Arlington County’s firefighter union is speaking out against a proposal to remove four vacant firefighter positions from the payroll.
The current county budget draft proposes to consolidate the Arlington County Fire Department’s two heavy rescue companies, relocating them under a single roof at Fire Station 1 (500 S. Glebe Road). This would reduce ACFD’s total authorized staffing by four full-time employees.
It’s a plan that would trim $479,000 from the county budget in a year where firefighters’ salaries are set to increase substantially, even as County Manager Mark Schwartz proposes to pare down the overall budget by around $10 million. But it has Arlington firefighters raising alarms about public safety impacts.
“The County claims this budget is about preserving the safety net,” IAFF Local 2800 President Brian Lynch said in a press release. “However, cutting its rescue capability leaves a big hole in the safety net for everyone but particularly the most vulnerable.”
The firefighter union noted the role that heavy rescue teams play in some of Arlington’s most dangerous operations.
They carry the “jaws of life” used to extract passengers after vehicle crashes and conduct search-and-rescue missions during structure fires. Rescue 102, based in the Ballston area, specializes in technical rescue, while Rescue 109, based in Douglas Park, specializes in hazardous materials response.
🚨 PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT
Seconds count in an emergency.
The County Manager’s proposed budget would consolidate ACFD’s two Heavy Rescues into one, cutting our capabilities in half, leaving our community vulnerable. From Metro incidents to house fires, these specialized teams are… pic.twitter.com/IPnJoBNRpi— Arlington Professional Firefighters (@IAFF2800) March 4, 2026
County spokesperson Ryan Hudson said that staffing on the consolidated rescue company would increase from four to six positions per shift, while response times could become faster in some of Arlington’s densest areas, including the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor, the Columbia Pike corridor and National Landing area.
“If adopted, staffing on the consolidated rescue company would increase from four to six positions per shift, which would make it the highest staffed rescue company in the National Capital Region. The proposal also includes adding a daytime medical transport unit with the other two FTEs from the two consolidated units. This addition will improve travel time during peak hours in the Clarendon corridor, where there is a high demand for medical transport calls. This will Increase EMS system availability for emergency patients and reduce call volume pressure on currently staffed medic units and ambulances.”
However, Local 2800 warned about the impacts of accepting a lower number of firefighters on duty each day, moving rescue companies further from interstates and decreasing response capabilities in both hazmat and technical rescue.
“This change will reduce the level of protection currently provided to Arlington residents, workers, and visitors,” the union wrote.
The press release pointed to a 2021 incident in Alexandria where firefighters narrowly escaped a restaurant fire amid limited response capacity at the nearby rescue company due to understaffing.
Hudson, meanwhile, underscored this year’s budget constraints and a new wage scale at ACFD where the average firefighter will receive a 10.7% pay increase.
County budget discussions remain underway.
“The proposed budget is just that — a proposal,” Hudson said. “The County Board is in the process of conducting a series of work sessions as part of its review process, and nothing is final.”
The ACFD work session is scheduled for Thursday, March 19 from 1-4:40 p.m.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that four vacant fire rescue positions would be eliminated. The four positions proposed for elimination are firefighters, but they’re not on fire rescue.
