Twenty-four career firefighters were pulled from Greenbelt station on June 30 as part of what was called a “summer staffing” plan to meet staff shortages exacerbated by scheduled summer vacation leave and unscheduled callouts. After dodging questions about when the reassessment promised for October would take place and what metrics it would use, Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD) announced Friday, October 11 that the
“reallocation of career staffing from Stations 814 [Berwyn Heights], 835 [Greenbelt], 839 [Bowie–Belair] and 855 [Bunker Hill] will continue to prevent an increase in the staffing deficit and a subsequent increase in mandatory holdover/callbacks.” Mandatory holdover/callbacks are when an employee is called back outside their scheduled hours or unable to leave at the end of their shift. The announcement included news of an additional EMS unit for Greenbelt and revealed deep problems with PGFD’s recruitment and retention.
City Manager Josué Salmerón said they’d been hopeful for the return of the firefighters. “That’s what we wanted,” he said. The announcement is what Greenbelt leaders had feared would be the case. Speaking at a council
meeting in June, Thomas Ray, chief of the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, had warned, “Once [firefighters] get pulled, they don’t come back” (see the June 12 issue of the News Review).
Additional Surge Unit
Beginning Sunday, October 13, a second Peak EMS unit was positioned in Greenbelt so that there are now two in Greenbelt and one in Bunker Hill. These units are staffed using overtime, but according to PGFD since July 1, the two units in place required only five mandatory holdovers/callbacks, for a total of 40 hours, said Tiffany Green, Prince George’s County fire chief, in her memo.
Salmerón and city councilmembers described the addition of a second Peak EMS unit in Greenbelt as the positive news in the otherwise disappointing announcement. “The one bright spot is that we did receive an extra EMS unit that will be stationed at the Greenbelt Fire Station during peak hours, giving us two EMS units there and one at Bunker Hill. It doesn’t make up for the continued absence of the career firefighters, but hopefully will help us to avoid the repetition of the long response times noted in specific medical incidents recently,” said Councilmember Kristen Weaver, who along with Salmerón, Mayor Emmett Jordan and Councilmember Jenni Pompi were informed of the decision during a call with Green on Friday. Pompi also believed the activism of Greenbelt’s leaders and residents has been impactful. “Chief Green said multiple times on the call that she is aware of the concern among Greenbelt residents, which is why she is giving our community a second unit during peak hours, so I do think the continued activism from residents and actions of council have made a difference and are helping keep a spotlight on this situation,” said Pompi.
Ongoing Litigation
Meanwhile, the city waits for news in its legal case against the county – specifically, they await a hearing date. Greenbelt, along with Berwyn Heights and College Park, filed for a temporary restraining order on June 28, which was denied. One part of their legal case was stopping the reassignment and the second component is gaining access to data that’s been withheld from the city, explained Salmerón. Though PGFD has pointed to HIPAA laws as prohibiting them from sharing some documents, Salmerón argues it’s possible to share information without revealing individual identities and personal information. The city has requested information from Chief Green and Deputy Chief James McClelland Sr., and been told to file Public Information Act (PIA) requests.
Lack of Transparency
“The county does not see us as a partner in this,” Salmerón told the News Review. He’s never worked anywhere where partner government agencies have operated in such a way or shown such a lack of commitment to the other as a partner, he said. “We are being given the runaround,” said Salmerón. “We’re going to get the information we’re asking for – they’re just stalling.”
The News Review filed a PIA request in July for the analysis PGFD used to come to the decision to remove career staff from the four stations. In August, PGFD responded with PowerPoint charts missing key information or comparative data. They have not responded to requests to clarify the charts or provided any narrative analysis (see September 18 issue). Director of Public Information Alan Doubleday told the News Review that the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) office had to respond to questions about what the charts represent, while the MPIA office told the News Review it was no longer within their purview and should be addressed by the spokespersons. Despite being sent MPIA’s statement, Doubleday has not responded to these multiple questions and requests to enable understanding of the public information documents. The News Review filed two further PIA requests with PGFD this month.
Reducing Mandatory Overtime
Green’s memo stated that the redeployment of career staff from the four stations was successful in reducing mandatory holdover/callback hours by 78.88 percent compared to the same June to October 5 period the year before. However, “our department still faces a critical staff shortage,” she wrote.
Recruitment, Retention
PGFD has managed a net gain of its sworn employees of just one since May 31. While the department is authorized to have 1,224 sworn employees, they have only 1,013 (including recruits). The department backfills an average of 45 positions per shift; 180 positions across all shifts and considerably more during peak leave season, stated Green’s memo. Backfilling positions refers to using staff who were not scheduled to work. Despite gaining 29 new recruits in July, PGFD has lost 28 sworn employees since May 31, some of whom were recruits. Nonetheless, Green expressed optimism about those currently in the Training and Leadership Academy and about future recruits, and stated she will advocate for staffing above their current budget.
Green’s memo does not suggest this is a temporary reassignment or that there are plans to reassess it. However, Pompi told the News Review that during her call with council on Friday, Green said they would re-evaluate the staffing situation again before the end of the year.