Akron’s new fire chief is hoping to improve the department’s work environment to combat burnout.
Leon Henderson outlined his goals for the department and shared details about his background in a community town hall Wednesday night at the Downtown branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
“My number one goal is keeping people. Keeping the workforce we have,” Henderson said. “Treating them with respect and dignity.”
Henderson, who was promoted to chief in June, has worked for the department for three decades.
Calls for service in Akron have nearly doubled since the 1990s, Henderson said. That increased workload has led to burnout, and Henderson wants to make sure employees know they're appreciated.
“If I've been called out twice for the same patient in the same day, at the same time in the middle of the night, you know, that burnout fatigue sets in,” Henderson said. “My job as a chief is to get down on whatever level that is – [the employee] may be having a bad day. I need to basically be able to sympathize with them.”
Aside from the spike in call volume, the department was also challenged last year when the city ended its longtime contract with private ambulatory service American Medical Response, which had been handling about half of all hospital transports.
With the increased workload, firefighters and EMS workers had to pick up more overtime shifts. In September, former Chief Natko warned city council the department might run out of its overtime budget.
Staffing has since improved, Henderson said. When the next class of employees is hired, the department will have about 400 members – the highest number since the 1990s, he said.
However, at that time, the department responded to 25,000 calls per year. Now, that’s increased to 50,000, he said.
“Think about the socioeconomic system that we have out here, the health care system that's broken. People are living longer. There's not the wraparound support that we had back in the 90s,” Henderson said. “Now, we are that catch-all. People call us for everything.”
Henderson would also like to ramp up the department’s community engagement efforts, even going door-to-door to try to connect residents with resources, like affordable medical clinics, he said.
“That prevention is going to be less calls that we’ll have to go in in the future, and they’ll have a better outcome long-term,” Henderson said.
Henderson also took questions from the couple dozen audience members as well as people who commented on a livestream on social media.
Kelle Kennerly, a longtime Akron resident who recently moved to a different county, attended the town hall to hear Henderson speak.
Her spouse is a former Akron firefighter who saw the burnout firsthand, she said. She liked Henderson’s focus on making employees feel more appreciated.
“Just to make sure they’re being respected and being noticed and being acknowledged for what they’re doing already and working so hard for the city – especially with the number of calls that are happening right now, it really puts a stress on them,” Kennerly said.
Another attendee, Akron resident Matthew White, said he thinks Henderson will make a positive impact on the community.
“I do feel like we need more action around the community, not just from firefighters, but everybody,” White said. “The actions that he wants to take and what he was speaking on during the conversation, it makes me feel like we have somebody that actually cares in the community.”
