Birmingham Fire & Rescue could soon see its workforce increase

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Jan 11, 2023

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Mayor Randall Woodfin is working to increase the staffing of the fire department to keep you safe.

In a resolution to the city council’s budget and finance committee, he highlighted the need for 37 additional fire and rescue staff.

He says the staffing surge is due to the high volume of calls. People often forget, but the fire department also encompasses the emergency services, and here lately the calls for service are increasing.

“Our fire department continues to receive a very high call volume, I believe this is the highest in its 151 year history,” Mayor Woodfin said.

According to a representative from the Birmingham Fire Service, the number of calls seems to be increasing every year. In 2022, the department responded to nearly 74,000 calls, or 202 calls per day.

The mayor now points out that the city should have already added the positions.

“It’s a number that technically we should have been able to support a long time ago,” Mayor Woodfin said.

He is also confident that if approved, the positions will fill quickly.

“On behalf of all the other services in the City of Birmingham, we are all jealous of the firefighters. When they have vacancies, they have no problem filling those positions. They are in a very unique position,” Mayor Woodfin said.

The 37 new positions would cost the city $2.5 million and the idea has yet to be discussed with the city council.

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