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Coos Bay firefighters outline apprenticeship plan as city accepts multiple grants
Summary
Coos Bay firefighters described the Oregon Firefighter Apprenticeship Program that would bring five paid apprentices to the city for two years; council accepted several grant awards totaling more than $3 million, including about $1.6 million tied to staffing and a $1.5 million seismic grant for Eastside Fire Station.
Members of the Coos Bay Professional Firefighters Association told the City Council on Aug. 6 that a state-supported apprenticeship program would provide five paid apprentices for two years, helping to address decades-long staffing declines and OSHA staffing constraints.
Luke Taylor, president of the Coos Bay Professional Firefighters Association, described minimum-staffing challenges and the department’s high calls-per-firefighter rate. He urged the council to consider the apprenticeship program as a temporary staffing boost and to explore ways to retain at least three apprentices as permanent firefighters after the two-year program ends.
City staff and department leaders confirmed a grant award in the neighborhood of $1.6 million to fund the apprenticeship positions for two years; staff said the program also emphasizes recruiting women, veterans and people of color to diversify the fire service. The council adopted Resolution 24‑25 to appropriate newly received library and fire grant funds after staff described total recent grant receipts of roughly $1,653,000 plus a separate $1.5 million award for Eastside Fire Station upgrades, pushing recent grant totals beyond $3 million.
Chiefs and union leaders said the apprenticeship route will require training, and that the program is time-limited unless legislative change allows extension; they asked council to consider retention strategies and potential future budget adjustments if the city seeks to keep any apprentices beyond two years.
Quote: "We will get five apprentices for two years...they will be paid during that apprentice time," Luke Taylor said. "At a minimum, we ask for a way to try to find a way to retain at least 3 of them."
Fiscal note: staff said the grant funds are appropriated via Resolution 24‑25 and will be incorporated into the relevant departmental budgets.
