KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Kissimmee city commissioners ratified an agreement with the firefighters’ union that will change firefighter shifts but also increase costs for homeowners.
In June, the commission approved a new fire assessment fee aimed at attracting and retaining firefighters by funding a shift change to 24 hours on and 72 hours off. The schedule reduces the workweek from 56 hours to 42 hours without cutting pay. The fee is expected to generate more than $6.1 million to support the new schedule. The assessment will begin Oct. 1.
Kissimmee Fire Chief Jim Walls was confident the contract would be ratified during Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, allowing him to begin hiring.
“The hard work now starts trying to not only hire 40 firefighters but get them trained, get them all in position, create this whole fourth shift,” Walls said.
[WATCH BELOW: Brevard County approves fee increase to help pay firefighters]
Interest in joining the fire department has been strong.
“Well, once the union voted to accept the contract, we went ahead and did a flyer to start advertising and getting the word out, and we did that a week ago last Friday, and we’ve already had 38 applications, which is very good for us,” Walls said. “Some of those were EMT. So we’re having to go through the applications, because right now we’re trying to hire firefighter paramedics ... So we’re very excited about that.”
Kissimmee Firefighters Local 4208 President Josh Clark told News 6 that it’s not just new applicants, as fewer firefighters are leaving compared to previous years.
“We have a neighboring department that’s taken from us for years. They’ve opened, and this is one of the first times I’ve not seen any of our guys actually put in an application,” Clark said.
“So, it’s just been astronomical for us, and it’s great. We need retention because at the end of the day, our last study that we did found that 40% to 50% of our membership had been within five years of service. And the citizens deserve people with better experience taking care of them, and with this, we’re actually going to be able to accomplish that.”
Other nearby departments are also considering tax increases to boost firefighter pay. Brevard County recently raised its fire assessment, and Winter Garden will vote on a fee increase later this month.
[WATCH BELOW: Winter Garden residents push back against proposed fire assessment fee]
“Just to see the spark that’s kind of set all of Central Florida, all of Florida aflame, I mean, this has become national news, and at the end of the day, this is what’s most important. We need to quit looking at the bottom line. We need to take care of the people, the people who respond to the fires, who respond to the medical emergencies, and in turn, they’re going to take care of the people they’re responding to,” Clark said. “The citizens of every municipality, for every place, deserve the highest quality, best firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs to show up.”
The chief plans to hire firefighters in two phases: the first in fall and the second at the start of 2026. If all goes as planned, the new shift schedule will begin next April.
“Our goal, right now, is to hire 20 firefighter paramedics in October, get them trained, and then do it again in January or February of next year to help us reach that April target date. So, if we can get half of that 40 that we need to hire in October, we’ll be doing good,” he explained.