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Tampa firefighters’ bunker-gear rollout draws scrutiny; chief says distribution under way, council orders monthly updates
Summary
After letters from the firefighters’ union raised concerns about availability and condition of bunker gear, Fire Chief Tripp told council new sets are arriving and being issued in phases; council approved procurement item 95 and directed monthly written reports and a May 1 status update.
Tampa Fire Rescue officials told the City Council on March 27 that replacement bunker gear is being issued in phases and that the department has standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for decontamination and loaner gear. The council voted to approve a procurement item for bunker gear and instructed the administration to provide monthly written status reports on gear distribution.
Chief Tripp said the department is distributing gear as supplies arrive from the manufacturer and that sets must be complete before issuance. “When this bunker gear come in and when the individuals come in, we can't do it all at once. I can't issue all of the bunker gear with 1 because we have to make sure the individuals, it's fitted right, make any adjustments changes if they have to go out. It is a process,” Tripp said.
Tripp told council the 2023 contract provided for a second set of bunker gear for employees but manufacturing and sizing logistics require phased delivery and fitting. She said the department keeps a loaner inventory and has SOGs governing decontamination and repair; some stations lack extractor washing equipment and older facilities complicate on-site washing. “We currently have... a SOG policy that talks about contaminated, disposed gear, and what needs to be done,” she said.
Union correspondence from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF Local 754) prompted council members to press for an update. Council Member Viera moved — and colleagues seconded — a motion to require an administrative update on where the department stands. Chief Tripp agreed to return with a status report on May 1. Council then moved and approved agenda item 95, the procurement request for bunker gear; the item passed on a recorded voice consensus (“Aye”).
Separately, the council adopted a motion requiring monthly written reports on bunker-gear distribution and related data beginning in May, with the administration to provide the May 1 status update. Council members asked that the reports identify how many complete bunker sets have been issued, where deployments are outstanding because of missing parts (for example, jackets but not pants), and any stations or individuals reporting that SOG procedures were followed yet problems persisted.
Council members also urged improved communications between administration and the union to avoid repeated public disputes. Several members urged collaboration to rebuild trust and to resolve logistics so full sets are delivered and fitted promptly.
No council member said the department had denied a replacement to any firefighter who followed the SOG process; Chief Tripp said she had not been told of such a case. The council’s motions were approved without recorded roll-call tallies in the public portion of the transcript.
