Tulsa Fire Department down 60 firefighters, City Council is told

“We’re doing pretty good, but we could be doing a lot better,” said Recruiting Officer Anthony Payne.

In 2007, the Fire Department had 2,000 applicants a year and hired 60 new firefighters. In the past 12 months, only 220 people have applied, according to figures provided to councilors.

Payne said a number of factors are responsible for the decline in applicants, including higher-paying career options, fear of being infected with COVID-19 and the danger inherent in the job.

“We find some people just aren’t up to the hazards of the job,” Payne said.

Tulsa firefighters earn between 19.1% and 21.6% less than firefighters in comparable-size cities across the country, according to figures provided by the firefighters union, Local 176. The same document lists Tulsa firefighters’ average monthly salary of $6,144 as being the 16th highest among Oklahoma fire departments.

“Since I have been in this position the last several years, we have had a lot of individuals leaving for higher-paying departments, and we have had a lot of cadets … decline our offer (and) go to other departments in the state,” Payne said.

Brent Goins, deputy chief of field operations, said an average of 20 firefighters a day are called back to work overtime to ensure that the department meets minimum staffing requirements. Those firefighters work 48 hours straight, followed by 24 hours off, rather than 24 hours on and 48 hours off.

“It’s not the safest way to operate,” Goins said. “We would rather have the personnel. Some of the firefighters like the pay — don’t get me wrong.”

The city’s fiscal year 2022 budget shows that the Fire Department is authorized to have 743 positions, including 18 administrative jobs and 725 firefighters.

As of earlier this week, Goins said, the department was down 60 firefighters.

“Ideally, to meet the standard, we would have every single engine company with four people on a truck. … Close to 800 (total) is what we would like,” Goins said.

This year’s Fire Department budget provides funding for one 25-person academy, Goins said, but he plans to request that the number be increased to 30. The academy is scheduled for late November or early December, by which time 10 more firefighters could be gone, he said.

Tulsa voters in 2016 passed a permanent public safety tax, a portion of which went to hire up to 65 new firefighters a year.

But Payne said COVID set the department back because it was not able to have academies last year. The department has about 150 applicants — from last year and this year — who will be interviewed for this year’s academy class.

The City Council asked the Fire Department to provide Wednesday’s update on its staffing levels, just as it did with the Police Department earlier this year.