Decent enough department for mid-size city. New suppression pieces every year, solid rotation for swapping out old trucks, modern fire fighting equipment and turnout gear.
Stations are dated and in disrepair. It took over 10 years to break ground on one replacement station, and nothing has been done since. Plumbing, kitchens, A/C, and mold are an issue in almost all the stations.
The real issue is on the EMS side. The ambulances are old, beat up, falling apart, and have terrible load outs. EMS accounts for 90% of the call volume, but is given nearly zero % of the attention. Dual-certified Fire Medics are held to no standard of care. The Department allows certifications like ACLS/PALS to be be held optionally. There is no attention paid to EMS training. The department runs all Paramedic training “in house” for about 1/8th the budget given to Fire Training. The medic course produces sub-standard medics, who in turn provide sub-standard care, and leads to avoidable bad outcomes for patients. When preventable mistakes happen, they are brushed away and there are no consequences for the provider.
The Department established and EMS-Only section a year ago, and have mismanaged it to the point that a mass exodus is looming. It took over a year to hire against the 12 available spots, and within the next 3 months at least 4 will leave for other opportunities. The Paramedic pay for the single-certified Medics is nit competitive within the region. Medic-only members only earn 2.5 sick days a year, and the Department admin refuses to address that with the City.
Overall, there are a lot of great firemen, some decent Medics, and no culture of accountability.
Good dept and good chief. Bad city support. Fire houses are old while the cops get everything they want. Lots of solid firemen. Need some old heads to retire for the place to really get better.
Medium sized city with decent fire duty.
Administration is rough with multiple Assistant Chiefs incompetent in their roles.The Chief and Deputy seem to be the only ones who want to make the department better. Other chiefs take their problems and cast it onto the operational members.
Morale is station dependent, most companies morale is decent. The chief supports changing of the culture as we push to become a metro style department going into truck truck and engine companies.
Front line apparatus are decent with new Engines and ladders in the Que ever year for the next 5 years. However most companies are in reserve trucks due to the city shop being overwhelmed and the local dealership taking months to do minor repairs.
Staffing over the past 2 years has improved reducing the amount of mandatory overtime drastically.
The downside is the senior members still ride the ambulance more than newer members because the administration won’t allow EMT’s to ride together. Every day we run out of ambulances usually multiple times a day but the ems chief refuses to recognize this as a problem and thinks ambulances coming from 20 minutes away is fine.
A massive change of staff under the Deputy needs to occur before the members lose all faith with the administration again.
Rating Breakdown
2.7/5
3.7/5
3.3/5
3.3/5
3 Reviews on “Newport News Fire Department”
Decent enough department for mid-size city. New suppression pieces every year, solid rotation for swapping out old trucks, modern fire fighting equipment and turnout gear.
Stations are dated and in disrepair. It took over 10 years to break ground on one replacement station, and nothing has been done since. Plumbing, kitchens, A/C, and mold are an issue in almost all the stations.
The real issue is on the EMS side. The ambulances are old, beat up, falling apart, and have terrible load outs. EMS accounts for 90% of the call volume, but is given nearly zero % of the attention. Dual-certified Fire Medics are held to no standard of care. The Department allows certifications like ACLS/PALS to be be held optionally. There is no attention paid to EMS training. The department runs all Paramedic training “in house” for about 1/8th the budget given to Fire Training. The medic course produces sub-standard medics, who in turn provide sub-standard care, and leads to avoidable bad outcomes for patients. When preventable mistakes happen, they are brushed away and there are no consequences for the provider.
The Department established and EMS-Only section a year ago, and have mismanaged it to the point that a mass exodus is looming. It took over a year to hire against the 12 available spots, and within the next 3 months at least 4 will leave for other opportunities. The Paramedic pay for the single-certified Medics is nit competitive within the region. Medic-only members only earn 2.5 sick days a year, and the Department admin refuses to address that with the City.
Overall, there are a lot of great firemen, some decent Medics, and no culture of accountability.
Good dept and good chief. Bad city support. Fire houses are old while the cops get everything they want. Lots of solid firemen. Need some old heads to retire for the place to really get better.
Medium sized city with decent fire duty.
Administration is rough with multiple Assistant Chiefs incompetent in their roles.The Chief and Deputy seem to be the only ones who want to make the department better. Other chiefs take their problems and cast it onto the operational members.
Morale is station dependent, most companies morale is decent. The chief supports changing of the culture as we push to become a metro style department going into truck truck and engine companies.
Front line apparatus are decent with new Engines and ladders in the Que ever year for the next 5 years. However most companies are in reserve trucks due to the city shop being overwhelmed and the local dealership taking months to do minor repairs.
Staffing over the past 2 years has improved reducing the amount of mandatory overtime drastically.
The downside is the senior members still ride the ambulance more than newer members because the administration won’t allow EMT’s to ride together. Every day we run out of ambulances usually multiple times a day but the ems chief refuses to recognize this as a problem and thinks ambulances coming from 20 minutes away is fine.
A massive change of staff under the Deputy needs to occur before the members lose all faith with the administration again.