ARLINGTON, Va. — As the Arlington County Fire Department continues to face severe staffing shortages, the firefighter union voted to formally say they have zero confidence in current leadership.
The Arlington County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, Local 2800 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, announced Wednesday that nearly 80% of the union voted in favor of retracting any support of Fire Chief David Povlitz.
It's the second time, according to the union, that members have voted 'no confidence' in the county's fire chief. The first vote was in Nov. 2023. Of the 347 eligible voters in the union, 232 (66.9%) cast ballots, and 177 of those (76.29%) voted no confidence.
In the second vote, which took place Wednesday, of 341 eligible voters, 243 (71.3%) cast ballots. One hundred and ninety-six of those (80.66%) voted 'no confidence'.
"So our members who were present at the meeting today, which was a highly attended meeting, when we revealed the results, our members passed a motion saying that we need to tell the public and to call for the resignation of the fire chief," said union President Brian Lynch.
Povlitz was hired six years ago. He was an outside hire that many believed signaled much-needed change within the department.
"There was hope for change. People wanted an outside fire chief to come in there and change what was called, you know, what we call the 'good ole boy' system and the culture that transpired that we wanted to change," said Dustin Drumm, the union Vice President.
However, the union president and vice president both say that change never happened.
They say problems persist regarding cultural issues and staffing shortages, like the one that temporarily shut down Engine Company 102 in Ballston.
"We did not have enough people to staff that fire truck," Arlington County Firefighter Dustin Drumm told WUSA9 in October.
"There's going to be more of that until we can put more firefighters on the street," said Lynch Wednesday night.
The union says the county has more than 30 unfilled positions which were only partially filled by a 17-person academy class that graduated last week. This gap has resulted in more than 19,910 hours of mandatory overtime compared with 6,785 hours at the same time last year, according to the union.
“There's incredible frustration right now when people are having to work 72 hours and their missing family events and it's just compounding," Drumm said.
This is the second time the union, which represents more than 300 members of the Arlington County Fire Department, voted to say they want Povlitz out.
“Our members have made their voices heard now for a second time, change is needed,” said union President Brian Lynch, “We ask that those in power heed what the men and women who protect this community are saying.”
The union said in a statement Wednesday that some of the most common concerns across the agency include:
- Critical staffing issues and lack of a strategic plan to deal with the ongoing staffing crisis
- Increase in mandatory overtime and hold-by positions over the past year
- Issues with organizational culture, including retaliation related to transfers and promotions
- Willful neglect regarding harassment of women and lack of leadership in addressing it
- Lack of transparency with investigative report findings related to harassment and organizational culture
- Uncompetitive compensation and compression in the pay scale ● Retaliatory demotion of senior leadership without cause
- Failure to address concerns with physical examinations and protecting members when complaints are received.
"Did Chief Povlitz inherit some of these problems? Absolutely, yes, he inherited some of our problems, but I think he owns these problems now after five and a half, six years going on that he's been here," said Drumm.
However, not everyone has retracted their support for Chief Povlitz. Following the vote, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz released a statement supporting the fire chief, saying the issues firefighters are facing are not unique to Arlington.
"It is no secret that the Arlington County Fire Department is dealing with staffing shortages. And I have no doubt that our firefighters and ACFD personnel are feeling the strain of those shortages," the statement reads. "It’s likely little consolation for our firefighters that find themselves understaffed and overworked, but this is a problem not unique to Arlington—many of our public safety partners in the region are experiencing the same shortages. What should serve as some consolation is the tireless work being done by the Fire Chief, County Board, and County Staff to address these recruitment and retention concerns."
Schwartz added that the issues should not be put solely on Povlitz.
"This is a problem that is not remedied overnight," Schwartz said. "This issue is also bigger than one person, and it cannot be laid at the feet of one person—especially the person that is working night and day to find a solution."
The statement ended with an endorsement by the Arlington County Board in favor of Povlitz.
"We need to all work together to find the answers to the problems we face. And I encourage the union to partner with the Chief and the County to tackle these staffing challenges and bring much-needed relief to the Fire Department."
The union leaders told WUSA9 they've tried.
"We've communicated multiple times throughout the years with these issues and trying to help them and find common ground with him, but I, I think. those issues are just are too big to ignore," said Drumm.
The County Board's next meeting is on Dec. 14. Both union heads told WUSA9 they intend to be there.