Raleigh Fire Department logged 117,670 overtime hours in FY2025 with no new firefighter positions since 2014; a council member asked for a staffing review, and the FY2027 budget later added 12 positions

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A WRAL investigation found Raleigh Fire Department employees worked 117,670.70 overtime hours in fiscal year 2025, costing the city $4,839,635.19, up from 87,245 hours in FY2024, with no new fire positions added since 2014 despite the city's growth. The president of the Raleigh Professional Firefighters Association, Andrew Davis, said understaffing has caused burnout. In the week the report was posted (around 9 October 2025), Mayor Pro Tem Stormie Forte asked the City Manager and Fire Chief to assess staffing, burnout and voluntary overtime and asked staff to develop a request for proposals for a shift-modification study. Mayor Janet Cowell declined an interview through a spokesperson; the city said public-safety departments account for 54% of citywide overtime hours and that overtime is offered but not required. Raleigh's FY2027 budget, adopted at a June 8, 2026 work session, adds 12 firefighter positions (plus three fire marshal positions); a July 2025 fire master plan had recommended 18, and the firefighters' union says staffing still lags.

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