BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Fighting fires and saving lives isn't easy.
Baltimore County Fire Department receives major funding
But for the Baltimore County Fire Department, being stretched too thin has made the job even harder.
“The number of battalion chiefs, one of the department’s most critical leaders who we want to be present at the scene of an emergency, have been reduced since 2000," said County Executive Kathy Klausmeier.
“In the two decades since, this has left fewer leaders to oversee operations, direct crews, and make sure people are safe.”
Wednesday, Klausmeier announced that $3.4 million of her 2027 budget will go towards adding 12 more battalion chiefs to the department, more than double what they have now.
Fire Chief Joesph Dixon said that this will be instrumental in helping crews respond to the over 150,000 emergency calls they get each year.
“We can all rest a bit easier at night knowing that we are better prepared to meet the ever-increasing call volume and incident complexity," Dixon said.
Three battalion chiefs per shift will be incorporated into a response plan reconfigured to position on-duty command officers and reduce the time from dispatch until command presence arrives on scene.
It's a monumental day for Steve Redmer, president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association.
“I can’t tell you how many time I’ve heard in my 25 years on the job that this was never going to happen, we were never going to get these battalions back, we were going to be forgotten," Redmer said.
He explained that not only will this help in their mission to keep residents safe, it'll also protect fire crews.
“We need somebody outside that’s watching over us and calling shot and without that, chaos can turn into tragedy.”
Klausmeier will present her budget on Thursday.
The Baltimore County Council is expected to vote on it on May 21st.
