[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6569465,"mediaKeyId","3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561","parentId",3183515,"title","Fire commissioner asks council to support hiring, training and burn-tower repairs ahead of FY26 goals","audioSeconds",2639,"startMs",116000,"endMs",2755000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561&start=116&end=2755","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561/thumbnail_116000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6569465/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Fire-commissioner-asks-council-to-support-hiring-training-and-burn-tower-repairs-ahead-of-FY26-goals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6569465-43fff3360b209b6164bfdabd7189adfc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076980&Signature=om2RFVNfxjBp8BkMv8705W5OrfDTnKAsnfmqwJlKYm3mWjb8OvnBC~J253d6BbDnEWOPxrl7I17dpJVdh-TbwWli-fgGRXKqohYiX3EsPxkVvm30SJcvC1FmLrP3at8RccLjyypuhzjcUGxTzli3MY7zPM8ZbgX4u-0tTepwn7~MKFQd7u0BK5arCy-HkC7HJmZTc8Ysx7nh19vTQCmQbg~8ndUgjjSdEcOvpRs4YxIrHtxUVSpSL1~Bg2Liu8QZvzJQVnU-vGJIlyR43I4eivNacIs447DWOuOBPN1YOZev3xucgavpIvuxx-BU2upUM5YsWk~p7ph2Pvameuikkg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Philadelphia City Council","date","2025-05-02T23:45:14.223Z","article","Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson told City Council the department\u0000seeks to expand training and hiring in fiscal 2026, including graduating up to 32 participants from a technical rescue course, hiring 200 emergency medical services providers and launching an internal EMT-to-paramedic upscaling program to boost frontline capacity.

Thompson said those steps are intended to \"help us, in our current operations as well as to prepare us for 02/1926,\" and to support recruitment efforts and academy throughput.

The department also told council that its on-campus burn tower at the Philadelphia Fire Academy is unsafe and unavailable for cadet live-burn training. Thompson said the masonry structure has deteriorated from heat and water and that \"we cannot use our burn tower currently because it is unsafe.\" He said the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requires periodic inspections of burn towers and that the department's most recent comprehensive inspection (February 2023) identified needed repairs.

Because the tower is out of service, the department has been using Bucks County\u0000s training facility for live-burn drills. Deputy Commissioner Martin McCall told council the city pays Bucks County $30,000 per cadet class to use that facility. \"We are paying Bucks County $30,000 for the use of their facility,\" McCall said. Thompson agreed to provide council with the department\u0000s detailed repair list and the cost comparison between outsourcing training and repairing the burn tower.

On staffing, Deputy Commissioner McCall said the department currently has \"roughly 212 paramedics\" on its rolls and that the department is pursuing hiring targets aggressively, including multiple EMT and paramedic classes this year. McCall described an availability assumption the department uses when planning shifts: a roughly 30% replacement factor for absences, and said the department is relying on overtime and canvassing off-duty members when gaps arise. Thompson and McCall said the department is reopening certification lists and running multiple training classes to reach the 200-EMS hire goal for FY26.

Thompson also described the SAFER grant that enabled the department to reopen three companies and said the grant\u0000s performance period extends into 2027; the department said it will seek general-fund support to sustain units after the grant expires.

On clinical capabilities, council and department staff discussed a proposed whole-blood program to carry blood on medic units for trauma care. McCall said the program team has worked on implementation since 2023 but that wide deployment is being timed to avoid interfering with unit availability while the city addresses chronic \"wall time\" and instances when medic units are delayed at hospitals.

The department told council it will bring detailed budget requests and cost estimates to justify the upscaling program, academy repairs and the planned recruitment push.

Ending

Thompson and his executive team said they welcome follow-up questions and will provide the burn-tower repair list and the Bucks County invoicing details to the chair. Council members repeatedly urged faster training capacity and asked the department to return with cost estimates and timelines as the FY26 budget process proceeds.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee of Whole: Budget Hearing 05-02-25 Afternoon","oneSentenceSummary","Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson told City Council the department seeks to graduate up to 32 technical-rescue students, hire 200 EMS providers and repair its burn tower to restore live-burn training.","taxTitle","Philadelphia City, Philadelphia County , Pennsylvania","taxId",80615,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6569456,"Committee of the Whole votes to recess until Monday in May 2025 at 10 a.m.",40,4598000,4638000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561&start=4598&end=4638","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561/thumbnail_4598000.jpg","/articles/6569456/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Committee-of-the-Whole-votes-to-recess-until-Monday-in-May-2025-at-10-am","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6569456-facea1406c354e79078bbf3f367b7c82/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076980&Signature=YonQPcROlhinDR1FPGV67GXE9ZaiXuRc-Gqo8~RmE-nXHesqT9oUn8LIeln1UoIUEOYgynarRnwFWFb~DIBco0uYQMyIj42bbzknbCXVi3PnsEnjG9N1-jkSZF7LpPuGexGskoZdlQAOHdlwoXMEphLz9Gcgx8O0w0gkuQnDBXwW~G-gNX8DMv8ogl0Bkm6iirkPPDbAY-7n8XQ775bM310eiF-RHaLb8fW0wXxBowOyXmPacgfxrRLX-PnrE9BNULc6CQyJHwge7Rr2Pzvh69ta7HOTe6DGpzuLVtRWjWb9U6nOqqLJw40qxCmq4nOsG5EdkN31Jli5KEbpBsScvw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Majority Leader Gilmore Richardson moved that \"the public hearing and meeting on the bills and resolution before the committee today stand in recess until Monday, May 2025 at 10AM in Room 400.\" Another member called \"Second.\" Council President Johnson called for the voice vote, and the chair said \"The ayes have it, and the motion carries.\"

The motion was approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was provided on the record.","The Committee of the Whole voted by voice to recess the public hearing and meeting until Monday in May 2025 at 10 a.m.; the motion was moved by Majority Leader Gilmore Richardson and seconded; the chair declared the motion carried by voice vote.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6569461,"Licenses & Inspections leaders describe reorganization, enforcement initiatives and staffing plans",4216,222000,4438000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561&start=222&end=4438","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3183515-10334654a8c66530ec5576f6b4310561/thumbnail_222000.jpg","/articles/6569461/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Licenses-Inspections-leaders-describe-reorganization-enforcement-initiatives-and-staffing-plans","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6569461-1e10787c386f95fe63023ccf5002e1ee/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076980&Signature=Tp1UI7U~oXAq7gWfR81zZKE3Zy9~cLmZ2Gxf0yAhoN-j8QGss1IPJJIaJb-iLLlJHOx3BqOgZm3EQ6Q9P~~2ez6PlU2HkfiFlwYgEu-A4xT~W89CZC4OnSLxPwAa2k~k3~llfyYT37AZDt2JXw-MKaVQp0TCW9ZP~4Q-tobCh8lf7IZpuy9mEc9mcIsCX56sAacblA1HawCjUxvC5fjgdLFBQRX0vPyWCfJNriBJuwzv4Pg1AqdHiBWxKksxKgBhNgHub5uG7IVc9D-is5Cwq2jj4F7mDg6qX~MEjss~eBuKs4Rus4jVp8578Dyi4MEZHQ~YWRdKTu7hYxOLEeiBmw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Basil Miranda, commissioner of Inspection, Safety and Compliance (ISC), and Bridget Collins Greenwall, commissioner of Quality of Life (QOL) at the Department of Licenses & Inspections, told City Council the split reorganization that took effect March 5, 2024, has enabled focused construction oversight and a separate unit for neighborhood-level code enforcement.

\"The ISC's first year of operation has been very productive and transformative,\" Miranda said, describing recruitment and enforcement milestones. Miranda reported a recent inspector class of 20 with 16 candidates expected to enter the field this summer and said five investigator positions in an audits and investigations unit were funded and filled in last year\u0000s budget. He described efforts to reinstate an experienced inspector under a city-service rule allowing return within five years.

Greenwall described QOL\u0000s collaborative enforcement programs and said the department has emphasized education followed by targeted enforcement. \"QOL has taken on a proactive and collaborative approach to education and enforcement,\" she said, and outlined neighborhood corridor work, an anti-illegal-auto-repair program coordinated with the police and parking authority, a Business Education & Enforcement (B) program that pairs outreach with follow-up inspections, and Clean & Green partnerships.

Council members pressed the department on capacity to support the administration\u0000s HOME initiative, a plan the mayor described to build or preserve 30,000 housing units by 2027. Several members asked whether L&I has the inspector capacity or budget requests ready to oversee a large building push. Miranda said the department would first fill existing vacancies (he estimated roughly 20 vacancies) and run successive recruitment classes; he also described outreach to trade unions, contractor associations and vocational programs to attract candidates. Miranda said the department may need to return to council for additional inspectors if the program ramps up.

On dilapidated property removals, Miranda described the challenge posed by due process and court timelines and said the average time to demolish an eminently dangerous property is about 123 days. He told council he hopes to assign two inspectors to straightforward demolition projects to accelerate the pipeline and free other staff for reinspections and court preparation. Greenwall and Miranda said they are forming a court-district unit to reduce case backlog by preparing cases for hearings.

The department acknowledged past controller findings about unrecovered demolition costs and said collections rely on liens and third-party collection work; L&I said it continues to pursue liens and other remedies.

Greenwall said the department is analyzing proactive rental inspection models (work with Pew was cited) and plans a virtual-inspection pilot in June. She said she expects research and stakeholder work to conclude in coming months before returning to council with a detailed plan and any specific inspector-number requests.

On technology, L&I plans outreach and user training ahead of a WebUI rollout planned for the fall; the department said it will schedule webinars and stakeholder sessions to solicit user feedback before finalizing the interface.

Ending

Commissioners asked council to keep communications open on problem properties and said they will provide requested data — including demolitions, lien recoveries and rental-license breakdowns — in writing to council offices.","L&I\u0000s restructured construction oversight (Inspection, Safety & Compliance) and Quality of Life divisions reported a productive first year, new inspector classes, enforcement programs and plans to study proactive rental inspection capacity tied to the mayor\u0000s housing initiative.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Fire commissioner asks council to support hiring, training and burn-tower repairs ahead of FY26 goals

Committee of the Whole votes to recess until Monday in May 2025 at 10 a.m.

Licenses & Inspections leaders describe reorganization, enforcement initiatives and staffing plans