Garland launches nine-month Fire and EMS Stakeholders Committee to review staffing and EMS delivery

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Chris Ott said the City of Garland on Wednesday launched a nine‑month Fire and EMS Stakeholders Special Committee to “give Garland the opportunity to lead, not just pace, how modern cities deliver life saving services.” The group will review the department's 24 hours on/48 hours off staffing schedule and evaluate the city's EMS service model; recommendations will go to the city manager and city council.

The committee opened with a department briefing from Fire Chief Mark Lee, who provided a snapshot of operations, staffing and finances and asked the group to help guide future options. "We operate 11 fire stations, operating seven engines, four ladders and 11 ambulances," Lee said. He presented a departmental budget of about $46,600,000 and described operations as the largest component. Lee gave a staffing breakdown that totals 285 sworn positions: 148 firefighters, 72 drivers, 14 lieutenants, 37 captains, 10 battalion chiefs, three assistant chiefs and one fire chief. He also said roughly 130 of the firefighter positions are currently paramedics and that the department expected a class of 22 members to enter paramedic school in January to close a reported shortfall.

Why it matters: Garland is a mid‑sized city with no active hospital within its limits, a fact the deputy mayor pro tem and the mayor said reshapes how leaders must view EMS — not only as transport, but as mobile emergency care. Committee members and department leaders focused on three linked issues: (1) staffing schedules and firefighter recovery, (2) EMS unit reliability and hospital offload times, and (3) how growth and vertical/multifamily development will affect response needs.

Key discussion points and…