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Waynesville council approves fire-department reclassification to address incident overlap
Summary
Council approved reclassifying four engineer positions to shift lieutenants to add supervisory coverage after staff presented data showing incident overlap well above a 10% threshold used to justify adding supervisory capacity.
The Town of Waynesville approved a staffing reclassification for the fire department after leadership described rising incident overlap and operational strain.
Assistant Fire Chief Teddy Barton told the council that incident overlap — when one response is still active as another call arrives — is well over the 10% national threshold typically used to justify additional units or supervisory changes. Barton said the department has frequently experienced multiple simultaneous calls (sometimes three to five within an hour-and-a-half) and described a recent working structure fire that occurred while other units remained committed elsewhere.
To improve supervision and operational flexibility, staff proposed reclassifying four current engineers into shift lieutenants rather than hiring new positions. The council approved the request (motion by Julia, second by Anthony; voice vote in favor). Councilors noted the long-running discussion about staffing and encouraged inclusion of the need in upcoming budgets for longer-term solutions.
Speakers quoted or summarized here come from the staff presentation and the council’s recorded motion at the meeting.
