Per the fiscal monitors report page 116
http://www.in.gov/dlgf/files/Fiscal_Mon ... _12-09.pdf The City also has nearly twice as many fire stations per 1,000 residents compared to U.S. cities with a population between 50,000 and 99,999 residents, assuming that Station 10 remains closed:
With more firefighters and stations per capita, the number of pieces of apparatus within the Department’s fleet is also higher than U.S. cities of similar size.
Gary has struck a deal with other communities to help them out under the king administration and Gary is footing the bill.
Historically, one of the operational factors that caused the relatively high level of Fire Department personnel was the practice of staffing four fire fighters on each piece of apparatus. This practice was included in the firefighters’ collective bargaining agreement. In recent years, however, high rates of absenteeism forced the department to call-in off duty firefighters, in turn generating extremely high levels of overtime – more than $12,000 per firefighter in 2005. In a subsequent judicial proceeding, the collective bargaining agreement was deemed “expired,†allowing the Department to staff apparatus with three firefighters. Looking at large Northwest Indiana jurisdictions with career fire departments, four of five departments have a minimum staffing requirement of three firefighters per piece of apparatus, or lower:
East Chicago: Minimum of three on an engine, two on ladder trucks and rescue vehicles
• Hammond: Minimum of three for all pieces of equipment, though will increase to four when staffing levels permit
• Hobart: Minimum of two on a piece of equipment, though generally strives for three or four
• Portage: Minimum of three for all pieces of equipment, though will increase to four when staffing levels permit
• Valparaiso: Reported minimum of four for all pieces of equipment, but in practice all pieces –except one engine – run with three firefighters
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