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Manassas fire chief reports lower vacancies, reduced overtime; council recognizes promotions and Fire Prevention Week
Summary
Chief Mills told the council vacancy counts have fallen and overtime costs have dropped; the city recognized newly promoted master technicians and proclaimed Fire Prevention Week, noting lithium‑ion battery risks and smoke‑detector installations.
Manassas Fire & Rescue reported progress in staffing and reduced overtime at the City Council meeting Sept. 22, while the council also marked National Fire Prevention Week and recognized recently promoted department personnel.
Chief Anthony Mills (identified in the meeting as Chief Mills) briefed the council on staffing and said the department’s vacancy count has dropped from nine to four. He said the career Fire & Rescue service now provides a driver, officer and firefighter 96.91% of the time and that the department’s unstaffed rate had fallen to 1.21% as of August 2025. Chief Mills credited a lateral‑hire process and streamlined onboarding for improvements and said the city reduced overtime expenditures by roughly $200,000 in fiscal 2025 compared with the prior year.
Chief Mills and council members detailed month‑by‑month staffing for an apparatus identified as Engine 501: in August the engine was staffed 25 days with no overtime, six days with overtime and recorded 0 days unstaffed, after earlier months that showed higher unstaffed percentages.
Council discussion emphasized recruitment and training timelines. Chief Mills noted the time and physical demands of firefighter training and said volunteers currently meet minimum staffing obligations only 1.88% of the time; he and councilmembers discussed encouraging volunteer recruitment and using regional training partnerships — including an agreement with Fauquier County — to accelerate candidate readiness.
Council recognized a Fire Prevention Week proclamation focused on lithium‑ion battery safety. Mayor Michelle Davis Younger read a proclamation urging residents to charge batteries safely, use UL‑listed chargers and recycle batteries properly. The proclamation and department remarks cited the city’s Sound the Alarm community program: Chief Mills said the program, started in November 2024, has resulted in the installation of more than 1,000 smoke detectors protecting over 1,300 residents; Councilmember Ocina said a Georgetown South effort installed 471 smoke detectors protecting 933 residents in that neighborhood, with teams typically spending about 15 minutes per home.
The council also publicly recognized newly promoted personnel and new hires who entered the department through lateral hiring: Chief Mills introduced newly promoted master technicians and several new hires brought on through the city’s hiring changes and external training partnerships.
Council members commended the department’s progress and urged continued outreach to recruit volunteers and certified staff.
