Bradley county firefighters request 25% pay increase

From Local 3 News: Bradley County firefighters are asking commissioners to approve a 25% pay increase to bring starting salaries closer in line with surrounding fire agencies.

Fire officials presented the request at the most recent County Commission meeting, saying the current starting salary of $38,000 per year is not competitive. A 25% increase would raise starting pay to about $48,000.

Lt. Noah Cripe said more than 700 residents have signed a petition supporting increased funding for Bradley County Fire Rescue.

“There are over 700 people that signed a petition supporting more funding for the Bradley County Fire Rescue. Unfortunately, we need to see a change,” Cripe said.

Cripe added that low pay is making it harder for firefighters to support their families.

“Yes, we all love Bradley County. We all love serving the community that we live in,” he said. “Unfortunately, if we can’t raise a family working for the community that we live in, what do we tell our guys? What does this commission expect us to tell our guys?”

Along with pay raises, the department is asking for new equipment. Battalion Chief Justin Grayless said many of the department’s fire engines are more than 15 years old, with some exceeding 30 years.

“The majority of the fleet still remains roughly 15 years old,” Grayless said. “Many vehicles over 30… aging fleet not only increases the risk of mechanical failure, basically maintenance costs, as discussed before, are skyrocketing.”

To address staffing and equipment needs, Bradley County Fire Rescue proposed increasing its budget by about $1 million per year for the next three years. Another option would allocate $3 million to $4 million to the department immediately.

Commissioner Howard Thompson said the proposal will require further discussion.

“This is something I think that between now and the budget year, we’re going to have to think about,” Thompson said. “There’s not a lot that we can do right now, but we can think a lot between now and the budget year and see what we can do.”

The department currently has 67 full-time firefighters and 35 volunteers.