CFD has no staffing issues, officials say

The Columbia Fire Department is adequately staffed based on its current response model, according to Assistant Fire Chief Brad Fraizer. The comments come after the International Association of Firefighters claimed that the department needed 95 additional firefighters.

That number would bring the number of firefighters per truck from three to four at six of Columbia’s nine stations, and from three to six per truck at the three stations that respond to downtown. The standards call for more firefighters per truck when responding to higher density areas with high-rise buildings.

Fraizer said that while the department strives for a national standard, it might not work with Columbia’s population size and budget constraints.

“We don’t disagree it would be great to have, it is just really a very big budget challenge to try to do something like that,” Fraizer said. “It is a standard everyone strives for. It’s just not a reality for us because of budget issues.”

Fraizer said the department has not had staffing challenges in emergency situations. The department is currently going through a national accreditation process that would also help determine the effectiveness of the department’s response system and what, if any, changes need to be made.

One thing Fraizer said the department has identified as a need is one or two additional fire stations. CFD has nine stations that cover the more than 60 square miles of city and response times increased nearly 30 seconds from 2009 through 2015.

“More stations would affect on response times,” Fraizer said. “More people on a truck would not affect response times.”

The Columbia Fire Department operates with a minimum of 37 emergency operations firefighters every day, according to Fraizer.