Short staffing browns out ambulance
One of Vacaville's handful of ambulances has been browned out due to a staffing shortage.
Medic 72, the city's busiest ambulance, was temporarily shuttered as of Wednesday.
“We will reassess at month's end,” said Fire Chief Kris Concepcion on Thursday.
The move was not sudden, he said, but thoroughly analyzed,
“we're experiencing a staffing crisis right now,” the chief explained, attributing the shortage to 11 vacancies. Of those, four were caused by firefighters who recently left the agency.
To make up those hours, other firefighters are mandated to work extra hours.
“We are forcing six to eight a day to work,” he advised.
The impacts of such, he pointed out, have been devastating.
There's been an increase in the use of sick leave, Concepcion said, as well as an uptick in the use of mental health and therapy services. There's also been a sudden bump in both personal and job-related injuries, he continued, which triggered his decision.
“The brown out is to ease the staffing crisis,” he said. “It's not going to fix it, but it will ease it.”
With Medic 72 out of service, two fewer positions a day are required.
As 72 serves “the center of the city,” the other four ambulances serving surrounding areas will pitch in and take any service calls. So, no one ambulance will be overburdened, Concepcion said.
Neither service nor response times should be negatively affected, he said.
Meanwhile, recruiting remains tough. The Fire Department is actively hiring, although there's been a dearth of applicants. At two previous recruitments, there weren't enough candidates to fill the open lateral and basic firefighter positions. There seems to be a lack of interest in firefighting as a career, the chief said, which is hard to understand.
“I think it's the best job in the world,” he emphasized.
June 23 is right around the corner and that's when the six people hired by the Fire Department will graduate from the basic academy.
Two firefighters hired through a recruitment for laterals are in backgrounds and are hoped to be on staff soon.
Concepcion hopes the firefighters currently out on injury recover well and will return to duty soon.
Meanwhile, he encourages anyone interested in becoming a firefighter to apply.
Through July 19, the recruitment of firefighter/ paramedics is open. A hiring event for firefighter/ EMTs will also open at some point.
To see job openings, visit the city's site at https:// www.governmentjobs.com/ careers/vacaville/.
Also keep an eye on the Fire Department's social media sites at www.facebook.com/VacavilleFire and www.instagram.com/ vacavillefiredepartment/.