Asheville Fire Fighters Association - IAFF Local 332

10/15/2026

IAFF Local 332 proudly endorses the following individuals.

10/08/2026

On behalf of the Asheville Fire Fighters Association, we extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fellow firefighters of our fallen brother. We stand united with the professional firefighters of Durham during this heartbreaking time.

09/11/2026

Today, we honor the 343 FDNY members and one New York City fire patrolman killed on Sept. 11, 2001, the thousands of others who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, and all those who have died since from WTC-related illnesses.
Twenty-five years later, we will .

08/25/2026

Debit Day Blonde Ale Release Party at Wicked W**d - Thursday, Sept 3rd 5-8pm

What: Debit Day Coffee Blonde Ale Release Party
When: Thursday, Sept 3rd from 5-8pm
Where: 91 Biltmore Avenue - Wicked W**d Downtown Pub - Downstairs

Asheville Fire Honor Guard is excited to host all AFD and Local 332 Brothers and Sisters for our 4th Annual benefit b**r release party. Live music by B**r and Loathing and your first pint is ON-THE-HOUSE! This year’s b**r style evolved as a nod to both our coffee and b**r affections. Local favorite, Dynamite Roasting Company has wholesale arrangements with 11 of our 13 firehouses, making them a natural and eager collaborator on this brew. Debit Day Blonde will be a 5% ABV golden ale with a light-malt sweetness, an upfront coldbrew coffee punch and a clean blonde ale finish. Following the release, it will be available on tap at all Wicked W**d locations for a few months until it runs out - approximately 3,700 pints later.

Wicked W**d continues to support the Honor Guard and AFFA through their B**rs That Build philanthropic foundation. Through this foundation, proceeds from the special b**r release are donated to local non-profits focusing on food and housing insecurity, the environment, equity, and civil service. Wicked W**d’s donations from this event go toward the Asheville Fire Honor Guard Travel and Training Fund. We look forward to sharing a pint with you! NOTE: This event location is the DOWNTOWN PUB, not Wicked W**d West as it has been in previous years.

08/25/2026

Someone recently went onto our camp property and broke into our storage shed and stole our w**d eater that we use for grounds maintenance around camp. If anyone has any information regarding this please reach out. Thank you.

05/25/2026

This , we honor the brave men and women who gave their lives for our country.
Their sacrifice secured the freedoms we enjoy today - and it will never be forgotten.

01/30/2026

🔥Fantastic news out of Asheville Fire Fighters Association - IAFF Local 332

Kudos to PFFPNC President Scott Mullins for standing up for workers’ rights by supporting Asheville’s proposed city ordinance affirming the right to union representation in grievance meetings. A huge win for , the ordinance passed unanimously. 👏✊

01/26/2026

Come to the city council meeting tomorrow morning at 10am (yes, we just confirmed that the meeting is still on). The council will be voting to update the City ordinance regarding the grievance process, specifically allowing union representation at the department head and city manager levels. This is a huge win and we’re grateful to council for hearing our concerns and ensuring all CoA employees’ rights.

We’ll also be there in support of a budget amendment that would fix an oversight from last year’s budget process. Our 13 newest FFs were shorted the 3% that council approved for all fire employees last July 1. HR has claimed that because these FFs started work on July 7, they were too late to receive the 3% raise. This was never council’s intention, and it’s time we fix it for our newest FFs (and it amounts to only $18k in annual pay for ALL 13!).

Wear red and show AVL firefighters you support their right to organize, be represented fairly, and be paid what they deserve.

01/23/2026

The IAFF Local 332 firefighters union advocates for members including pay equity, health benefits, and safe workplaces. Read the cover article in Mountain Xpress to learn more about what the current issues are, and consider:

1. Pay Equity: Asheville Fire Department salaries are often compared to other departments in City Hall, but the truth is Asheville's firefighters work a unique schedule that means either working 832 hours every year for $0-hour or that their starting salaries equate to $17.27 an hour.

The Asheville fire department is repeatedly left behind in pay equity in City budget negotiations. In 2024, I got an alternative budget to address the AFD pay gap on the agenda with Councilmembers Smith and Mosley but the agenda item was purposely skipped during the budget meeting.

2. Correcting the budget: I support a budget amendment to bring new AFD hires up to the minimum salary set in the 2025-2026 fiscal operating budget.

Last summer, 13 firefighters were hired 5 days after the budget passed. The misunderstandings between staff and Council resulting in new hires not being paid the raised salaries, so we risk eroding trust with new hires, Council/staff communications, and the public.

Other City staff hired after the budget passed were also left behind but remember: firefighters are regularly scheduled 56-hour weeks--so 832 additional hours every year.

For context, the new living wage calculation based on the cost of housing in Asheville's 4-county metro region is now $24.10-hour according to Just Economics.

Through all of this, the IAFF local 332 firefighters union advocates for its members, and that benefits our whole community. There is understandable fear of retaliation, which is such a shame when we're talking about firefighters who answer calls for fires, traffic wrecks, heart attacks, and emergency responses like getting us through Hurricane Helene. We want to recruit and retain people who provide quality, equitable services for our community, and our community can advocate to do better:

- Read the Mountain Xpress story in print now
- Follow the Fire Fighters Association - IAFF Local 332for advocacy alerts
- Include advocacy for living wages, pay equity, and bringing those 13 new firefighters into the current pay plan's lowest salary set last year. Email [email protected]

01/23/2026

We appreciate Mountain Express taking the time to meet with us and hear our story. Go check this one out.

Nearly 30 members of the Asheville Fire Department resigned last year. Retention issues remain a top concern for members of the Asheville Fire Fighters Association – IAFF Local 332, even as the department prepares to launch a new shift that will ultimately improve workers’ work-life balance. Featured on this week’s cover, from left, Greg Miller, Hayne Griffin and Welcker Taylor, members of Local 332.


In this issue, you'll also find:

Police expand West Asheville office

RAD hosts statewide art sale

Disaster expert discusses the role physical markers can play in WNC’s