Baltimore firefighters union sees drop in morale amid lingering staff shortages

Leaders of the Baltimore City Firefighters' union said they are seeing a dramatic drop in morale amid ongoing staffing shortages. 

Union leaders said this has been an issue for years; now it's impacting their ability to respond to emergencies. 

Matthew Coster, the president of Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734, worries that things may get worse as the holidays approach. 

"We recognize and appreciate the concerns raised by our union partners regarding staffing levels," Baltimore City Fire said in a statement. "The men and women of our local unions are on the front lines every day, and their perspective on operational needs is invaluable. We share their commitment to ensuring adequate staffing across all units and stations."

Union president expresses concerns 

According to Coster, the union is fighting for its members to have a work-life balance where they are not working an "extreme amount of overtime."

"That's just becoming dangerous. When members are being burned out, they're not spending a lot of time with their families," Coster said. 

Coster said the limited staffing has left gaps in the department's emergency response, and is leaving personnel burnt out. 

"A lot of units were out of service," he said. That's definitely concerning for us. The industry standard is 40 hours a week, and we work 46.3 hours a week." 

Welcoming new staff members 

The Baltimore City Fire Department welcomed 55 new firefighters and paramedics on Tuesday, its largest class yet.

"It will help in the long run, but we still are going to see shortages for the next few months," Coster said. "We have another small class behind them, which is going to help as well."

Coster said the next class could be brought in sometime in March, but noted they take a long time to go through training. 

The latest class was introduced after completing nine months of training. 

"While this graduating class represents significant progress, we acknowledge that challenges are a concern across the fire and EMS service nationwide, and Baltimore is no exception. However, we continue to make significant progress through ongoing recruitment, academy training, and retention initiatives," Baltimore Fire said in a statement. 

Fire department budget 

According to Coster, data from the city shows that Baltimore firefighters are paid below the median when it comes to salaries, compared to other Maryland counties, like Baltimore. Anne Arundel and Howard counties. 

"Comparing ourselves to surrounding jurisdictions, we are the lowest paid, but yet, we are the busiest in the state, if not the country, when it comes to calls per capita," Coster said. 

Coster said he has reached out to the mayor's office multiple times to discuss his concerns, but has not heard back yet. 

The union hopes to create more incentives to bring in recruits and make sure they are getting paid what they deserve. 

"The city needs to realize that they cannot balance a budget based on firefighters working more hours. That cannot happen," Coster said. 

"Our members are out there doing the work day in and day out, and we just want the city to acknowledge that," he added.