Kansas City backtracks email canceling fire cadet classes amid a shortage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City is short firefighters. There are currently more than 160 vacancies.

The shortage means mandatory overtime and firefighters working WOC- working out of class. WOC means firefighters fill in as drivers and captains even if they have not currently earned that position. So, an email to some upcoming recruits notifying them the class has been cancelled until further notice caught many surprise.

“We regret to inform you that we are rescinding any preliminary job offers for the position of Firefighter. The upcoming Firefighter cadet class has been canceled until further notice.

If there are any changes, we will reach out to you directly.”

The email obtained by KCTV5 comes from Kansas City’s HR Department.

It’s unclear why the city decided to cancel potential relief for a struggling department.

120 potential recruits were scheduled to be a part of two new cadet classes.

KCTV5 questioned why the city decided to cancel potential relief for a struggling department.

We received this email from City Spokesperson, Sherae Honeycutt:

On Friday, an email went out to Fire Academy candidates letting them that know KCFD’s hiring process is temporarily paused. This email went out to 45 individuals.

However, that email is inaccurate. All candidates for the Kansas City Fire Department will remain eligible and new academy dates will be sent out shortly.