Fire union warns cuts to daily staffing would create unsafe 3‑person crews

Keith Andes, president of the Richmond Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 995), told the committee that the department had been asked to develop cost-saving measures that would reduce the normal safe staffing level from four to three firefighters on some companies and warned that the change was unsafe.

"Riding with less than 4 person crews is an unsafe practice for a city that presents many challenges," Andes said, noting that three vacant positions could be spread across companies and that dropping a four-person crew to three represents an approximately 25% drop in company efficiency. He cited national standards (NIST and NFPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's "2‑in/2‑out" principle as central safety reasons to oppose routine three-person staffing for urban responses.

Andes said the staffing change began as a "when-needed" measure tied to overtime overages but had become an almost daily expectation. He asked the committee to seek a full briefing from the fire chief and administration; council members asked for Chief Siegel or Chief Veil to come to the September meeting to explain the budgetary pressures and possible operational impacts.

The committee did not take formal action on staffing at this meeting but directed follow-up briefings from the fire administration and reiterated that public-safety staffing priorities need review during upcoming budget discussions.