Pittsburgh Fire Bureau staffing hits 13-year high point

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There are more Pittsburgh Fire Bureau employees now than at any point since 2004.

On Friday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto touted that Fire Bureau staffing is at a 13-year peak with 663 uniformed personnel.

Also at its highest level in recent years is the Police Bureau, which is on track to have 921 sworn officers, the most since 2002, Similarly, Emergency Medical Services, which has budgeted for 197 paramedics and emergency medical technicians, has not been so large since 2003.

Coinciding with the mayor’s announcement about staffing were the Fire Bureau promotions of Edward Dursi Jr. and Gregory Schanck to captain; and Steven Dumblosky, Richard Shay and Lawrence Yakich to lieutenant.

The mayor’s news release noted that fire staffing is at the highest level since Pittsburgh came under Act 47 oversight, the state mechanism that has guided the city’s financial recovery for more than a decade.

Hiring more firefighters should reduce overtime pay, the city said.

In 2014, there were more people leaving the fire bureau than being hired, according to the mayor’s office. Now there are roughly twice as many recruits as retirees.

This year, the mayor’s office said, there are more fire bureau employees than the 656 called for in the budget. It is the first time that has occurred in more than a decade.