SPRINGFIELD — A fire station is closed, and crews will have to go farther to cover emergencies on that side of the city.
Springfield’s fire chief said they are facing significant staffing challenges. Now, the city is limiting mandatory overtime, and it’s forced one station to temporarily close.
News Center 7’s Xavier Hershovitz explains what’s causing the staffing problem, and why city leaders say they had to act.
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Monica Sheets of Springfield said, “I think it’s a sad situation.”
Springfield Station No. 6 is temporarily closed because there are not enough firefighters on duty to run the station.
“They’re first responders for a reason, you know. We rely on them,” Sheets said.
Springfield’s fire chief, Jacob King, said 11 members are on leave, 5 are on modified duty because of injury, and 3 are on active-duty military deployment.
It has already forced more than 1,700 hours of mandatory overtime just this year alone. That’s already 40 percent of the total mandatory overtime used all of 2025.
“They’re tired because they’re working doubles. It’s a domino effect. If one false, wrong move is made, the rest just tumbles,” Sheets said.
In a post on social media, Springfield’s Fire Union says this change will result in a lack of fire and EMS coverage and delayed responses.”
Corrisa Bowshier of Springfield said, “Emergencies can get really bad, and if there’s not enough, and they’re not there in time, people can pass away easily. They just go bad within a matter of five seconds.”
Read the city of Springfield’s full statement below:
“The City of Springfield and Springfield Fire Rescue remain committed to providing safe, professional, and effective emergency services to our community.
We are currently facing significant staffing challenges, with 11 Members on FMLA, five Members on modified duty due to injury, three Members on active military deployment and 10 new Firefighters not expected to complete the Fire Academy until April 30, 2026. As a result, mandatory overtime has risen sharply. Since January 1, 2026, our personnel have worked 1,775.5 hours of mandatory overtime, already reaching approximately 40 percent of the total mandatory overtime used in all of 2025.
This increase is significant, and Leadership has a responsibility to act when staffing demands begin to affect the health, safety, family life and readiness of our Firefighters and Paramedics.
Our Members have carried a heavy burden for a long time. Both the Division and the Union want the same outcome for our personnel and their families: a safe, healthy and sustainable work environment. While we understand the Union does not agree with this approach, we respect its role in advocating for its Members. Our responsibility, however, is to make the operational decisions necessary to reduce the strain on our workforce and preserve the long-term stability of emergency service delivery.
Mandatory overtime creates real impacts through fatigue, stress and disruptions to recovery and family life. For that reason, we have implemented temporary staffing stabilization measures when minimum staffing cannot be met. These decisions are not made lightly and are intended to balance continued emergency response coverage with the need to reduce excessive demands on our personnel.
Voluntary overtime remains available. These temporary brownouts would not occur if open assignments were filled voluntarily. What has changed is that the Division has stopped mandating overtime for the first three open positions as part of an effort to reduce the burden on our personnel.
Even when temporary brownouts occur, the Springfield Fire Rescue Division continues to provide citywide emergency response coverage through resource redeployment and system management to ensure service continues.
This is a temporary operational measure, not a retreat from our commitment to public safety. We will continue pursuing long-term solutions, including staffing improvements and other operational strategies, to restore and maintain the level of service our community expects and deserves.”
— Chief Jacob King, Springfield Fire Rescue Division
Chief King said they have more firefighters on the way, with 10 graduating from the fire academy at the end of April, which will help staffing levels and hopefully avoid temporary closures.
Late Monday afternoon, Springfield Professional Firefighters Local 333 issued the following statement:
Friends, Citizens and Stakeholders,
No one wants to be forced to work overtime. Though the plan enacted by the administrations of the city and of the Fire Rescue Division will conceivably reduce force ins, it does so on the backs of our members yet again. This time in the form of reducing already inadequate minimum staffing, increasing runs per apparatus/member, and putting our safety, and the safety of the citizens we serve at increased jeopardy with fewer resources available for emergency responses.
The Executive Board and the body of Local 333 adamantly oppose any decision to “Brown Out” or further “Combo” any additional stations, apparatus or companies. Local 333 and its members proudly serve our community and work tirelessly to ensure quality care and safety are provided to all who call on us. Allowing daily staffing to be reduced is an unsafe and irresponsible act for our firefighters and the public of Springfield. Local 333 has been in direct contact with city leadership and have expressed this clearly. Removing workforce from the already lean daily staffing or allowing spots to remain unfilled will only create more undue pressure and work. Quite frankly it is dangerous for all involved.
To imply that these issues are created by an unwillingness to continue to sign up to work, is an unfair representation of our members and we will not stand for that. Our members always have and will continue to show up and answer the call. Though a minority of outspoken members’ voices were loud and caught the “ear” of the city and Fire Rescue Division’s administrations, the vast majority did not ask for mandatory overtime to be reduced.
The root cause of this problem is, and has been for multiple generations of the Fire Division, is the city has continually understaffed the fire division for the services that are expected by the administrations, stakeholders and the citizens. Efforts have been made to advocate for adequate staffing. To our own detriment, to bridge the gap in hiring, concessions were made when the Minimum Staffing number of uniformed firefighters as set by The City Charter was not being upheld. We have been amicable, but we will not continue to stand idly by.
The only truly acceptable remedy is right size the strength of the fire division. The Local is staunchly opposed to the outlined plan or any other plan that reduces services, unnecessarily creates additional risk for our members and the citizens we serve.
We are now looking for support and true ADEQUATE STAFFING in accordance with national standards and industry best practices so we can continue to safely and effectively fulfill our duties. The Executive Board and membership of Local 333 remain determined to continue our service to the community.
— Just Wesy S. Woolf, President Springfield Professional Firefighters Local 333
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