The Bloomington Fire Department has reached full staffing for the first time in a decade, according to an annual public safety report issued by the city.
Deputy Fire Chief Max Litwin said the department frequently lost firefighters to neighboring departments because of pay and faced other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a lot of trouble maintaining our staff, retaining them from leaving to go to other positions,” he said.
The department received 272 fire applicants in 2025, up from 87 the previous year. Litwin said the department currently has a recruit class of three to fill vacancies left by attrition and retirement.
“It’s an enormous deal,” he said. “... We need a certain amount of people on staff every shift to be able to provide the response that we need.”
Now that the department is fully staffed, Litwin said problems like low morale and frequent overtime have lessened significantly. In addition to addressing staffing challenges, the department has also seen repairs made to Fire Station 3 which reopened after a renovation in October 2025.
“You can tell that they’re functioning better,” Litwin said.
Construction on the department’s Operations and Training Center is expected to finish in September, according to the city’s report.
“I think the public’s seen an enormous benefit from our response as a result, so we’re very appreciative for the situation that we’re in,” Litwin said.
