Torrington fire union renews push for safer staffing levels after record year of calls

The Torrington firefighter union is renewing its calls for what it says is safer staffing levels after a record number of response calls in 2024.

Last year, the Torrington Fire Department responded to 4,365 calls, according to the union. They wrote that it amounted to 12 responses a day and was their busiest year on record.

The president of Torrington Firefighters Local 1567, Tim O’Donnell, said the department’s minimum staffing level is currently 11 personnel per shift, a number that he says is risky when responding to structure fires.

“We do not safely have the staffing to meet all the objectives that you need to do within the first 20 minutes of a structural fire,” O’Donnell explained. “Things such as an initial hose line, a secondary hose line, search and rescue, ventilation.”

He would like to see the minimum staffing level be raised to 15 firefighters per shift.

“We don’t know what happens next. We’re not gonna know what call we’re gonna go on in the next ten minutes, two hours, three days. The way we see it, it’s a gamble every day that we run below that 15 personnel staffing standard. We are gambling,” he said.

O'Donnell added that when a large response is needed, the department relies on mutual aid partners from other nearby towns and firefighters coming in on their days off.

“We rely entirely on mutual aid departments coming in to provide that service for us, or our own personnel coming in on callback. Coming from our homes, coming from wherever we happen to be in the community, coming back to work.”

Mayor Elinor Carbone issued a statement to NBC Connecticut:

“Over the past three years, we have increased the department staffing levels by adding 4 new positions bringing total Fire Department staff to 56. The Board of Safety has been monitoring the call volume that appears to have been impacted by the Chief’s recent decision to expand the dispatch of firefighters to respond to medical calls. This is not a permanent policy and is being reviewed by the Board of Safety as it relates to any impacts on staffing levels."

O’Donnell said, with 56 firefighters, that boils down to as many as 13 personnel per shift. But the minimum remains at 11.

“When we have 13 personnel per shift, the minimum number is still 11, meaning two people can be off, whether it’s on personal leave, whether it’s on injury leave, whether it’s for training,” he said. “We just wanna ensure that we have enough personnel that we’re able to safely perform our jobs, do our duties and go home to our families at the end of the day.”

The union is not in active contract negotiations so it’s unclear when a change could be made.

“The department administration is of course in favor of it, and ultimately, we believe the city leaders are in favor of it, but we recognize there’s a number of factors that are in play there. Staffing always comes at a price.”