Charlotte County Fire & EMS is a full-service career department that provides fire suppression and rescue operations and pre-hospital emergency medical care and transport. Specialty units within our department include special operations (HAZMAT and technical rescue), marine operations, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and SWAT Medics. Charlotte County Fire & EMS operates from 18 stations across the 693 square miles of the county, which has a population of nearly 200,000 residents.
This was once such an amazing department. Under the watchful eye of Public Safety Director Jason Fair, he has driven this department into the ground. Prior to taking office turnover was about 17%. Fast forward 4.5 years we are almost 60% of the personnel hired in the last 4.5 years. NO ACTION. Pay is behind almost $25,000 to our comparable departments. Still NO ACTION.
Any interested fire chiefs, take a look at the bio, we are an awesome department and will be needing a chief soon!!!
I’ll start out with the positives — this department has excellent FTO and EMS training programs, and the crews themselves are great to work with. The environment among firefighters is supportive, and the day-to-day teamwork is what keeps the place running smoothly.
Unfortunately, the issues begin above the Battalion Chief level. The pay is very low for the workload and the 56-hour workweek is unsustainable for anyone looking for long-term employment or work-life balance. Leadership seems to rely on a constant influx of new recruits willing to accept bottom-level pay rather than investing in retaining experienced personnel. The fire chief’s priorities appear focused on cost-cutting rather than supporting fair compensation or improving conditions for the firefighters who keep the department running.
This could be a great department if upper management valued its people as much as its budget.
Until the current administration is replaced, I would highly recommend not applying to this department. It is a hostile and dangerous place to work under the current administration”leadership”. If you like working 48 on/24 off, this is your place!
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3 Reviews on “Charlotte County Fire & EMS”
This was once such an amazing department. Under the watchful eye of Public Safety Director Jason Fair, he has driven this department into the ground. Prior to taking office turnover was about 17%. Fast forward 4.5 years we are almost 60% of the personnel hired in the last 4.5 years. NO ACTION. Pay is behind almost $25,000 to our comparable departments. Still NO ACTION.
Any interested fire chiefs, take a look at the bio, we are an awesome department and will be needing a chief soon!!!
I’ll start out with the positives — this department has excellent FTO and EMS training programs, and the crews themselves are great to work with. The environment among firefighters is supportive, and the day-to-day teamwork is what keeps the place running smoothly.
Unfortunately, the issues begin above the Battalion Chief level. The pay is very low for the workload and the 56-hour workweek is unsustainable for anyone looking for long-term employment or work-life balance. Leadership seems to rely on a constant influx of new recruits willing to accept bottom-level pay rather than investing in retaining experienced personnel. The fire chief’s priorities appear focused on cost-cutting rather than supporting fair compensation or improving conditions for the firefighters who keep the department running.
This could be a great department if upper management valued its people as much as its budget.
Until the current administration is replaced, I would highly recommend not applying to this department. It is a hostile and dangerous place to work under the current administration”leadership”. If you like working 48 on/24 off, this is your place!