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College Park backs coalition’s call for staffing reforms at Prince George’s County Fire & EMS
Summary
A coalition urging Prince George’s County to restore career firefighter staffing presented to the College Park council. Council approved adding a letter of support to the coalition’s materials and agreed to deliver it to county executive candidates and the county election timeline.
A grassroots group called the Coalition to Support Prince George’s County Fire and EMS asked the College Park City Council to endorse a set of recommendations aimed at fixing chronic staffing shortfalls in the county fire and EMS system. The coalition, represented to the council by Stefan Lagan, described a multi‑station staffing shortage that has left nearby communities without primary career firefighting or ambulance coverage at times.
“Prince George’s County Fire and EMS services are automatically 25 people short at the beginning of every shift,” Stefan Lagan told the council, and at the current recruitment rate the county could take five years to rebuild ranks. Lagan said the coalition organized to use the upcoming county executive election to press candidates to commit to staffing reforms and to hold the next executive responsible for improvement.
Members of the council and several residents endorsed the coalition’s call in the meeting. Councilmember Rigg asked the council to suspend the rules to add a letter of support to the action agenda so the coalition could meet its preferred timeline; the council voted to suspend the rules and then approved the motion to send the city’s letter of support. Councilmembers urged staff to ensure the coalition receives the signed letter and to deliver it promptly to candidates and media contacts.
The coalition provided six recommendations and asked municipalities and leaders across Prince George’s County to sign on collectively; Lagan said the coalition will deliver the recommendations to county executive candidates and publicize responses. Council members who spoke in favor said the staffing shortfall directly affects College Park residents when units are reallocated from the city to cover other areas.
The council’s letter is an expression of municipal support for the coalition’s recommendations; it does not bind the city to operational changes in the county fire department. Stefan Lagan said the coalition will collect candidate responses and publish them in a press release as part of its countywide advocacy push.
