Chief: Quarantines Have Remaining Houston FFs 'Overworked'

With about 300 Houston firefighters in quarantine, the remaining members of the department have been working exhaustive shifts, and that's not likely to end soon. 

“Yes, they’re being stretched thin, and yes, they’re being overworked and it is stressful for them,” Chief Sam Pena told KHOU-TV. “There’s no question Houston firefighters are working long hours, they’re working extra shifts, and it’s all a result of the impact of the staffing that we’re having to deal with right now.”

Along with the understaffing, firefighters also are seeing more calls while on duty. And shifts are lasting days.

“We have firefighters who have been at the station for two and three days at a time and cannot get relief,” Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association told KHOU. “Firefighters who work their regular shift, who are supposed to get off, who need to get off, to take care of their family or take care of their mental or physical health, they don’t have firefighters to replace them.”

Although Houston faced staffing issues before the pandemic, the current health crisis has acutely intensified those shortages. Pena says the department's understaffing began after cuts were made following the passage of Proposition B, which created pay parity for firefighters. Lancton claims staffing concerns were revealed in a study from years ago that was ignored by city officials.

“We came into fiscal year ‘20 with about 300 firefighters short, and on top of that, we have about 300 firefighters that are out of the game on quarantine,” Pena told KHOU, adding that the number of firefighter leaving the department this year was more than expected. “So that’s putting an enormous amount of strain on our staffing abilities."