Annapolis Fire Chief: Department meeting response times but remains below national staffing standards

Fire Chief O'Malley told the Annapolis Public Safety Standing Committee on July that the department responded to 1,198 calls in June, including 871 EMS calls and 291 fire-related calls, and is meeting or exceeding national response-time standards but remains below national staffing recommendations.

"We are responding to every call for service," O'Malley said, adding the department continues to meet response-time goals even though it lacks the national standard staffing level for suppression crews. "We do not meet the national standard when it comes to staffing levels. That national standard suggests 4 persons for an engine company, 4 persons for a truck company."

The chief and Deputy Chief Keith Lopez described staffing as the core budget issue. O'Malley said the department asked the mayor and council for 10 positions during the current budget process — an enhancement the chief said would have cost "over a million dollars" — and said the department would ultimately need an additional 25 to 30 personnel to reach recommended suppression staffing. "To get to where we need to be ultimately, we would need an additional 25 to 30 people. So we're talking at least $3,000,000 increase to the budget," he said.

Why it matters: The staffing shortfall affects how many suppression personnel are available at structure fires and how the department relies on mutual aid. O'Malley described how mutual-aid agreements with Anne Arundel County and the U.S. Naval Academy are used to assemble adequate resources for large incidents. "We cannot handle an incident by ourselves when it comes to a structure fire," he said.

Grants, billing and incremental hiring discussed: O'Malley reviewed past SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant attempts and said new funding rounds require a municipal match. He described the current SAFER-style match schedule discussed with the department: the federal share would cover most costs initially but the city would be required to increase its share over time (the chief said roughly 25% city match in the first two years, about 65% in the third year and full responsibility by the fourth year). He also noted the department expects some EMS-billing revenue could offset part of a peak-time medic unit's cost.

Strategic plan and recruiting pilot: Deputy Chief Keith Lopez said the department has hired a third-party consultant, the Center for Public Safety Excellence, to complete a strategic planning process that will include external focus groups and a public survey. The consultant will host public sessions at Eastport Firehouse in mid-July, and the department expects a draft strategic plan in September for internal review and an October presentation to council.

O'Malley also described a new paid internship partnership with the Maryland Fire Rescue Institute and the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation (DSCI), through which the city would host a cohort of 10 paid interns who could earn national certifications and a $6,000 completion bonus from the state. "We are planning on bringing in 10 interns to put them through actually a fire school," the chief said, and added the interns would be paid at minimum wage and qualify for national training and certifications. He said the city would work with partner jurisdictions to place graduates if the city had no immediate openings.

What was not decided: No formal funding action was taken at the meeting. O'Malley and councilmembers discussed phased hiring and returning to the council if additional local funds are needed.

Ending: The department asked the committee to continue dialogue about creative, phased funding approaches and said it will continue outreach during the strategic-plan process and on grant opportunities.