Lynchburg fire chief outlines staffing, training and station plans; council presses on equipment, PFAS and asbestos

Lynchburg Fire Chief Greg Wormser told the City Council on April 8 that the department has seen significant investment in personnel, pay and training since 2018 and described near‑term plans for a new flagship Station 9 and modernization of existing stations.

Wormser said the department budget rose from $15.8 million in fiscal 2018 — about 7% of the city budget then — to $25.1 million in fiscal 2025, roughly 10.5% of the total. He said average firefighter pay has increased more than 40% in four years, citing a rise from about $44,500 to about $63,000, and that master firefighter pay rose from roughly $53,000 to about $75,700. Starting pay increased from $38,001 to about $47,500, he said.

“Our workforce is our top priority,” Wormser said. He described a move to a step pay plan to increase pay transparency and career progression; expanded training, from roughly 7,000 hours annually in 2018 to more than 36,000 hours in 2024 (about 204 hours per employee per year); and city‑funded paramedic school at Central Virginia Community College with no out‑of‑pocket cost to participants.

Wormser also described mental‑health supports, chaplain services, a contracted athletic trainer and other programmatic steps. He said those…