Members of the Brevard County Fire Rescue continued to call for better pay and working conditions at a rally Thursday amidst negotiations between the union and county government. Dozens of their family members, neighbors and local leaders were in attendance at the rally in Viera to support them.
Their concerns stem from the fact that Brevard County Fire Rescue has lost 20% of its staff since last January.
That’s left the team understaffed and ill-equipped to respond to emergencies, said Michael Bramson, president of Brevard County Professional Firefighters Local 2969. Better wages and a better work-life balance would help retain current emergency personnel, and attract new ones.
“We're not bringing in the people,” said Bramson. “We're losing more than we can get in here. It's been, it's no secret.”
As a result, he said, a lot of the team are working overtime, with very few breaks, putting them at risk of burnout, not safe for emergency personnel or the people they’re trying to save.
“You can only do that so long before fatigue, depression sets in, and that's a huge concern of this union towards our membership and protecting the citizens. Out west,” referring to the recent California wildfires, "they call that the brain drain."
Bramson said if this year’s fire season is more active than normal, it will put even greater pressure on his team. In Florida, fire season is most active during the spring. With warmer, drier conditions this winter across the state, spring fires are likely.
County commissioners have ordered an impact study to see if raising fees for developers could bring in more money for new fire trucks and other resources.
District 1 Commissioner Katie Delaney introduced the impact study at a previous commission meeting. She was at the rally Thursday to show support, and because she’s worried about what could happen if the county’s fire rescue continues to lose people.
“Right now, in Brevard County, there is a risk to people and their families and their assets, and it's our job. We are required to fix this problem,” said Delaney.
Delaney, who lives in the area with her husband and kids, said these emergency personnel are needed to save lives year-round not just during fire season.
“With less people, it's going to affect arrival times to emergency calls and things like that. We're going to have overworked people who are exhausted, and so while our people are exceptionally trained, and we have probably some of the best firefighters in the country, when anyone is working to this capacity it's going to affect them, and could lead to loss of life,” said Delaney.
Amid the negotiations, Brevard County said in a statement, it will continue to work toward a contract resolution and hopes to reach one "sooner rather than later.”
Across the state, Florida is experiencing a shortage of firefighters and other emergency personnel.
Many of these workers quit or retired early during the pandemic.
A number of factors, including better pay and working conditions in other industries, and high rates of cancer and other medical conditions, are making it hard to hire and retain workers to fill their places.
Along with Brevard County, Lake County in Central Florida is also actively recruiting firefighters.
As part of his $115.6 billion dollar budget proposal, Governor Ron DeSantis has asked for pay raises for state firefighters and other first responders to help with these efforts.
DeSantis wants $118.3 million for these raises, which would include 25% raises for state firefighters. Unfortunately, these raises won’t apply to county firefighters like in Brevard County.
Read the governor's budget proposals for first responders here:
