For the primary time in 16 years, the Denver Hearth Division gained’t practice new firefighters this yr as a result of the company is totally staffed, a spokesman confirmed Monday.
Hearth officers final week determined to postpone the beginning of a brand new coaching academy till 2026 as a result of the division is at 99.4% of its totally approved power of 1,114 workers, spokesman Luis Cedillo mentioned.
The final time the division went a full yr with out holding at the least one coaching academy was in 2009, he mentioned.
The town’s Civil Service Commission notified candidates on Friday that the emergency medical technician coaching anticipated to start out in Could and the firefighter coaching anticipated to start out in July had been each postponed till 2026, govt director Gracie Perez mentioned.
The fee will proceed to maneuver individuals by means of the hiring course of in order that the town has a pool of certified candidates when the coaching academies reopen subsequent yr, Perez mentioned. The fee has about 55 individuals within the working for the EMT coaching academy and 196 potential recruits for the firefighter academy, she mentioned.
One other 600 candidates for the roles on the fireplace division have already been screened out, she mentioned.
The town had anticipated to rent eight EMT recruits and 24 firefighter recruits in 2025, Perez mentioned. The variety of recruits in every academy class and the variety of courses per yr frequently fluctuate relying on the fireplace division’s staffing wants.
The Denver Hearth Division expects solely 11 retirements in 2025, which might put the company at about 98.4% of its full staffing on the finish of the yr, Cedillo mentioned.
“It has nothing to do with funds, it’s all associated to staffing wants,” he mentioned.
The pause on new firefighters comes as each the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Division have struggled to maintain full staffing in recent times.
The Denver Police Division is simply over 90% staffed, with 1,532 officers and cadets of a certified power of 1,639 sworn officers. The Denver Sheriff Division is at about 71% of its full staffing, with 611 sworn workers out of a most 859.
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Corrected 3:37 p.m. April 28, 2025: This story was up to date to right the identify of the Denver Hearth Division spokesman.
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