A firefighter shortage in El Paso has firefighters racking up millions of dollars in overtime pay. From October to September the Fire Department has spent 80% of their $2.5 miilion dollars alloted for overtime. Now there's half a million dollars left until September. The shortage is also forcing the department to move employees around. Three certified hazardous materials team firefighters are now reassigned. Twelve fire investigators are now suiting up to fight fires. The fire department is about 70 firefighters short and on average 20 to 30 firefighters retire each year. Leutenant Mario Hernandez says, "We're not compromising public safety at all. All the fire stations are open, all the fire units are responding; we're not compromising any kind of public safety." Lieutenant Hernandez says they are hiring. There are two fire academies scheduled this year with a total of 85 trainees. They are expected to graduate between March and September of this year.