Staffing shortages and the impact they have had on the nation have become a major issue for many industries.

In Polk County, that trend has affected emergency workers, causing shorter operating hours, longer wait times and a shortage of firefighters.  

What You Need To Know

  •  Polk County is currently dealing with a shortage of firefighters

  •  Some officials say the problem has been ongoing for several years

  • Polk County Fire Rescue leadership says the department is working hard to recruit and hire emergency workers to fill vacant positions

  • Learn more about starting a career with PCFR

Polk County Fire Rescue's union president, Lee Stringer, said the staffing shortages have created longer work hours for current firefighters. This is something the wives of some firefighters are speaking up about.

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” said Cyni Dillon. “I thought I’d have more help.”

Dillon’s husband is a Polk County firefighter and she said that he and many of his colleagues are now required to work mandatory 48-hour shifts.

“I just wasn’t prepared for him to be working all the time because they just don’t have enough people,” said Dillon. “The union encouraged us to be vocal about our concerns, because our spouses aren’t allowed to.”

Spectrum News first reported on Polk County Fire Rescue's staffing shortages in February, but Stringer said the issue has been ongoing for several years.

“Our biggest thing is the vacancies that create mandatory overtime,” he said. “Mandatory hours aren’t new — a lot of people started in the last two or three years, but we’ve been having mandatory issues since 2018. It’s getting worse every year.”

Officials with Polk County said staffing shortages have plagued many of their departments, but they have implemented incentives and bonuses to help draw in new hires.

"Since May of 2022, we have physically gone out to 20 different schools that we wouldn't have gone out to before,” said Polk County fire recruiter Betzaid Lacounte. “We're being proactive with going outside of Polk County to reach people." 

The Polk County Fire Rescue officials said they are committed to filling vacancies — adding that they are currently in negotiations with the union for better working hours.

In response to questions from Spectrum News, the Polk County Fire Rescue sent the following statement:

“Polk County is no different than most counties across the state in having a lot of turnover right now. I saw where Hillsborough County this week discussed a 29% pay increase for first responders in an effort to recruit and retain personnel.

At the end of June the county had about 90 vacancies in Fire Rescue. We are actively recruiting to fill positions, and have implemented an aggressive bonus and incentive program to recruit paramedics, which are needed most. It’s just a challenging time to hire talent.”