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Charleston Fire Department reports staffing gains, plans schedule trial and academy intake
Summary
The Charleston fire chief told the Public Safety committee that the department is nearly 93% staffed, will trial a new shift schedule in May aimed at improving sleep and cancer prevention, and plans a July academy expected to onboard about 50 recruits.
The Charleston City Committee on Public Safety heard a departmental update on March 18 from the fire department, which reported stronger staffing levels, ongoing retention challenges and a planned scheduling trial intended to improve restorative sleep and reduce health risks for firefighters.
The chief told the committee that the department is almost 93% staffed and that “almost every metric that we measure concerning response times is trending in the right direction.” The department said it will trial a new schedule in May that moves firefighters away from the traditional 24-on/48-off pattern to a rotation described in the presentation as “1 day on, 3 days off, 2 days on, 3 days off,” which officials said would provide a middle off day in the cycle for restorative sleep and may contribute to cancer-prevention efforts.
Why it matters: Department leaders said retention, not recruitment, is the primary long-term challenge. The chief reported a robust applicant pool—about 300 applications to date—and said the department plans a fire academy beginning in July to onboard an anticipated 50 recruits, both to account for attrition and to staff a new engine planned for Cainhoy in early 2026.
Key details from the update: The chief reported improvement in vacancy rates inside the operations division—from a 21% vacancy rate in 2018 to almost 4% at the end of 2024—while noting that turnover continues as trained firefighters accept other opportunities. The department said it will roll the fire marshal group into the fire pay plan, continue leadership development programs (expanded this year to captains after earlier chief-officer-focused work), and pursue facilities renovations across the city, including planned work on Station 18 (Daniel Island) and Station 17 (John's Island, currently on hold pending DOT work).
The presentation listed mental health and cancer prevention as budget priorities for the 2026 process and described facility improvements and leadership-development investments as retention tools. The chief also noted emergency management was folded into the fire department in the past year and said the department hosted an international fellowship program embedding eight Saudi firefighters in Charleston for six months.
Committee reaction: A council member commended the department for the thorough report and progress on facilities and staffing. The chief said the department is monitoring call-volume trends—which rose about 10% per year for several years but increased by roughly 5% from 2023 to 2024—and will investigate drivers of the change if the trend persists.
Ending: The committee received the update as an informational item; no formal committee action was recorded. Several follow-up items identified during the presentation—facility renovation timetables, the outcome of the May schedule trial and the July academy class—will proceed through departmental and capital-projects processes and any required budget actions.
