Humboldt Bay Fire reports 7,578 calls in 2024, warns staffing and driver shortages remain

Humboldt Bay Fire Chief Citro told the Eureka City Council on Jan. 21 that the department responded to 7,578 calls for service in 2024 and that rescue and emergency medical calls made up the bulk of the workload.

The annual report, given during the council meeting, detailed the department's incident breakdown, staffing changes, training hours and equipment updates. "For the year in 2024, we had 7,578 calls for service," Chief Citro said.

The report explained how incidents are categorized using the National Fire Incident Reporting System, a federal standard the department uses to track statistics and support grant applications. Citro provided specific counts: 93 structure fires, 26 vehicle fires, 55 vegetation fires, 86 trash fires and 17 other outside fires. He also said the department recorded 3,705 EMS calls in which firefighters arrived before an ambulance and 791 medical-assist calls.

Why it matters: Council members pressed the department on operational impacts as the JPA continues to depend on a relatively small pool of trained drivers and engineers. The department said driver shortages — not simply open positions — are creating so-called "positional vacancies" that have forced occasional station closures and require overtime or station coverage adjustments.

Key details: Citro said the department has 48 full-time positions and currently three permanent vacancies. He said the department lost three captains to resignation in 2024; two were later promoted internally. Citro described ongoing efforts to train firefighters as engineers (drivers) and engineers as a top priority: "By promoting these captains, they were engineers. Again, it's created some significant vacancies in our engineer ranks," he said.

Citro said average department response time was 6 minutes and 14 seconds for 2024, which he noted meets the National Fire Protection Association standard. He also told council that temporarily taking a station out of rotation typically increases response time to the affected area by about a minute.

Recruitment and training: The department will hire three entry-level firefighter positions in February and said it has a list of 14 qualified applicants for those openings. Citro described a new partnership in development with College of the Redwoods to host a Firefighter I academy locally; the college is scheduled for a state site visit in February. Citro said the city donated a surplus Type 1 engine to the college for training.

Personnel and programs: Citro listed recent personnel changes, including two newly promoted captains, one new battalion chief and two new bilingual firefighters. He also described a revived cadet program and a Junior Firefighter/Explorer program intended to build a local hiring pipeline. The department reported 9,173 total training hours in 2024.

Equipment and facilities: Citro said the department received a 2023 Pierce 100-foot tractor-drawn aerial tiller and a new Type 1 engine, and that Station 3 (2905 Ocean Ave.) is under remodel with windows and roof installed and an interior build-out underway. He said he expects Station 3's remodel to be completed "sometime in April." Citro also described recent mutual-aid deployments, including personnel sent south to fight wildfires.

Council questions focused on staffing impacts from deployments, the effect of station closures on response times and where vegetation/greenbelt fires occur. Citro said roughly 159 of the vegetation calls occurred in greenbelt areas around the city and the Humboldt Fire District and that most are small and quickly contained.

The presentation concluded with council thanks and recognition of the department's community outreach and annual activities, including a successful toy drive and lifesaving awards for crewmembers.

Ending: Council did not take action on the report; members asked follow-up questions and thanked the department for the update and for its community engagement.