With new class, Des Moines Fire Department at full staff — including 1st father-daughter duo

The Des Moines Fire Department is back to full force.

On Friday, 25 new recruits graduated from the Des Moines Fire Department Academy to become full-time firefighters, marking an end to the department's period of staffing shortages amid record high calls.

The men and women are now a part of a record 55 new firefighters to join the force within the last year, a part of the department's push to host more training academies, some offering accelerated instruction, to fill in staffing gaps. It has held three classes since April.

More:Des Moines metro fire departments battle staffing challenges amid rising call volume

And for some of the newly minted firefighters, the work is more than just a job — it's now a family tradition.

"This is exactly where I want to be. This is exactly where we all want to be or we wouldn’t be here ready to graduate," Alexis Storbeck, a speaker for the 98th class, said at Friday's graduation ceremony.

When she steps on for her first day on the job, Storbeck will work alongside her father, senior medic Paul Storbeck. They are likely the first-ever father and daughter duo to work for the department, according to city spokesperson Al Setka.

Before the graduates shook Fire Chief John TeKippe's hand and received their diplomas, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie thanked them for their courage and commitment to their community. He also applauded the efforts of the entire department, who he said persevered through staffing shortages and other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to provide essential services to residents of Des Moines.

"Des Moines can always count on your response," he said.

Des Moines heavily recruits, sets up new stations to deal with rising call volume

The Des Moines Fire Department responded to an emergency call once every 16 minutes in 2022. Firefighters and medics answered 32,496 calls — 5% more than the previous year — across its 11 fire stations, according to preliminary data from the fire department.

In response to the growing call volume, the department opened Fire Station No. 11 at East 42nd Street and Hubbell Avenue in November 2021, which is designed to accommodate the city's growth for the next 75 years. Officials also are in the process of moving Fire Station No. 4 to the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and 19th Street from University Avenue and Ninth Street to improve response times in the central part of the city.

Other efforts to up keep up with service calls include an ongoing community risk assessment that studies how busy each unit is and whether units are staffed adequately and being used efficiently. The study will determine how to improve its use of resources.

Fire departments nationally struggle to find recruits

According to the National Fire Protection Association, calls to firefighters nationwide have jumped 239% from 1980 to 2021. And for many fire departments, the rising trend of service calls coincides with an ongoing struggle to recruit and retain new firefighters, according to Curt Floyd, first responder technical lead for the association.

Floyd said a change in work culture could be a source of the ongoing recruitment challenges for not only fire departments, but many service and public safety careers — specifically, a younger workforce opting for jobs that allow them to work from home.

The result is fewer people able to staff apparatus, more overtime and burnout, and, occasionally, slower response times.

“I think what happens is with more calls, you’re out constantly, you work a 12-hour or 24-hour shift or more, and you’re not getting any downtime, any rest time between calls … and that wears you out,” Floyd said.

Virginia Barreda contributed reporting.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: With new graduating class, Des Moines Fire Department now full staffed