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Laredo negotiators identify 50–60 immediate firefighter shortfall; 170–180 needed for full shift expansion

City of Laredo / Laredo Fire Department negotiation session · April 29, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Union representatives and city negotiators agreed the department is understaffed: 50–60 hires are needed to address current shortfalls and about 170–180 would be required to move to a 24/72 shift model or add an extra D‑shift and fully staff proposed new stations.

LAREDO — Laredo city negotiators and representatives of the Laredo Firefighters Association spent the meeting laying out stark staffing and response-time shortfalls that the union says are constraining emergency services.

Association leaders told city negotiators the department is short at least 50–60 firefighters to meet minimal operational staffing across existing stations. That shortfall, they said, represents understaffing that drives overtime and erodes response capability in many neighborhoods.

David Gonzalez, president of the association, said the 50–60…

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