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Fire chief: recruit academy set for March, overtime hours falling and overdose doses rising
Summary
Fire Chief O'Byrd told the committee the department plans a March 3 recruit academy, has seen reductions in overtime hours due to contract changes, and reported increased Narcan doses delivered even as recorded overdose calls modestly declined.
Chief Howard O'Byrd told the committee his monthly report is being revised to show clearer, multi‑dimensional metrics and that staffing remains a focus.
O'Byrd said conditional offers were made to 18 recruits for an academy starting March 3, but warned typical academy failure/attrition rates (about 15%) mean the final class size may vary. He said the department’s relief pool is down to roughly 14 following retirements. Overtime dollar payments and overtime hours are down year‑to‑date (about 12% lower dollars and roughly 24% fewer overtime hours than the prior year); a contractual change tied to FLSA in January 2024 shifted some hours to straight “extra hours,” producing a payroll savings.
On response metrics, O'Byrd said January calls were down broadly compared with the previous year except for structure fires; he said his team is working to map repeat problem locations to small grids to support targeted interventions. The department is tracking overdoses and Narcan doses: doses delivered nearly doubled in the period cited, and the chief noted that some overdose cases arrive in records under other call types (such as cardiac arrest), which complicates simple overdose counts.
O'Byrd said the department continues to work on relief‑pool size and long‑term staffing as retirements approach, and that some specialty meetings and committee work were curtailed in 2024 to manage overtime. He said the department will continue refining response metrics and mapping with GIS partners.
Council members asked about the causes for lower overtime and whether changes are sustainable; O'Byrd said some decisions have tradeoffs (reduced committee time, fewer specialty meetings) and that rebuilding the relief pool will take time.
