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Alameda County Fire Department reports fewer vacancies, uses overtime and relief staffing to cover gaps
Summary
Fire Chief Willie McDonald told supervisors the department's vacancy rate improved and that a mix of overtime, relief personnel and targeted recruitments (including college partnerships) have supported hiring; supervisors asked about wildfire-prevention crews and operational impacts.
Alameda County Fire Chief Willie McDonald reported on department staffing and recruitment at the Board of Supervisors' June 16 meeting, saying the department has made progress but still manages vacancies through overtime and relief personnel.
"We have 521 fully budgeted full time positions in the department. We have 67 vacancies," McDonald said, adding that 42 of those vacant positions were unfunded in the data set his office provided to the board. He also noted the department had recently added dispatchers and promotional hires.
McDonald told the board the department's targeted outreach includes community recruitment, social-media advertising, attendance at job fairs, and partnerships with Las Positas and Chabot community colleges and the California Joint Apprenticeship Committee. He said some recruitments are continuous and allow hiring off eligibility lists.
When supervisors asked how the department copes with gaps in coverage, McDonald said overtime is widely used but the department has also added relief personnel on each shift to reduce the burden. "We do utilize quite a bit of overtime," he said, and described a pool of relief staff that helps close staffing gaps.
Supervisor Fortunato Bass asked about wildfire-prevention staffing (hand crews and fuel mitigation); McDonald said the county's fuel mitigation crew is currently full at about 18 technicians and the department continues outreach to maintain that capacity.
McDonald and supervisors noted promotional and paramedic recruitment increases for 2025, including a 33% rise in firefighter-captain promotion applicants in the year cited. Board members praised recruitment outreach and asked for comparative vacancy data with neighboring fire agencies; McDonald said Alameda County Fire's vacancy rate is lower than most neighboring jurisdictions.
What's next: Supervisors requested continued reporting and suggested inclusion of job-fair and academy outcomes in future updates so the board can track hires produced by outreach efforts.
Provenance: Chief McDonald's presentation and board Q&A during Item 68 (AB 2561 presentation) on June 16, 2026.
