PORTLAND, Ore.– The debate is one of those things you, the general public can and should weigh in on. This past Saturday Portland Firefighter’s Union Local 43 took to twitter shouting as loudly as it could that the staffing crisis had reared its ugly head in a very scary way. A daily reporting system showed a large area of Southeast Portland was very vulnerable without enough firefighters to fight a major situation. Add to that, President Biden was in the Rose City staying not far from Station 4 near the PSU campus. That station had what the union called…”A NEVER before situation where a fire engine was closed in the city.” That means there weren’t enough firefighters working to operate the engine that brings hoses, water and four firefighters to a fire.
Reporter Mike Benner from KGW did a solid story last night on mandatory overtime for the firefighters and the impact on all of us. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/staffing-shortage-forces-portland-oregon-fire-rescue-to-shut-down-fire-engine/283-4184c99c-f78f-49b7-94d9-96211a318689
Of Note, are statements from City Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty. She’s the Fire Commissioner and Isaac McLennan, President of Local 43 the Union Representing Portland Firefighters
Commissioner Hardesty:
“I have consistently advocated for more investments in Portland Fire & Rescue across the board to avoid any interruptions in service. Previous budget cycles included conversations about cuts to the bureau, so I was usually spending more time advocating to prevent cuts to the bureau and stations than finding traction with my colleagues to invest more into the bureau. I also worked with the bureau and union to explore a possible Fire Bond, but our polling showed Portlanders were feeling tax fatigue following recent bond measures and were unlikely to support this at the ballot. Ideally this is something I would still like to bring forward, but we have been looking at other options in this political climate. Recently Council was presented the independent Citygate staffing study I worked with Fire & Rescue to commission, and that provides a data driven roadmap of the future investments we need to make in Portland Fire & Rescue to provide the services Portlanders expect from our growing City. We plan to follow this roadmap and I hope the data driven approach will convince my colleagues to join me in modernizing and investing in Portland Fire & Rescue. One of the top recommendations for addressing staffing issues provided by the Citygate report is to continue expanding Portland Street Response & CHAT (Community Health Assess & Treat) to the benefit of freeing up current firefighters, and that is part of our plan. Help is already on the way. Working with Chief Boone, we authorized lateral recruits for the first time in Fire & Rescue history. The first hires were made this last spring and applications just closed on a second recruitment drive. Even more exciting is that our persistent efforts to find federal grant money for Portland Fire & Rescue recently became a success. Working with our federal delegation in Senator Merkley and Wyden, we were approved for a $2.07 million grant that will allow us to fully reopen and staff Station 23 in Southeast Portland and hire 6 new firefighters.”
The problem is the grant money the commissioner speaks of WON’T even begin to be available until Spring of 2023.
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Isaac McLennan:
“While Portland Firefighters appreciate that Commissioner Hardesty says she consistently advocates for Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R), we are not seeing the successes on the job or in the streets. Firefighter’s morale is at an all time low with firefighters being forced to work consecutively up to 90 or more hours a week. We need our leaders to come to the table and listen to firefighters about our ideas to keep Portland safe. Every neighborhood in Portland deserves a fully-staffed fire engine in their fire station with enough firefighters, hose and water to put out fires and rescue people from burning buildings. Lastly, we appreciate City Council’s support, including Commissioner Hardesty, to allow Portland Fire & Rescue to apply for the SAFER grant and, after 12 years, finally re-open Station 23 with a fully-staffed fire engine. However, Commissioner Hardesty‘s office did nothing to help write or file for the SAFER Grant. The fact is that if it were not for the efforts of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association (PFFA) and PF&R Administrators, the grant would not have been written or submitted to FEMA. We have yet to hear from Commissioner Hardesty about her appreciation for the work PFFA performed to help secure that grant and make sure every neighborhood in Portland has a fully staffed fire engine.”
It is very clear