Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief announces restructuring of command
Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District Chief Scott Wirth announced that the department will be restructuring its leadership command with two battalion chiefs positions being eliminated, though the battalion chiefs are expected to stay with the department in new roles as captains.
The change will not negatively impact the battalion chiefs financially and they will keep their current salary, along with raises that were bargained for as part of an agreement with the department’s captains and lieutenants. They will lose a little sick time from their benefits.
Wirth said the purpose of the restructuring was to take away the need for an administrative position over the captains and lieutenants, and to fall in line with what nearly every other fire department in the county is doing.
Instead of the department’s captains and lieutenants being overseen by the battalion chiefs, they will now report directly to Wirth.
By eliminating the battalion chief positions, Wirth will also be able to fill two vacant captain positions. The department has a number of vacancies that it has allowed to remain open since Hurricane Ian. Some of the vacancies pre-date Hurricane Ian. The hurricane’s destruction of the fire district’s old station off Donora Boulevard, has meant fewer positions are needed to man the stations. That will change in February, when the department’s new station on Estero Boulevard at the old Topps supermarket lot, is expected to be completed.
There are still two vacant lieutenant positions (one of which won’t open up until February) as well as about 12 vacant firefighter slots. Wirth expects to start filling those positions before the department moves into the new station.
Currently, the fire district is staffed by 48 responders and administrative staff, including 36 firefighters. By February, the department is expected to increase its full size to 63 responders and administrators.
In an announcement to the community regarding the change, Wirth said “The Fort Myers Beach Fire District takes seriously its duty to constantly evaluate its service to the community while also remaining fiscally responsible to the taxpayers. Occasionally, this type of self-evaluation can lead to the difficult realization that restructuring is necessary. We currently find ourselves in that position.”
Wirth said the two battalion chiefs were offered to switch to the role of captain or to retire with a retirement buyout. The restructuring will make the department more efficient, by taking away the extra supervisory role, Wirth said.
During a meeting with the union, Wirth said he “made it clear that the district and I welcome their experience in the Captain position. I also reminded the union and our battalion chiefs that I had stepped down from Operations Chief to Assistant Chief of Support Services to manage upcoming facility construction projects because that’s what the organization needed at the time.”
Wirth said the two battalion chiefs, both longtime firefighters with the district, will become captains on Aug. 1.
“The time is right to do it,” Wirth said.
Meanwhile, the fire district is working with the Iona McGregor Fire District on a merger study. The proposed merger has been introduced through state legislation by Bonita Springs State Rep. Adam Botana following a widely negative reaction previously proposed by Botana to merger the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District with the Bonita Springs Dire District. The merger study is currently undergoing a second draft, with the second draft expected to be released next month, Wirth said.