ndez\u00a0over 15 years ago has continued through three subsequent administrations, leaving the department with fewer firefighters, mounting staffing pressures and an increasingly difficult challenge retaining experienced personnel.<\/p>\n
Salary comparisons, created by the Hialeah Firefighters union, show\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0ranks last among the six fire departments in\u00a0Miami-Dade County\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Coral Gables,\u00a0Miami Beach,\u00a0Key Biscayne,\u00a0Miami\u00a0and\u00a0Miami-Dade Fire Rescue\u00a0\u2014 at nearly every rank.<\/p>\n
The disparity is evident among mid-level and senior officers.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0fire lieutenant with 10 years of experience makes just over $100,000 a year, the lowest salary among comparable fire departments in\u00a0Miami-Dade County, according to the\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0union analysis. At the same experience level, a lieutenant in\u00a0Miami Beach\u00a0earns nearly $71,000 more annually, while counterparts in\u00a0Miami-Dade Fire Rescue\u00a0and the\u00a0City of Miami\u00a0earn about $20,000 and $25,000 more, respectively. Even\u00a0Coral Gables\u2014the\u00a0next-lowest paying department\u2014pays more than $17,000 above\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0for that level of experience.<\/p>\n
According to the union estimates, each time a firefighter leaves the department,\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0loses on average more than $109,000\u2014the approximate cost of having recruited, trained and certified the employee who left.<\/p>\n
But the cost of those departures is not limited to recruitment and training<\/p>\n
The lower numbers of\u00a0Fire Department\u00a0employees has forced the city to rely heavily on overtime to keep fire trucks and rescue units staffed. With vacant positions remaining unfilled, firefighters are frequently required to work back-to-back shifts or stay beyond their scheduled hours. According to city records,\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0spent approximately $7 million on firefighter overtime last year.<\/p>\n
City\u2019s response<\/p>\n
Mayor\u00a0Bryan Calvo\u00a0has said he is concerned about the city\u2019s spending on firefighter overtime. Soon after winning election in November, he told the Herald one of his priorities for improving retention was creating workforce housing for first responders, arguing that more affordable housing could help the city recruit and retain firefighters.<\/p>\n
In June, weeks before contract negotiations with firefighters were set to begin, the Herald asked Calvo about his plans to prevent additional resignations from the\u00a0Fire Department. He pointed to the redevelopment of a city-owned property as a potential solution, saying the city could use that land to build housing for fire and police personnel.<\/p>\n
He is eyeing a 55-acre parcel of city-owned land behind police headquarters to transform one of the city\u2019s vacant properties into subsidized housing for first responders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t necessarily give a 30% raise to be competitive, but we can offer a highly subsidized apartment, if not free,\u201d Calvo said. \u201cThat will, I believe, retain many employees, because 50% of anyone\u2019s salary here in\u00a0Miami-Dade County\u00a0goes toward housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal is aimed at retaining newer recruits with fewer than five years in the department, the group that has been leaving in the greatest numbers for departments offering more competitive salaries.<\/p>\n
But for veteran firefighters with many years, sometimes decades, of service who have advanced through the ranks, have established families and already own homes, the housing initiative offers little incentive. Many say what would make the biggest difference is a salary increase that would improve their current pay and increase the pension benefits tied to their earnings when they retire.<\/p>\n
Merger with the county<\/p>\n
For many firefighters, the only long-term solution to stem the loss of firefighters is a merger with\u00a0Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. While such a move would reduce the city\u2019s direct control over fire services, union leaders argue it would provide firefighters with better pay and benefits while expanding services available to residents. However, the possibility of a merger has not been seriously considered by city officials in years.<\/p>\n
In 2006, the administration of Mayor\u00a0Julio Robaina\u00a0explored the feasibility of merging the\u00a0Hialeah Fire Department\u00a0with\u00a0Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, but the proposal never went further. Two years later, firefighters say the department began experiencing a wave of departures that intensified after pension and salary cuts implemented in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2008, the exodus began. We had salary cut, pension cuts \u2014it has been over 18 years of disruption,\u201d Lieut. Estrada said.<\/p>\n
The idea of merging with\u00a0Miami-Dade Fire Rescue\u00a0appears to be off the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot right now,\u201d Calvo said before he was even sworn into office, ruling out exploring the merger possibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overarching decision hinges on why we are a city and the autonomy that brings,\u201d Calvo said. \u201cBecause if we reach the point where we\u2019re handing over water services, fire services and trash collection, then there comes a moment when you have to ask: what is the point of having a city government?. To me, the whole idea of being a city is to provide better service than what residents would otherwise receive at the county level.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI realize they aren\u2019t getting that right now. But the goal over these four years is to improve service, cut costs and reach a point where people are far more satisfied than they are today. I don\u2019t think the path we should take is handing things over to the county\u2014unless it\u2019s the only option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working conditions<\/p>\n
The challenges are not limited to mandatory overtime and lower salaries. Many firefighters say they are also working under conditions that add to the strain of an already high-risk profession. Firefighters face an elevated risk of developing cancer because of repeated exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxic smoke. Yet some are assigned to work double shifts in a trailer that was intended to be only a temporary solution for serving the\u00a0Hialeah Heights\u00a0community.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s newest neighborhood, located in the northwestern corner of Hialeah and home to more than 16,000 residents, went years without a fire station until former Mayor\u00a0Esteban Bovo\u00a0installed a \u201ctemporary\u201d facility to serve the community. Five years later, firefighters are still operating out of the trailer.<\/p>\n
A proposal to build a new government center in the area was scheduled to begin construction in 2026, but the\u00a0new administration shifted the funding plan toward expanding and redeveloping\u00a0City Hall<\/a>, citing a state law that took effect in July restricting the use of excess building-permit fee revenues for construction projects.<\/p>\n During recent wildfires on the western side of\u00a0Miami-Dade County, smoke lingered for days across the region, creating additional challenges for firefighters assigned to the temporary Station 9. Firefighters said the trailer\u2019s air-conditioning system pulled in outside air, allowing smoke from the surrounding area to enter the station and affecting the conditions where they worked and rested.<\/p>\n A new agreement<\/p>\n As the city and the firefighters\u2019 union begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, many firefighters say the talks represent one of the department\u2019s best opportunities to reverse nearly two decades of losses.<\/p>\n Without meaningful changes, they warn, the departures will continue.<\/p>\n Almost all firefighters who have left the department must start over elsewhere, often forfeiting rank and rebuilding their careers from the bottom despite years of experience in\u00a0Hialeah. Yet they continue to leave.<\/p>\n While firefighters say they remain proud to serve the\u00a0Hialeah\u00a0community, some argue the city has not done enough to address long-standing staffing, training, and compensation challenges, contributing to continued turnover and operational pressure.<\/p>\n Estrada summarized the frustration in blunt terms.<\/p>\n \u201cThey use delay and prey as a negotiating strategy,\u201d Estrada said. \u201cEventually people get tired of waiting and leave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a92026 Miami Herald. Visit\u00a0miamiherald.com<\/a>. Distributed by\u00a0Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City of Hialeah is losing firefighters faster than it can replace them, leaving fewer crews to respond…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-356354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}