When the new year began, Isle of Palms police and firefighters were hoping for new incentives to keep qualified personnel and hopefuls retained for the long haul. So far, those hopes have hit a standstill and concerns regarding competitive pay and turnover rates among public safety personnel have heightened.
“Just this year alone, eight firefighters in our department have asked me to write letters of recommendation so they can apply to other departments,” said IOPFD Battalion Chief and South Carolina State Firefighters Association President Jason Smith. “The city often says that its employees are its most valued resource, but right now many employees feel like the actions we’re seeing don’t always support that statement.”
Firefighters addressed these and other concerns regarding retention and recruitment struggles to 20 residents on March 1 during a town hall meeting at the Isle of Palms Exchange Club.
“We are very grateful to the people who took time away from their families and busy schedules to come and listen,” Smith said. “Our goal was simple: we just want to be heard.”
Part of being heard involved citing several vital facts:
- IOPFD members not only fight fires, but serve as first responders for emergency medical care, hazardous material threats and personal rescues when necessary.
- In 2025 through November, IOPFD had a turnover rate of 30% – higher than 2019, 2020 and 2021 combined.
To help retain more firefighters and police, the city council approved this past September a wage and compensation study through Evergreen & Associates – a public sector consulting firm in Tallahassee, Florida – to keep both departments competitive for qualified public safety professionals.
For example, the starting pay for new IOP firefighters is $49,000. This salary is based on 2,912 hours per year – 800 more per year than a normal 40-hour work week. Using these hours, Evergreen suggested moving starting firefighter pay to $53,045 – about $18.17 an hour.
“And from our perspective, that simply isn’t competitive,” Smith said. “The data Evergreen used was based on numbers from other departments last year and many of those same departments received significant pay increases this past January. So the market they’re comparing us to has already moved.”
The Firefighters’ Association said the solution is to start firefighters at $25 an hour. Smith said while this may seem like a big increase on paper, many of the hidden costs tied to turnover – overtime, rookie training, equipment, bunker gear and onboarding – would turn into savings “if we could retain experienced firefighters instead of constantly replacing them.”
When asked what he thought would happen if the starting pay doesn’t increase enough to keep firefighters for longer than they are staying now, Smith said, “we’re already seeing the consequences.”
“We just lost three people to Colleton County for a $30,000 pay raise,” Smith added. “So if we continue to do what we have done in the past, the same flawed results and attrition rates are going to keep happening. The real question becomes: How many lives saved or how much property protected does it take to justify that investment?”
By L. C. Leach III
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