My city has a population of 11,000 people. They cut back on funding for firefighters and leo so now we only have 3 firefighters on duty at any given time. This number seems low to me. Is it normal ?

3 firefighters total, or on each truck/engine??

I assume that you also have volunteer firefighters in your city.  If that is the case then yes, it is normal to only have a few paid firefighters serving your city with the rest being volunteers.  The department that I volunteer with serves 16,000 people and we only have two paid firefighters per 24 hour shift.  So when we get a call the paid guys and any volunteers that happen to be at the statiion go out on either the rescue or an engine depending on the call and then volunteers come to the station and standby untill they return,  responding to any calls that may come in while the first rig is away.  The system we have seems to work well enough but there are times when man-power is a big issue for us.

The main thing is to be sure and vote in favor of that next tax increase that will get your small fire department a new fire engine or more firefighters.  Or just become a volunteer yourself,  you'll probly have a ball.

Quoted: 3 firefighters total, or on each truck/engine??

3 firefighters working at any given time. I would gladly support more funding to have more. If bad luck struck and 2 buildings were burning at the same time,someone is going to lose everything.

To me it seems low.  I used to work on many residential projects in California.  While the police protection was typically measured in an officer to population ration (i.e. 1 officer per 1,000 residents [this was a good ratio]) fire services were evaluated based on response time.  

If I remember correctly, Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) used an average travel speed of 38 miles per hour during a response.  The maximum allowed response time was somewhere about 5 minutes.  So ball parking it, factoring in turn out time, you had to have a station able to serve a given area within 2 miles.  This ofcourse figuring the distance an engine/truck/ambulance could travel at 38 miles per hour in 5 minutes.

With that being said, three firefighters for 11,000 people seems low.  Especially considering town with 11,000 people are usually fairly rural so the area in which they live would be expanded compared to the burbs.

Although around here we have 5-6 guys at the stations  it isnt to unuual unless you dont use mutual aid, i only would be worried if you have a sluggish volunteer crew !

as for if your sation is fire/rescue/ in my opion there should be atleast four on duty at all times

just my  $.02

all depends on the mutual aid and vol. crew you have

in my mind for what Fire Rescu e guys put on the line and the work they have to do we are always getting shafted, but as always knowbody pays respect to a FF until something drastic happens

Quoted: Quoted: 3 firefighters total, or on each truck/engine?? 3 firefighters working at any given time. I would gladly support more funding to have more. If bad luck struck and 2 buildings were burning at the same time,someone is going to lose everything.

If I only had three firefighters on scene I wouldn't send my crew in unless there was someone inside.

Kinda tough to make the two in two out work.  (Especially if you add in an engineer, command, ems, ventilation...)

It's funny how we get called out to do all of the things that the leo's don't want to do...

I've been there, worn both badges, and can attest to the fact that if Ponch and John don't wanna do it, Gauge and Desoto will have to.Something else that may play into your FD staffing...how many square miles is your town?  You may have 11,000 people, but less than 20 square miles.  That may have played some into the staffing decision.  

Quoted: It's funny how we get called out to do all of the things that the leo's don't want to do... I've been there, worn both badges, and can attest to the fact that if Ponch and John don't wanna do it, Gauge and Desoto will have to. Something else that may play into your FD staffing...how many square miles is your town?  You may have 11,000 people, but less than 20 square miles.  That may have played some into the staffing decision.

2.2 square miles.

As was mentioned before...your municipality may rely heavily on non-paid firefighters to supplement the paid staff.  I'll assure you that volunteers are just as capable (providing they are properly trained) as paid FF's.  It can't hurt to go to the station and ask questions.  We always enjoy people coming by our station, I can't imagine your fire department being any different.  Who knows, you might decide to get involved yourself.

By the way...our department covers 132 square rural miles!

Quoted: By the way...our department covers 132 square rural miles!

That's it, I was under the impression Texas was big

We cover over 1,200 square miles with a 100% volley department

If bad luck struck and 2 buildings were burning at the same time,someone is going to lose everything.
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If bad luck struck and 1 building was on fire, someone is going lose everything. (fixed it for you)

Can't fight much fire and perform funtions of rescue, attack, ventilation, exposure control, overhaul and FF general safety w/ THREE. (and only three)  
  How far away is mutual aid/ next closest company?

Otherwise, I foresee a lot of surround and drown.

I work for a dept with 20 Stations and about 111 firefighters on duty each day at a minimum.  City Population is about 250,000, that roughly one firefighter for every 2,500 people.

The bigger picture is the required minimum by OSHA before interior operations can start.  I don't recall the specifics but Google is your friend.  Basically you can't go in without a certain number of people on scene unless you have reason to believe someone is inside.  TX might not be an OSHA state, so it might not apply to your dept.

Also, refer to NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments

Document Scope:   1.1.1 This standard contains minimum requirements relating to the organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations to the public by substantially all career fire departments. 1.1.2 The requirements address functions and objectives of fire department emergency service delivery, response capabilities, and resources. 1.1.3 This standard also contains minimum requirements for managing resources and systems, such as health and safety, incident management, training, communications, and pre-incident planning. 1.1.4 This standard addresses the strategic and system issues involving the organization, operation, and deployment of a fire department and does not address tactical operations at a specific emergency incident.

The most important thing is how many people you have at the fire, reguardless of where they are paid or volunteer.

My department covers 16 square miles and around 8000 people with ZERO paid firefighters.


Sounds like your department is a combo department that uses volunteers heavily, nothing wrong with that. 3 guys can grab 2 trucks, be on scene fast, and the volunteers will be there quickly with thier gear in thier car. With a town that is only 2.2 square miles the volunteers can be there pretty damm fast.