St. Matthews Fire & EMS is comprised of more than 100 highly trained uniformed professionals and civilian employees providing comprehensive fire prevention and education, while also delivering emergency medical and public safety services. In addition, they provide Automatic Aid services to the neighboring Fire Districts of Jefferson County, Mutual aid to the City of Louisville Fire Department, and other Jefferson County Fire Districts.
St. Matthews is one of the strongest departments in the Louisville Metro area to work with and for. Staffing is being worked on and the adoption of a new 24/72 schedule goes to show the administration is listening to staff about ways to address burnout and morale.
Pay is competitive, not the greatest. Benefits are okay, not the greatest again. The atmosphere of the department does make up for these drawbacks. There is no other department I personally would want to work for in this area.
St. Matthews Leadership is a joke. The chief is a decent guy and means well but takes poor advice from the deputy chief and the HR guy. The deputy chief is more concerned of taking care of his friends and people that kiss his ass than doing anything decent for the department or the guys. The assistant chief is more concerned with making sure the lights in every station match and that the paint colors are all the same. They hire people based on if they are family/friends of the deputy chief or assistant chief or if they are a DEI hire. They promote people who can’t do the job and lack leadership skills. Everyone knows it but you can’t say anything. We can’t wear hats with our names on them, no hoodies or comfortable warm clothing, but at least all lights match. Also….. they took away the remotes for the bay doors because there were 3 incidents in 3 weeks of people hitting the doors when pulling out of the bay. Instead of finding the root of the problem they just take the door openers away from all the stations….. except for the command cars. Yes, we have nice equipment, for the most part. Yes, we are going to 24/72. About 75% of the guys on the floor are awesome. The other 25% are not. Pay and benefits are pretty good. Command staff only listens to advice or ideas if you are part of their “friend” group. Anything from outside that is dismissed.
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2 Reviews on “St. Matthews Fire & EMS”
St. Matthews is one of the strongest departments in the Louisville Metro area to work with and for. Staffing is being worked on and the adoption of a new 24/72 schedule goes to show the administration is listening to staff about ways to address burnout and morale.
Pay is competitive, not the greatest. Benefits are okay, not the greatest again. The atmosphere of the department does make up for these drawbacks. There is no other department I personally would want to work for in this area.
St. Matthews Leadership is a joke. The chief is a decent guy and means well but takes poor advice from the deputy chief and the HR guy. The deputy chief is more concerned of taking care of his friends and people that kiss his ass than doing anything decent for the department or the guys. The assistant chief is more concerned with making sure the lights in every station match and that the paint colors are all the same. They hire people based on if they are family/friends of the deputy chief or assistant chief or if they are a DEI hire. They promote people who can’t do the job and lack leadership skills. Everyone knows it but you can’t say anything. We can’t wear hats with our names on them, no hoodies or comfortable warm clothing, but at least all lights match. Also….. they took away the remotes for the bay doors because there were 3 incidents in 3 weeks of people hitting the doors when pulling out of the bay. Instead of finding the root of the problem they just take the door openers away from all the stations….. except for the command cars. Yes, we have nice equipment, for the most part. Yes, we are going to 24/72. About 75% of the guys on the floor are awesome. The other 25% are not. Pay and benefits are pretty good. Command staff only listens to advice or ideas if you are part of their “friend” group. Anything from outside that is dismissed.