Search

No funding for free smoke detectors, $43.2 million in overtime pay, police drones, paramedic dreams, and homicide trauma reduction

City Council

Fire budget will not cover free smoke detector program.

The city doesn't fund the fire bureau's effort to give residents free smoke detectors. On Nov. 20, the fire chief said there's a backlog of 1,000 requests. Even so, his $20,000 request for detectors was denied in the preliminary budget. Like other public safety departments, the bureau also has too much overtime pay.

Written by Amy Whipple

While the image of city firefighters is of them rescuing residents from raging infernos, Fire Chief Darryl Jones said during a Nov. 20 budget meeting the real work is saving lives before the trucks even get to the scene.

Jones said a primary focus is community risk reduction because vulnerability to fire increases as a person’s position on the socioeconomic scale decreases. Jones describes this as a sociopolitical problem, most of which is outside of his purview.

One of the few things he can do, he said, is get free smoke detectors to residents. But the work is not funded by the city. “I am literally out there panhandling for smoke detectors.” There’s a 1,000-request backlog, and each request/home would ideally receive four smoke detectors. Jones’s $20,000 request for smoke detectors, and $30,000 for outreach and educational programming, was denied for the preliminary budget.

Looking into 2026, the bureau has the same problems as other public safety departments, including too much overtime pay. Council Budget Director Peter McDevitt said the city has spent about $21 million on overtime so far this year, or $3.5 million more than it is allotted in the preliminary budget for next year. McDevitt said the bureau has not spent below $20 million in overtime since 2020.

Jones said this is in part due to road closures. For some construction projects — which Jones said he’s not always notified of — the department must staff additional trucks to maintain appropriate coverage on either side of the closure.

City Council

From horses to drones, city police use all available tools.

This year, the city approved police drone use in the field, and the bureau has now bought nine. The acting chief said they'll help officers gauge incidents, aid search and rescue, and document crime scenes. The money came from a trust fund that can only be used for unique purchases. Meanwhile, the mounted unit has eight new part-time riders.

Written by Amy Whipple

City police are flying into 2026 with nine new drones, and reaching back to the first days of policing with additional mounted officers.

This year, the city adopted a policy to allow police to use unmanned aircraft systems in the field. The bureau has now purchased four interior and five exterior drones to use for situational awareness.

Acting police chief Marty Devine said at the Nov. 18 budget meeting the drones were purchased to help officers understand the scale and scope of an incident, aid in search and rescue missions, including in response to Amber Alerts, as well as crime scene documentation.

Money for the drones came from the Confiscated Narcotics Trust Fund, which currently has a $1.5 million balance. The fund can only be used for unique purchases and cannot be used for routine general expenses.

General expenses in the $118.4 million preliminary operating budget include 800 full-time officers. Eighty-four of those positions are currently unfilled, according to council budget director Peter McDevitt, which has contributed to the city spending more than $15 million in overtime pay.

As a result of ongoing recruitment efforts, two academy classes in 2025 have graduated 53 new officers onto the force.

There are also eight new part-time riders for the mounted unit.

Divine also said that the bureau will continue its Pittsburgh Police Cares program to try to facilitate community outreach and collaboration. Toward this end, officers took part in $200,000 in training and professional development, which Divine said was a “critical” allocation.

City Council

Emergency Medical Services looks to expand its training academy.

The city's emergency medical services bureau has 15 paramedic vacancies. On Nov. 20, its chief said she hopes the city will someday open an in-house paramedic academy. However, the 2026 preliminary budget can't cover such a program. A deputy chief said the bureau has also spent $7.2 million on overtime this year, twice what was budgeted.

Written by Amy Whipple

Emergency medical services (EMS) chief Amera Gilchrist said the city could use an in-house paramedic academy.

In 2025, the bureau added an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Academy. This designation allows for more medical intervention than for traditional EMTs but fewer than paramedics.

She said during the Nov. 20 budget meeting that she hopes the city will someday open a similar paramedic academy. Thirteen of the department’s EMTs are currently in paramedic school, something Gilchrest partially attributes to new combination units that pair EMTs and paramedics on some shifts. Currently, the department has 15 paramedic vacancies.

EMS’s $36.5 million 2026 preliminary budget cannot, however, cover such a training program.

A new allowance in 2025 for 20 part-time positions resulted in “an overwhelming response of 109 applicants,” Gilchrist said. It now has 16 part-time paramedics and three part-time EMTs (and one part-time EMT vacancy). However, the reimbursement for their time is from fees paid into the event reimbursement trust, which only allows for them to work special events.

Gilchrist said she does not understand why part-time employees can’t be added to the operational budget so they can be used outside of special events.

Gilchrist credits combination units and part-time employees for reducing forced overtime by 78%. Forced overtime does not mean no overtime. Deputy chief Jeff Tremel said EMS has spent $7.2 million on overtime pay this year, which is twice the budgeted amount. Next year, a $2 million increase will bring the budget line to $5.6 million, still $1.6 million below the amount spent on overtime this year.

City Council

Health and Safety workers reach out where the police can’t.

Since Nov. 17, residents can request a crisis team through 911. Under a new model, social workers from the Office of Community Health and Safety ride in pairs without police. Their response time averages 10 minutes, about the same as EMS, an assistant public safety director said. For now, though, the teams work only during weekday business hours.

Written by Amy Whipple

As the city tries to solve its fleet crisis, the Office of Community Health and Safety (OCHS) solved its own.

Using state and federal grants as well as donations, OCHS has assembled a 13-vehicle fleet to serve marginalized communities.

Assistant Director of Public Safety Camila Alarcon-Chelecki said during the Nov. 18 budget meeting, the fleet helps OCHS employees take people to rehabilitation and non-emergency medical services, assist trauma survivors, provide post-overdose support and law enforcement diversion.

In 2025, OCHS piloted a crime scene cleanup initiative to support families impacted by homicide or suicide. The city can provide up to $5,000 to a contracted specialized cleaning service, which Alarcon-Chelecki said reduces trauma and the financial burden for families without renters’ insurance.

OCHS also reconfigured its co-response team. Under the new mobile crisis model, which aligns with grant and billing structures as well as best practices, social workers ride in pairs without police officers. For now, they’re only available during weekday business hours. Alarcon-Chelecki said the office immediately saw an increase in applicants for the eight vacant social work positions after the change.

As of Nov. 17, crisis teams can be requested through 911. Alarcon-Chelecki said their response time averages 10 minutes, approximately the same as EMS’s.

Additionally, the office partners with fire and EMS to address repeat 911 callers—often elderly residents, some who call as many as six times a day. Fire chief Darryl Jones said the program has reduced non-emergent 911 calls by about 60% this year.

The 2026 preliminary budget sets aside $58,000 for OCHS’s efforts, which supplements the $3.2 million from the Stop the Violence Trust Fund.