At a recent Hialeah City council meeting firefighter Eric ‘Slick’ Johnson used his three minutes of public comment to describe how the fire department is currently facing challenges with overtime, recruitment, and retention.
Johnson, a Hialeah Fire Department employee for more than 23 years, is president of the Hialeah Association of Firefighters local 1102, a union representing 240 firefighters. Caplin News sat with Johnson to better understand his concerns at the Class 1 Fire Department, the highest rating possible for a department.
“We have had an issue with staffing for many, many years now,” Johnson said. “We have a problem with recruitment, we have a problem with retention.”
Hoping to address the issue, the Hialeah Fire Department is currently recruiting certified firefighters, with applications being accepted here until Feb. 27. Applicants must hold a valid Paramedic or EMT license.
“We have an opportunity to improve and restore the fire department to what it once was in Hialeah, a booster of morale,” Johnson said. “It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna take investment, but as firefighters, we don’t accept no for an answer. See, no is not in our vocabulary.”
This past November the Miami Herald reported “In 2025 alone, more than 40 firefighters, nearly 20% of the city’s 230-member force, left the department, not including retirees.” Days later, on Nov. 25, 2025 the Hialeah Fire Department welcomed 24 new firefighters following an intensive training program.
According to Johnson, in 2007 the department had over 300 firefighters, as of 2026, that number has decreased to around 240. During this time, Hialeah opened two new stations, for a total of nine, to serve its population of 235,000 residents, businesses and industry, which cover nearly 23 square miles.
“Staffing is safety, it’s always good to have too much, but it’s horrible when you don’t have enough,” Johnson said. “When it comes to firefighting, seconds count.”
Caplin News contacted Hialeah Fire Department Public Information Officer Carlos Gonzalez for comment. “The City of Hialeah Fire Department continues to meet the operational needs of the community. Recruitment and retention are ongoing priorities, as they are for all fire departments nationwide,” Gonzalez said.
Johnson explained that a typical shift at the fire department for firefighters is 24 hours on duty, followed by 48 hours off. But for some firefighters and paramedics, shifts can go past 24 hours resulting in overtime. Johnson said hours worked beyond the regular scheduled workweek must be paid at 1.5 times the firefighters regular hourly rate.
According to the City of Hialeah’s Adopted Operating Budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, the fire department’s full-time positions increased from 273 in FY 2025 to 278 in FY 2026, while salaries and benefits jumped from $55 million in FY 2025 to $60 million in FY 2026.
“These aren’t freebies being given away,” said Johnson, “these are guys being forcefully held on fire trucks because we don’t have people to relieve them.”
At the training division, Johnson said recruitment numbers have dwindled. And given that training to become a firefighter takes a minimum of 4-6 months, he said Hialeah is losing firefighters faster than it can hire replacements.
“If there are other fire departments doing the same job that have better benefits and higher pay, people are going to leave,” Johnson said. “You can’t blame them because they’re putting their family first.”
Johnson recommended increasing pay that is comparable to other fire departments, as a recruiting and retention tool, so firefighters don’t see Hialeah as a “stepping stone.”
Hialeah’s starting salary for firefighters is $58,895. By comparison, starting salaries at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department is $77,177. In Broward County, According to governmentjobs.com, Miramar Fire Rescue Department pays $53,326; The Pembroke Pines Fire Department starting salary is $56,808.
As for response times, Johnson said that the firefighters respond immediately no matter how many might be scheduled.
“We are the profession where you do not leave until you have coverage,” he said. “We will make it work, but there is no such thing as not having enough manning or coverage, it will never happen.”
