City fire department proposes restructuring
Sep. 28—A proposed restructuring of the Brunswick Fire Department would add a dozen new positions with a price tag that could exceed $300,000, but acting city Fire Chief Tim White said the move is long overdue.
White and acting assistant fire chief Laurence Cargile presented the proposal Monday to the Brunswick Finance Department. While the estimated $335,000 cost of the restructure raised some concerns, committee members endorsed the proposal.
The committee makes recommendations only. The plan must be approved by the Ciy Commission.
"I think the sticker shock is due in part because the Brunswick Fire Department has presented the façade for so long that this works," White told the committee. "In fact, it does not work."
The move would allow for an additional assistant fire chief and make room for three more lieutenants and three more engineers. It also would create two new full-time positions — training officer and EMA (Emergency Management Agency) coordinator — and add two more frontline firefighters.
At full staff, it would increase the fire department personnel from 43 to 54.
While the department has struggled to keep firefighters in recent years, a concerted effort that started earlier this year has brought the department up to 39 firefighters, Cargile said. At the start of the year, the department was struggling with less than 30 firefighters, he said.
"The goal (with the restructure) is just to get this fire department moving in a direction that is more progressive," Cargile said Tuesday. "The goal is to get this department not just in line with today's standards but for tomorrow's standards and the future. And hopefully it will make us better prepared for working together with our partners in the community."
The proposal would create two assistant chiefs: one to oversee operations and another to oversee administration. It would advance the department from three to six lieutenants and from nine to 12 engineers. It also would add a third inspector.
Having a lieutenant for every 24-hour shift at the city's two fire stations is vital to creating strong leadership for the future, White said. The department would remain at six captains.
"Having a captain and a lieutenant on each shift affords individuals the opportunity to grow into a position of leadership," White said. "It eases that learning curve."
Brunswick's geography as a coastal city in the hurricane zone makes a full-time EMA coordinator a necessity, White said. Likewise, a full-time trainer is necessary to keep up with demands to meet ever-changing professional standards.
"Things are constantly changing when it comes to firefighter requirements, and it's the trainer's responsibility to make sure all those requirements are met," White said.
The proposals also would help the department continue to maintain its Class 1 rating with the Insurance Service Office (ISO), White said. The department has held its Class 1 ISO rating for years. It is presently one of just 329 departments nationwide to do so, White said.
White was named Brunswick's interim fire chief in July following the retirement of Randy Mobley. Mobley had served as fire chief for 10 years.
Money for the restructure would come from the city budget's reserves, Brunswick City Manager Regina McDuffie said.
"Most of the positions we are requesting are necessary to maintain that Class 1 rating," said White, who previously served as the fire chief in Douglas before serving under Mobley as assistant chief in Brunswick. "And we want to keep that Class 1 rating."
