County fire officials warn of staffing shortfall as EMS calls rise; FY26 budget seeks significant increase

Prince George’s County fire officials told the Health, Human Services and Public Safety Committee that Emergency Medical Services demand is rising, the department remains under its planned staffing complement, and the FY26 budget proposes a substantial increase to close the gap.

Fire Chief Green introduced command staff and highlighted operational statistics. “We spend a significant amount of time with some of our other primary missions which is preventing the call and educating our community,” Chief Green said, noting outreach to students and seniors and a 56% increase in smoke alarm installations from the prior year.

Malcolm Moody, OMB budget analyst, presented budget figures: the Fire/EMS proposed FY26 total is $324,500,000, an increase of $31,200,000 from FY25; the general fund proposal is $314,900,000, up about $31,700,000. Grant funds are proposed at $9,900,000, a decrease of $593,500. Moody said detailed grant and equipment lists appear in the budget book.

Chief Green and Deputy Chief McClellan described staffing and recruitment: the department’s target daily complement is 1,224 positions. Moody said the FY25 approved complement was 1,149; Chief Green said current on‑staff personnel number about 1,033, a shortfall of roughly 116 positions. The department has hired 82 personnel so far during the year and has additional recruit classes planned; the chief said one recruit class recently lost 16 trainees.

Recruit training lengths vary by existing certifications, Deputy Chief McClellan said: recruits who already hold EMS certification can complete recruit school in about 20 weeks; recruits without prior training require about 36 weeks.

Chief Green described operational steps taken to reduce overtime and ensure coverage. A summer staffing plan in the prior year moved 55 firefighters to relieve mandatory callbacks and reduced mandatory overtime by 77% during the period; the chief said that approach is not intended this summer and cautioned that “it’s going to be a challenging summer for us.”

The department discussed programmatic and equipment needs: volunteer tracking software (CrewSense) is in testing, an accountability system to monitor firefighters’ locations was proposed, and staff cited an estimate of roughly $336,500,000 to replace equipment at replacement age across department and volunteer apparatus. Chief Green described a new cadet apprenticeship program to recruit 17‑year‑olds and a faster volunteer onboarding process: background processing for volunteers has moved from multiple weeks to about three days after adding an investigator.

Union president Grant Walker addressed the committee and said recruitment and retention remain urgent: he said the department lost 83 personnel in calendar year 2024 and that 50 of those were resignations (non‑retirement). Walker urged faster hiring and called nearby jurisdictions’ staffing levels an example to emulate.

Ending: Council members pressed for exit‑interview data and clearer attrition analysis; Chief Green and budget staff said they will provide breakdowns of resignations and recommended follow-up on the five‑year staffing plan included with the presentation. Officials said a combination of recruitment, regional salary competitiveness and departmental wellness efforts will affect retention as the county moves to close the staffing gap.