Fire Department Staffing, Recruitment, Hiring
& Bilingual Services Annual Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
October 17, 2024
Item (d)1.
Presented by:
James A. Williams, Assistant Fire Chief
Athena Trede, Deputy Director
Staffing
2 October 17, 2024
Background 3 • “All Hazard” Response • 208 Square Miles • City Population: 969,491 • 110,255 Emergency Responses in FY 2023-2024
• Local "In County" Auto-Aid and
Mutual Aid
• California OES Master Mutual
Aid Participation
• 723 Authorized Sworn
Positions in FY 2023-2024
October 17, 2024
4 October 17, 2024
Daily Staffing = 191
Resource
(Staffing) Number Personnel
Battalion (1) 6 6
Fire Engine (4) 33 132
Fire Truck (4) 9 36
Rescue Medic (2) 3 6
ARFF (6) 1 6
US&R (4) 1 4
EMS Field
Coordinator (1) 1 1
5 October 17, 2024
Authorized Sworn Staffing
Sworn Position (Rank) Authorized Positions Filled Positions Vacant Positions Fire Chief 1 1 0
Assistant Fire Chief 1 1 0
Deputy Fire Chief 4 3 1
Battalion Chief 24 24 0
Fire Captain 175 160 15
Arson Investigator 4 4 0
Fire Prevention Inspector 13 12 1
Fire Engineer 234 210 24
Firefighter 267 232 35
Total 723 647 76
Vacancy Rate: 10.51%
Sworn Vacancy Rates
6 • Vacancy rates over last
six years have ranged
from 3.6% to 10.5%
• 573 (191 per shift) staffed
field positions
• 30 sworn assigned to
administrative duties
• 6 sworn senior
management positions
October 17, 2024
723
720
719
707
711
710
643
652
677
681
689
690
600 620 640 660 680 700 720 740
2023-2024
2022-2023
2021-2022
2020-2021
2019-2020
2018-2019
Authorized Positions vs. Filled Positions
Filled Positions Authorized Positions
Sworn Separations and Hiring
7 • Sworn separations
averaged 38 per year
over a six-year period
• Sworn hiring averaged
34 over a six-year period
• Target 25-30 Firefighter
Recruits per Academy
• Firefighter Recruit
Academy is 18 to 20
weeks
October 17, 2024
48 51
51 30
25 27
34 27
47 24
22 50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2023-2024
2022-2023
2021-2022
2020-2021
2019-2020
2018-2019
Sworn Employee Separations vs. Sworn Hires
Hires Separations
Absences, Vacancies, and Backfill Trends
8 October 17, 2024
-
30,000
60,000
90,000
120,000
150,000
FY 19 -20 FY 20 -21 FY 21 -22 FY 22 -23 FY 23 -24
FIRE CAPTAIN
Absence Hours Vacancy Hours Back-Fill Hours
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
FY 19-20 FY 20 -21 FY 21 -22 FY 22 -23 FY 23 -24
COMBINED
Absence Hours Vacancy Hours Back-Fill Hours
-
40,000
80,000
120,000
160,000
200,000
FY 19-20 FY 20 -21 FY 21 -22 FY 22 -23 FY 23 -24
FIRE ENGINEER
Absence Hours Vacancy Hours Back-Fill Hours
-
40,000
80,000
120,000
160,000
200,000
FY 19 -20 FY 20 -21 FY 21 -22 FY 22 -23 FY 23 -24
FIREFIGHTER
Absence Hours Vacancy Hours Back-Fill Hours
Resource Deployment
9 Santa Clara County Fire
Agencies Staffing to
Population
• Agencies listed total
811,928 in population
and 748 total sworn
personnel (0.92 staffing
per 1,000 of population)
• Agencies staffed by
CalFire excluded
(Morgan Hill, South
Santa Clara County
FPD, CalFire Unit) *Excludes population within 26.81 square miles of Santa Clara County Zone 1 Contract coverage area. **Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety provides both law enforcement and fire protection.
October 17, 2024
Fire Agency Population
Served
Sworn
Personnel
Staffing to
Population
San José* 969,491 723 0.75 per 1,000
Santa Clara County 225,000 248 1.10 per 1,000
Sunnyvale DPS** 157,566 85 0.54 per 1,000
Santa Clara 132,048 125 0.94 per 1,000
Mountain View 86,535 80 0.92 per 1,000
Milpitas 81,773 75 0.92 per 1,000
Palo Alto 67,973 93 1.36 per 1,000
Gilroy 61,033 42 0.69 per 1,000
Sworn Recruitment/Hiring Status
10 October 17, 2024
Sworn Recruitment/Hiring Status
11 • Filled 150 sworn vacancies
• Each classification has unique job
requirements and minimum
qualifications; requires separate
recruitment processes
• External recruitments - conducted
for entry-level Firefighter rank
• Internal recruitments - conducted
for promotion to non-management
sworn ranks
October 17, 2024
Recruitment, Marketing, & Outreach
12 October 17, 2024
• SJFD Women’s+ Boot Camp
• San José Fire Explorer Post 888
• Accredited Local Academy
• South Bay Regional Public Safety
Training Consortium
• Advertising, Marketing and Social
Media Resources
• Career Fairs
Language Access & Bilingual Services Status
13 October 17, 2024
Language Needs Reported by First Responders
14 • Department
recognizes
23 languages for
bilingual certification
• 85% utilize Spanish
and Vietnamese
translation
October 17, 2024
61%
24%
6%
2%
2% 1% 1% 1% 1%
Spanish*
Vietnamese*
Mandarin*
Farsi (Persian)*
Korean*
Russian*
Cantonese*
Punjabi
Tagalog*
15 Current Certified Bilingual Employees
• Department Bilingual Policy
requires assignment of
certified bilingual employees
at each fire station, during
each shift
• 136 sworn bilingual certified
employees
• Department will continue to
explore language needs and
capabilities
66%
11%
5%
6%
12%
Spanish
Vietnamese
Tagalog
Cantonese, Mandarin,
Korean
Other Languages
October 17, 2024
Questions?
James A. Williams, Assistant Fire Chief
Athena Trede, Deputy Director
16 Fire Department Sworn Staffing, Recruitment, Hiring & Bilingual Services Annual Report Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
October 17, 2024
Item (d)1.
October 17, 2024