Short Staff Leads to AL Fire Department Brownouts

A shortage of Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel led to a “brownout” Saturday, but fire officials said coverage for the city isn’t being hindered.

A post by Birmingham Firefighters Association, Local 117, said a brownout occurs when a fire company is temporarily shut down because of staffing shortfalls. The post provided a list of BFRS units shut down until 8 a.m. Sunday:

- Engine 11: Roosevelt City

- Engine 21: Titusville

“This equates to over 20% of the fire suppression apparatus in the city,” according to the union’s post.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Capt. Bryan Harrell said the shortage is due to “call-offs, COVID-19 and FMLA.”

“We have had to consolidate some of our resources. This issue has not affected the services that the citizens of Birmingham receive,” according to a statement released by Harrell on behalf of BFRS. “We are still providing the citizens of Birmingham the care and service they deserve. We are working hard to improve our staffing numbers.”

There are currently two recruit classes underway, and Harrell said the department hired more than 50 recruits in June and an additional 50 in October.

“However, it takes almost six months for personnel to complete recruit training. They can not work in the field until completely trained,” the statement reads.

“We have recently worked with the Personnel Board to move up the entrance exam. We are also working with Birmingham City Schools to create a pipeline of candidates to become firefighters,” it goes on to say. “We have submitted a plan for recruitment and retention and are working with city leadership to address the issue.”

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