Facing a $200 million budget deficit for2026, Mayor Mike Johnston has made some unpopular decisions lately — like laying off 169 city workers, ordering employees to take furlough days, and asking departments to cut, scrimp, and save in any way they can.
A closer look at the mayor’s proposed budget reveals that one department seems to have avoided the mayor’s red pen, even going as far as to offer staff raises over the next two years: The Denver Fire Department.
Chief Desmond Fulton agreed to sit down with City Cast Denver for a rare and exclusive interview to answer some of the tough questions Denverites have about his department.
(Listen to the full interview ⬇️)
Why the Fire Department’s Budget is Increasing
Not only did Mayor Johnston not propose a budget cut for the Denver Fire Department in 2026, the proposed budget for operations and administration next year is actually up — from $156,821,121 appropriated in 2025 to $158,081,466 requested for 2026.
Why? “Raises,” Fulton explained, citing statistics on how dangerous the firefighting profession is and how the trauma of a career providing emergency services can affect a person. He also says he did propose some cuts to help address the shortfall, but not enough to offset the costs of raises. Denver Firefighters Local 858 negotiated with the mayor this past spring and won 10% raises for firefighters to be implemented over the next two years.
In similar economic situations, former mayors Michael Hancock and John Hickenlooper asked unions to delay such raises in order to avoid layoffs. But Fulton says he doesn’t remember if Johnston asked about a delay. Instead, Fulton says the mayor asked: “‘What's realistic for you guys as far as givebacks and what can we reduce?’ And my answer was very, very clear. We can't reduce the way we respond, we can't reduce the way we staff, but as the leader of the organization, I will take it upon myself to find ways that we could be better.” Fulton says the Fire Department did cut staff and is going into 2026 with one less division chief, which “has never been done before.”
Answering For the Comp Time Scandal
In April of 2024, CBS investigative reporter Brian Maass revealed that Chief Fulton and his top commanders were awarding themselves comp time for attending routine events, like retirement ceremonies and firefighter memorials, then cashing out those hours at the end of every year. Fulton himself reportedly took home about $42,000 in unused vacation days between 2021 and 2023 — on top of his $230,000 per year salary.
“We've changed the way we do business, and I take full responsibility,” Fulton says. He added that he stopped taking comp time for these routine job functions after the CBS report.
After an independent city-ordered investigation called the chief’s use of comp time “an organizational failing” and a “problematic practice,” the firefighters held a vote of “no confidence” in Chief Fulton with 64% of them calling on him to resign.
“When that many people stated that they don't have confidence in you, it doesn't feel good, I'm not gonna lie,” he says. “But at the same time, you pick yourself up and you take a hard look in the mirror and [ask], how can I be better?”
Diversity — or Lack Thereof — in the Department
After the independent investigator’s report was published last year, Mayor Mike Johnston asked Fulton to repay some of the vacation time, but he did not ask Fulton to resign. “Chief Fulton has been a critical advocate for making sure our fire department looks like the community it serves, which is not always popular, but it is right,” Johnston wrote in his response to the investigator’s report.
Firefighters who spoke to City Cast Denver on the condition of anonymity say that the issue of diversity is less about racial tensions within the department, but around fitness standards. Likewise, Fulton says the Fire Department doesn’t have diversity quotas and doesn’t make exceptions to standards for new recruits, but he acknowledges that it takes effort to maintain the kind of diversity the department needs to be successful, especially when the recruiting process is so competitive.
He says they received over 1,000 applications for 24 open positions this year. “If you have 24 folks that are all college graduates and majored in psychology, we're probably not gonna be the best fire department we can be,” he says. “Diversity is diversity of thought, diversity of background.”
Fulton says the Fire Department even increased its fitness standards for new recruits recently to help narrow down the field. But that has exacerbated some tensions within the department, too. “We have a very defined fitness standard when we hire people. Unfortunately, we do not have something as specific with incumbents.”
Fulton also says the comp time revelations exacerbated tensions dating back to the early days of the pandemic, which revolved around that diversity of thought he mentioned. “Like the mandated vaccinations,” he says. “That was a very difficult time, not only for Denver as a city, but as a department and [for other departments] across the country that made that determination that people had to get vaccinated.”
“During that time, there were a lot of things that people felt were very political,” Fulton says. “And that was one of them.”
There’s Money in Broken Elevators
As much money as the Fire Department costs, Fulton says he’s finding ways to make money. Starting next year, the Fire Department is planning to offer conveyance technician services (i.e., elevator repairs) directly to building owners instead of third-party professionals, which the Fire Department oversees. “We’re not trying to take away from the work these private companies do,” he says. “We're augmenting that and we're helping to expedite this process.”
The change comes after the Denver Post reported in July that Denver Fire had responded to 3,481 calls about broken elevators since the beginning of 2024. But despite their regulatory responsibility, they had not once in the past five years enforced the legal requirement for elevator operators to have annual inspections from third-party reviewers.
“There are very few companies that are in the conveyance business,” Fulton explained, pointing to the increasing challenges for elevator repair companies posed by COVID and President Trump’s tariffs. “That made a really tough situation even more difficult,” he adds.
Though one private contractor recently told CBS investigative reporter Brian Maass that the Fire Department was intentionally misleading the public and bringing inspections in-house as “a money grab” that will cost private inspection companies massive chunks of their business.
Does the Fire Department Deserve More from Denverites?
When ballots arrive in the mail, voters will face the decision to approve Mayor Johnston’s Vibrant Denver bond package, which would represent almost $1 billion in new debt to fund capital improvements across the city, including $75 million for a First Responder and Public Safety Training.
Fulton says the Fire Department’s current training facility is almost 40 years old and doesn’t have what his staff needs to train people to the best of their abilities. “Sports teams across the country have state-of-the-art facilities,” Fulton explains. “Because when they're recruiting people, they want them to walk in and go, ‘wow, I want a play here.’”
He says the new facility would also benefit current firefighters and serve as a resource for the community. “We host a youth leadership camp [every year for] boys and girls that are in elementary and junior high,” he says. “But the intent is for us to not only ensure that they have a week to expose themselves to leaders throughout the department and do really fun things, but it's also a chance for them to see the opportunity that's there, [to see] someone who looks like them, someone that made them smile and made them appreciate themselves on how they can be a firefighter.”
“So I really ask the voters to take a hard look at this,” he concludes. “I ask for their support because they deserve the best of the best — not that they don't have it now. Denver Fire is amazing. I think we're the best department in the country, but we want to ensure that we continue to be a state-of-the-art department.”
For more from Chief Desmond Fulton, listen to our full interview. And let us know what you think at denver@citycast.fm. You can also send us a text or leave us a voicemail at 720-500-5418.
