r/Firefighting • u/IronWolfBlaze • Apr 24 '25

News Winston-Salem Firefighters: Underpaid, Understaffed, and Now Losing Their Sick Time— I heard you sir, have a seat.

Winston-Salem firefighters are facing a full-scale erosion of their pay, staffing, and safety—and the city is doubling down. Here's what’s happening:

  • No step pay plan means firefighters have no guaranteed path to raises. They’re stuck in vague pay bands, creating pay compression and forcing many to leave for better-paying departments.

  • Staffing was slashed from 89 to 79 per shift, well below the 4-person-per-truck standard set by NFPA and IFSTA.

  • Safety 7 and the air supply truck were eliminated, removing key fireground safety support and equipment resupply.

  • Sick time cut in half—from 288 to 134 hours a year. First-year vacation time also slashed from 240 to 112 hours. Even senior firefighters with 20+ years lose hundreds of hours.

  • They’re paid 4–7% less than comparable departments in North Carolina despite facing more fires and longer shifts.

  • Union President Parrinello was shut down at a city council meeting while trying to speak: “I heard you, sir. Have a seat.” —Mayor Allen Joines

  • Meanwhile, Greensboro staffs 156 per shift. Winston-Salem does more with less and still gets punished for it.

  • Firefighters are taking second jobs after 24-hour shifts just to get by—this isn’t just morale. It’s a public safety issue.

Full articles here: https://archive.ph/kjuy9
https://archive.ph/7Svig

Watch the mayor shut down the Union President. https://www.youtube.com/live/fYXwPz5VwOw?si=q5WTCgW5HMCwgQSl&t=1h16m5s

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31

u/Timeless997 Apr 24 '25

Damn at this point NC sounds like a sh*t hole for ff

23

u/ConnorK5 NC Apr 24 '25

The upside of being a firefighter in NC is almost no FD runs ambulances/transports. You may run higher acuity med calls but you don't ever ride an ambulance. So there is that.

But yes it's a shithole.

6

u/Timeless997 Apr 24 '25

What’s your thoughts on Durham FD ?

11

u/ConnorK5 NC Apr 24 '25

Last I heard the morale is kind of low when you look at what everyone else around them gets paid and eventually that costs them a lot of their good employees. I think running quints instead of engines is dumb personally but that's me. They run good calls. I think they are doing more than anyone in the state with their lateral and accelerated lateral programs to get guys in the door. And their Chief sounds like a real bad ass to have the city wire up his POV Dodge Challenger to use as a Chief's vehicle to help save the city enough money to buy one of his other admin guys a new vehicle.

They also have some electric cars as admin vehicles cause their city has some green initiative they are pushing to get all city owned vehicles to be electric by a certain date so they also look at a lot of demo electric fire engines.

They have good people working within the Fire Department.