FIREFIGHTERS NATIONWIDE — ASKING FOR YOUR SOLIDARITY. Columbus reopened its Fire Chief application despite qualified, experienced internal candidates already stepping forward. So I’m asking firefighters and fire officers across the country: Please stand down. Don’t apply. Give Columbus firefighters the opportunity to be led by someone who already knows their Division, their people, their challenges and their city. SHARE THIS. SEND IT TO YOUR LOCALS. SEND IT TO YOUR FIREHOUSE GROUP CHATS.

Third extension. Deadline now November 6th. If the goal was to demonstrate how difficult it is to find qualified leadership outside Columbus Fire, this has been a fascinating exercise.

Ladder 24: 2nd busiest ladder in the city in 2025. 2,289 runs. Saturday 10/24/26: Running with 3 after their 4th was pulled to staff Station 11. That’s a 25% reduction in staffing, but not a 25% reduction in calls, workload, or expectations. Fewer firefighters means fewer hands for search and rescue, less ability to perform critical tasks simultaneously, and potentially longer rescue times for the people waiting on the other side of that 911 call. It’s not just a staffing issue. It’s a measurable reduction in operational capability that puts both firefighters and the public at greater risk. Nothing says “public safety is our priority” quite like making the fireground more dangerous before the first truck even rolls.

Between 2015 and 2025, Columbus Fire’s annual call volume increased by 39%. Sworn staffing increased by 0.8%. Nearly 60,000 additional calls annually and 12 additional firefighters in ten years. Now everyone wants to know why overtime is so expensive. Well, we tried absolutely nothing for ten years, and somehow it didn’t work.

Multiple ladder companies running with 3 firefighters instead of 4 today. Gotta save money on that overtime, you know. Meanwhile, 6 firefighters are on overtime for a community relations event. The operational concern? Understaffed ladder companies have fewer personnel available for critical fireground tasks, including search and rescue, ventilation, forcible entry, and ladder placement. That can delay operations, increase the workload on individual firefighters, and compromise firefighter and civilian safety. Apparently we can afford the overtime for public relations, just not to maintain staffing on frontline apparatus. #SafetyThird

Dear Mayor Ginther, I hope your nationwide search for the next Fire Chief has been a pleasant experience. It must be nice to have the luxury of looking across the country for leadership while the firefighters already serving your city are busy cleaning human feces off their firehouse floors. Yes, sewage backups. Again. Under your administration, Columbus firefighters are dealing with conditions that no employee should have to tolerate, let alone the people entrusted with protecting the city. You’re searching coast to coast for someone to lead these firefighters, while those same firefighters are left cleaning sewage and human feces out of the very firehouses where they eat, sleep, and spend their 24-hour shifts. You’re willing to search the entire nation for the right person to lead the Division of Fire, but apparently finding someone to fix a sewer line is where the ambition ends.

Columbus Division of Fire responded to 205,099 calls in 2023 with 1,600 sworn personnel. By 2025, that increased to 208,553 calls with just 1,592 sworn personnel. That’s 3,454 MORE calls annually. Call volume increased 1.68%. Sworn staffing decreased 0.5%. So in two years, Columbus managed to increase its emergency workload while decreasing the number of people available to handle it.

This is the most beautifully documented example of nine years of political promises meeting absolutely no measurable progress. And it got funnier when I realized that they kept changing the color for “white.” Like maybe if we make it orange this year, nobody will notice it’s still 87% of the pie chart.😂

CPD tow last night. Wonder if they were going anywhere important when this happened. 😑

So let me get this straight… 😂 Columbus praises decades of experience and institutional knowledge when appointing an interim Fire Chief. But Mayor Ginther wants an outsider for the permanent position? Apparently, internal experience qualifies you to lead the Fire Division… just not permanently. Same department. Different standards. Make it make sense. 🤡

Mayor Ginther says he wants an outside candidate to be the next Columbus Fire Chief because hiring an outside Police Chief worked well. That’s an interesting hiring strategy. Columbus has internal candidates who may bring decades of experience, advanced education, proven leadership, and firsthand knowledge of the division’s operational challenges. Yet the mayor has already expressed a preference for someone from outside the division. Here’s the part I find troubling: When asked whether internal candidates would be considered, Ginther said, “They can be part of the process,” but then immediately stated, “We’re looking for an outside candidate.” There’s a significant difference between allowing internal candidates to participate in the process and giving them a genuine opportunity to compete for the position. The city recognizes the value of institutional knowledge and operational experience when appointing internal leaders. So why does that same experience seem to carry less weight when selecting the permanent fire chief? I’m not opposed to hiring an external candidate. I’m questioning the assumption that coming from outside automatically makes someone more qualified to lead organizational change. Transformational leadership is about what you accomplish, not where you came from. An internal candidate can bring fresh ideas, challenge the status quo, and implement meaningful reforms while already understanding the department’s culture, personnel, and challenges. An external candidate may bring a different perspective, but that alone doesn’t guarantee better leadership. So here’s my question for Mayor Ginther: What specific leadership qualities, qualifications, or capabilities are you looking for that you believe cannot be found within the Columbus Division of Fire? And if internal candidates are truly being considered, why publicly express a preference for an outsider before the selection process is complete? The goal should be to hire the most qualified leader, whether that person comes from inside or outside the division. The process should reflect that. 10tv.com/article/news/local/…

M24 on Schrock and Cleveland Ave

The city grew by 22%. The staffing plan appears to have been left in 2007. Police staffing DOWN by 0.6%. Firefighter staffing increased by just 10%. CPD actually used to publish a pretty great annual report comparing the city’s population growth to police staffing. Which makes it even more interesting that Columbus has nearly 170,000 more residents but fewer police officers than it did in 2007. I guess we felt 2007 was such a great year for staffing that we’d just stick with it. 🤷‍♀️ And we thought adding 170,000 people wouldn’t add any actual people problems.

Columbus, I am begging you to fund the most basic things.

CPD HQ got evacuated last night after a huge boom was heard which turned out to be a main water line busting.

First, Columbus Police and Fire employees got scarves featuring the Cleveland skyline. Now Columbus Fire benefits brochures feature the Cleveland skyline. WHAT IS THE OBSESSION WITH CLEVELAND? And who keeps approving this?

Off to join its friends

Columbus continues to authorize public spending on international economic and cultural partnerships while its own first responders live in moldy/structurally damaged fire/police stations, staffing is dangerously low causing brown outs and zones without patrol officers and more of our fleet is at groves instead of on the street. So glad we spent $225,000 out of the GENERAL FUND for a nursing program with Ghana. Actually, $750,000 from the General Fund spent over four years….plus more but I was done seeing how much we’ve spent.

FAO house inspection today. I’m excited for this one 😂