Firefighters leave Hawai'i for better pay

By Jessica Webster
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Honolulu Fire Department says it will be facing a possible exodus of firefighters in the next few years if salaries don't begin to match those of their Mainland counterparts.

Makiki firefighter Vance Alkire will soon be taking a job in northern California. He says the pay is better, and he is looking forward to making a change. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The department has lost four firefighters this year because of pay issues and has 50 vacancies on its staff of roughly 1,100, said Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi.

The numbers are not staggering, said Leonardi, but the trend is worrisome.

"It's a red flag for us," he said. "As our baby boomers start to retire, we will be losing even more. Our department is becoming younger and younger; about 45 percent of our firefighters have less than six years experience with the department."

Critical labor shortages because of less-than-competitive salaries and burgeoning retirements are also being faced by the state's police officers, school teachers and state government workers.

Leonardi said his firefighters are being lured away by recruiters on the Mainland with attractive packages that he simply can't match.

"On average, firefighters start with the department and stay until retirement," said Leonardi. "But now some are leaving strictly for pay reasons."

The most recent loss was 38-year-old firefighter Vance Alkire, who has been with the department for 12 years.

Alkire is leaving his $37,000 a year salary to take a $60,000 firefighting job in the smaller community of Santa Rosa, Calif., and he will be earning $72,000 within the next four years.

Alkire has been looking for a higher paying Mainland firefighting job in a community with a lower cost of living for five years.

"You have to understand, it's not the Honolulu department; everyone loves working for this department. But a lot of guys are researching and pursuing jobs on the Mainland because the pay is better and the cost of living is less," he said. "I won't be forced to work two jobs any longer, and maybe I won't have to be scrimping on groceries or driving a 15-year-old car anymore."

The average Honolulu firefighter works three 24-hour shifts a week, and some have second jobs.

George Burke, spokesman for the International Association of Fire Fighters, said vacancy and attrition rates across the Mainland are relatively low.

"Firefighters generally join a fire department, and they stay in that department," said Burke. "But if a firefighter leaves, it's generally for one of three reasons: They leave because of disability, normal retirement or pay. Honolulu strikes me as being at or below the national average for an entry level firefighter's salary, and it's certainly below the West."

Alkire said several jobs he perused in California and Washington were paying in the high $30,000s and $40,000s, and Tualatin Valley, Ore., was paying $50,000.

The Honolulu Police Department, which faced similar retention problems in the past five years because of salary requirements and retirements, has stabilized its numbers, said Capt. Dave Kajihiro.

"I think we're doing pretty good, as we only have about 20 vacancies right now. In the past five years, it's been 50 to 100 vacancies," he said. "Not having the residency requirement, along with boosting our recruiting efforts, have had a good impact. We've also had support from the mayor in pushing for three or four recruit classes each year."

Leonardi said the Honolulu Fire Department has been fortunate because its most recent recruiting classes have been its largest.