TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: March 2, 2026 Report No. FIRE-26-002
TO: Council
FROM: Matt Furlot, Fire Chief
SUBJECT: Staffing Assessment
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council approve the conversion of the three Temporary Firefighter FTEs to permanent positions, reduce the proposed overtime in the budget to $50,000, and approve the addition of one Fire Inspector FTE.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report presents the results of the Temporary Suppression Firefighter FTE pilot, providing Council with evidence on the relationship between staffing capacity, service reliability, and overtime expenditures. It also outlines the department’s fire-prevention capacity and the implications of establishing a Fire Inspector to meet legislative and regulatory expectations. Together, the analysis frames the operational, financial, and compliance considerations relevant to Council’s 2026 budget decisions.
In prior years, operational pressures resulted in overtime expenditure exceeding the budgeted allocation. These pressures were managed through available municipal operating surplus when present. While this approach allowed the department to meet immediate service demands, it introduced variability into year-end financial outcomes and reduced year to year predictability, as surplus availability cannot be assumed. As part of the 2026 budget process, this report presents options that more closely align planned expenditures with known operating realities while maintaining the Township’s established Level of Service.
The analysis does not indicate an expansion of service expectations, but rather an evaluation of approaches to sustaining the Township’s established Level of Service in a financially and operationally predictable manner. The options before Council therefore focus on how the Township chooses to carry known and recurring operational costs, either through variable overtime, structural staffing capacity, or a blended approach, while supporting workforce sustainability and budget stability. The report also outlines incremental and phased approaches considered by Staff, allowing Council to weigh middle-ground options alongside full structural alignment.
BACKGROUND:
The Fire Department Workforce Plan, presented to Council in January 2025, identified two areas of capacity imbalance in suppression and fire prevention. These reflect evolving service expectations, legislative change, staff capacity, and financial considerations inherent in the current model. The Plan recommended the addition of four suppression firefighters and one Fire Inspector to support operational and legislative requirements of a full-service fire department.
Suppression Capacity
At that time, the staffing model generated sustained overtime pressure that was initially forecast at approximately $500,000 annually. With the benefit of full-year data and refined costing assumptions, it is now understood that this early forecast understated the likely expenditure. Overtime is filled across a range of pay scales, from probationary firefighter through supervisory ranks, and the blended wage effect was not fully captured in the original projection. A more representative estimate of the underlying overtime pressure at that time would have been closer to $600,000 annually.
To ensure decisions were grounded in independent analysis, Staff engaged Dave Mitchell & Associates to review response needs, staffing models, and legislative obligations. That work indicated that reliably staffing six suppression positions on duty at all times requires a complement of 32 suppression firefighters, reflecting continuous operations across four shifts, leave entitlements, training requirements, and illness or injury coverage.
In July 2025, Council confirmed the minimum service level for the Fire Department of four firefighters on the Engine and two firefighters on the Ladder, reinforcing a six-firefighter suppression model. This staffing level supports safe and effective emergency response, capacity for overlapping calls, and regional interoperability, and aligns with provincial guidance and accepted operational practice.
In August 2025, Council approved a six-month pilot of three temporary suppression FTEs to test whether closing this capacity imbalance would meaningfully reduce overtime and improve service reliability. Two positions became operational in September 2025 and the third in December 2025, enabling consistent staffing across all four shifts.
Fire Prevention Capacity
The Workforce Plan also identified fire-prevention and inspection capacity as a functional imbalance. In August 2024, the Fire Safety Act expanded and clarified municipal responsibilities for fire prevention, inspection, and enforcement. In January 2025, the Township adopted an updated Fire Control Bylaw to align with provincial expectations.
These changes increased the scope and rigor of municipal fire-prevention obligations. The Plan identified creation of a dedicated Fire Inspector position as a proportionate and evidence-based path forward to support full compliance cycles and consistent preventative oversight.
Chronology
• August 2024: Fire Safety Act
• January 2025: Municipal Fire Control Bylaw Amended
• January 2025: Workforce Plan Presented
• March 2025: Council approves 1 Firefighter FTE to 2025 Budget
• July 2025: Council confirms Level of Service for Suppression
• Sept 2025: Temporary Suppression FTE Trial (3) begins
ANALYSIS:
Temporary Suppression FTE Pilot
The temporary staffing pilot was implemented in phases reflecting recruitment and onboarding realities:
• April 2025: One permanent FTE increased complement from 28 to 29.
• September 2025: Two temporary FTEs increased complement to 31.
• December 2025: The third temporary FTE increased complement to 32, enabling consistent staffing across all four shifts.
This phased implementation allowed observation of how overtime changed as structural capacity was restored. This phased approach also provided insight into intermediate staffing levels, allowing the department to observe not only full structural alignment, but also the operational and financial behaviour at partial complements. These intermediate results form the basis of the options presented later in this report.
Overtime by Period:
• Period 1 (Jan-Apr): $173,329
• Period 2 (May-Aug): $149,524
• Period 3 (Sept-Dec): $117,285
• January (fully staffed): $5,532
When we looked at the monthly average cost of overtime, the trend demonstrates that as additional FTEs came online, overtime declined in direct proportion. The analysis does not indicate an expansion of service expectations, but rather an evaluation of how best to maintain the Township’s established Level of Service in a financially and operationally sustainable manner.
Average Monthly Trend:
• Period 1 ≈ $36,000 per month
• Period 2 ≈ $28,000 per month
• Period 3 ≈ $18,000 per month
• January pace ≈ $6,000 per month
Overtime Drivers
Overtime expenditures are influenced by several factors. A portion is structural, associated with maintaining minimum staffing levels across four shifts. Additional contributors include statutory holidays, leave coverage related to illness, injury, or other approved absences, and operational back-fill during large or extended emergency incidents. For example, during a working structure fire, additional staff may be called in to crew reserve apparatus or maintain coverage for concurrent events. Increased structural staffing primarily reduces the structural and leave-coverage components, while certain fixed obligations, such as statutory holidays and emergency back-fill requirements, remain present regardless of staffing complement.
Opening Overtime Context
For context, overtime pressure at the beginning of 2025, prior to structural staffing changes, was initially estimated at approximately $500,000 annually and is now understood to have been closer to $600,000.
As part of the 2025 budget, Council approved one additional permanent suppression FTE. Following this adjustment, realized overtime expenditure for 2025 concluded at approximately $440,000. This figure reflects the partial-year effect of the added staffing capacity, as well as continued operational pressures during the transition period.
Temporary FTE Cost and Financial Effect
The department’s current base staffing level of 29 firefighters is already funded in the operating budget. The table below shows the additional cost of the temporary positions during the 2025 trial period.
As temporary firefighters were added over the course of the pilot, overtime spending declined by a similar magnitude. In practical terms, a portion of expenditure shifted from overtime wages to regular wages. Some overtime remained for statutory holidays and scheduled training; however, the larger portion associated with minimum staffing and leave coverage reduced as staffing increased.
The full annual cost of converting the three temporary positions to permanent firefighters in the 2026 budget is approximately $399,000 inclusive of salary and benefits.
The trial therefore provides an opportunity to observe how structural staffing and overtime interact. Rather than introducing entirely new cost, the effect is largely a movement from variable overtime toward more predictable staffing expenditures. This shift can support budget stability, workforce sustainability, and consistent service delivery.
The chart below illustrates this relationship visually. As staffing levels increase, overtime trends downward and becomes more closely associated with covering absences rather than routine operations. The chart is intended to demonstrate the general pattern observed during the trial period rather than to predict exact future amounts.
Structural Staffing Consideration
Because suppression staffing is distributed evenly across four shifts, partial complements do not reduce coverage proportionally and can create imbalances at the platoon level.
At a complement of 31 suppression firefighters, one of the four shifts would be staffed at seven members rather than eight. While this appears close to structural alignment on paper, seven members do not provide sufficient annual coverage to absorb statutory holidays and scheduled vacation leave within the shift. Based on leave entitlements alone, modelling indicates that this shift would be reduced to five firefighters approximately 40% of the year before accounting for illness or injury.
The department does not have the operational flexibility to routinely move staff between shifts on short notice when absences occur. As a result, overtime would continue to be required to maintain the Township’s established Level of Service. This distinction between financial modelling and operational coverage helps explain why partial structural alignment may continue to generate predictable overtime demand.
Operational Variability and Overtime Planning
While modelling indicates that anticipated overtime approaches minimal levels at complements of 31 or 32 firefighters, operational experience demonstrates that overtime does not occur evenly across shifts or throughout the year. A fire department operates continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and relies on human availability for emergency response. Illness, injury, and overlapping leave can occur unpredictably and may affect multiple members of a shift at the same time.
The modelling reflects average conditions and does not fully account for this variability. For budgeting purposes, it is therefore prudent to maintain a modest overtime allowance even where anticipated demand is low. Under a complement of 31 FTE, a reduced overtime budget of $75,000 is proposed, and at 32 FTE, a further reduction to $50,000 is recommended. Staff will continue to monitor overtime utilization and may recommend future adjustments as trends become clearer.
Fire Prevention
The department is largely meeting its target for initial inspections, completing approximately 750 annually. However, limited capacity constrains the ability to conduct timely re-inspections and complete the full compliance cycle.
The chart below illustrates how current fire-prevention capacity is distributed across initial inspections, re-inspections, and compliance-related activities under existing staffing levels.
With a dedicated Fire Inspector, the system gains the ability to consistently verify corrective actions and strengthen preventative oversight. Verified compliance, particularly confirmation that identified hazards have been corrected, represents the most direct and effective mechanism the Fire Department has to improve community safety. Ensuring that life-safety and fire-code deficiencies are not only identified but eliminated reduces both the likelihood and severity of fire incidents.
The chart below illustrates how fire-prevention capacity shifts with the addition of a dedicated Fire Inspector, enabling increased focus on re-inspections and compliance verification while maintaining initial inspection coverage.
MAINTAINING ESTABLISHED LEVEL OF SERVICE:
Fire Suppression
1. Operational Consideration
Fire outcomes are often influenced by the first minutes of an incident. Maintaining consistent staffing supports the ability to perform multiple critical tasks at the same time. The intent of the staffing model is to sustain the Township’s established Level of Service rather than expand it.
2. Workforce Sustainability
Maintaining minimum service levels through sustained overtime is achievable in the short term but can be difficult to sustain over longer periods. Balancing overtime with structural staffing supports workforce wellness, reduces fatigue exposure, and contributes to long-term operational stability.
3. Financial Predictability
Reliance on overtime introduces variability into the operating budget. A balanced mix of planned staffing and moderate overtime improves predictability and transparency in financial planning.
4. Alignment and Confidence
Aligning staffing capacity with established expectations supports continued alignment with provincial guidance and reinforces confidence among regional partners and the community.
Fire Prevention
1. Establishing dedicated inspection capacity supports completion of the compliance cycle, strengthens preventative oversight, and improves administrative consistency under provincial legislation and Township bylaw.
2. The community impact of this work is significant: verified compliance improves life-safety outcomes, reduces fire occurrence and severity, and supports economic continuity by helping businesses remain operational and compliant. A consistent fire-prevention presence contributes not only to public safety, but also to business confidence and community stability.
OPTIONS:
1. That Council approve the conversion of the three Temporary Firefighter FTEs to permanent positions, reduce the proposed overtime in the budget to $50,000, and approve the addition of one Fire Inspector FTE. (Recommended)
Stabilizes suppression staffing across all four shifts and enables completion of the fire-prevention compliance cycle. Improves budget predictability and reduces reliance on overtime.
2. That Council approve the conversion of the three Temporary Firefighter FTEs to permanent positions, reduce the proposed overtime in the budget to $50,000, defer the creation of the Fire Inspector FTE to 2027, and direct that funding for the Inspector position be included in the Five-Year Financial Plan with intent to fill the position no later than January 2027.
Maintains full suppression alignment while deferring dedicated inspection capacity by one budget cycle. Reduces ongoing overtime exposure while continuing prevention activities within existing staffing levels.
3. That Council approve the conversion of two Temporary Firefighter FTEs to permanent positions, reduce the proposed overtime in the budget to $75,000, defer the creation of the Fire Inspector FTE to 2027, and direct that funding for the Inspector position be included in the Five-Year Financial Plan with intent to fill the position no later than January 2027.
Provides partial structural alignment while one shift continues to experience a staffing imbalance. Reduces overtime relative to the current model but retains predictable overtime pressure.
4. That Council receive this Staff Report for information and provide no direction to add Firefighter or Fire Inspector FTEs at this time.
Maintains the current staffing and budget model. Overtime variability and existing inspection capacity would continue.
5. That Council direct Staff to extend the temporary firefighter staffing pilot for one year, defer the creation of the Fire Inspector FTE to 2027, and direct that funding for the Inspector position be included in the Five-Year Financial Plan with intent to fill the position no later than January 2027.
Maintains operational flexibility by extending the pilot before permanent decisions are made. Defers inspection capacity expansion.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Good Governance and Operational Effectiveness
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Suppression Firefighters
Historically, operational gaps have been managed by absorbing overtime beyond the budgeted allocation. While effective in the short term, this approach reduces financial predictability. The 2026 decision before Council is therefore less about adding cost and more about how Council may choose to align the budget with known operational demands while maintaining the Township’s established Level of Service.
As part of this alignment, reductions in the overtime budget can be considered, to approximately $50,000 when staffed at 32 firefighters. At lower staffing complements, a higher overtime allocation is required to reflect the continued reliance on overtime to maintain daily minimum staffing.
The table below presents the financial implications of each staffing scenario. Financial impact is one consideration; structural alignment and long-term operational sustainability are also relevant factors in Council’s decision.
As shown, overtime demand declines as staffing increases. Structural alignment across all four shifts occurs at a complement of 32 suppression firefighters, whereas partial complements result in reduced shift-level capacity.
While the modelling provides a financial comparison across staffing levels, it reflects averaged assumptions and does not fully capture how staffing pressures occur within individual shifts. In practice, absences are uneven and can disproportionately affect a single platoon. When a shift is staffed below eight firefighters, overtime is often required to maintain the daily minimum staffing level of six, particularly when multiple absences occur at the same time. As a result, lower staffing complements may appear financially efficient in a modelled scenario, but may continue to generate overtime in practice to maintain the Township’s established Level of Service.
For this reason, financial modelling should be considered alongside practical staffing experience and operational behaviour when evaluating long-term sustainability. As part of this review, the department sought external advice from Dave Mitchell and Associates and consulted comparable fire departments to ensure that financial modelling was balanced with established sector practices and operational realities.
Fire Inspector
The annualized net budget impact of establishing a dedicated Fire Inspector position is approximately $159,016. This reflects salary, benefits, and associated employment costs as well as the anticipated recovery of compliance fees. The position supports completion of the inspection and compliance cycle, strengthening preventative oversight and community risk-reduction activities.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
No public engagement is required.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
• February 2026: Temporary Firefighter FTEs conversion considered in 2026 Budget
• February 2026: Fire Inspector FTE creation is considered to 2026 Budget
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
2. Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services, Reviewed
3. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Attachment A - Suppression Staffing and Overtime Modelling Assumptions
2. 2026 Staffing Assessment Presentation, March 2, 2026
3. Fire Department Workforce Plan
4. Fire & Control Bylaw with Compliance Fee Schedule
5. Esquimalt Response Analysis, Dave Mitchell & Associates
6. Staff Report 25-006, Trial of Temporary Firefighters to Reduce Overtime