Columbia Fire Department on pace to spend more on OT than last year

The Columbia Fire Department is on pace to spend more on overtime this fiscal year than it did last year.

Records obtained by ABC 17 News show that the department was the only one of the four departments that spent the most on employee OT — fire, police, utilities and Public Works — on pace to spend more than the year prior.

The records show CFD has spent $103,475.82 for 11,248 hours of overtime so far this fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1, 2017. The department last fiscal year spent $105,864.65 on overtime. At the current pace, CFD will pay $128,413.

Assistant Chief Brad Fraizer told ABC 17 News that CFD has spent more on OT now than it did at this time last year. He credited that on an increase in Family Medical Leave Act and for firefighters attending military exercises.

Fraizer said most of the overtime hours accrued have come in fire suppression, where trucks must be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Those firefighters work 56 hours a week, since their shifts run for 24 hours. Fraizer said when those shifts come open, the department has no choice but to fill them.

“We really can’t do much about that when it comes to fire suppression,” Fraizer said. “We are going to keep our trucks fully staffed. It’s hard to manage that sometimes, you can’t predict it, normally.”

Even at the current pace, CFD would spend less than what’s budgeted for overtime this fiscal year.

Columbia Professional Firefighters have said the department needs dozens of new employees to bring them to appropriate staffing levels. Lt. Travis Gregory, president of the union, said the department runs so lean that fewer than three people are allowed off work for a 24-hour shift at some points in the year.

Fraizer told ABC 17 News that CFD will soon be at its authorized maximum number of employees when the most recent recruiting class finishes training in late August.

That increased amount of overtime is also felt by firefighters’ families, Gregory said. The need to fill the shifts can become tiring for workers available. Fraizer said firefighters can either volunteer to take the open overtime shifts. If no one takes them, the department calls people to take them based on the rank of the open shift.

“They’re feeling it too,” Fraizer said. “They notice a larger than normal amount of overtime. Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of our folks that are willing to sign up and work that, so they’re anticipating it, they’re preparing for it.”

Columbia Utilities has logged the most hours of overtime this fiscal year at 28,727, paying more than $326,000 for that work. Public Works follows with 16,595 hours of OT and has paid $127,623. Both are expected to pay less overtime this year than last year, according to an ABC 17 News analysis.

The police department has logged fewer overtime hours than firefighters, but has paid more. CPD has spent $107,180.01 so far this fiscal year, while officers worked 9,203 hours of overtime.