Eugene‑Springfield Fire reports eased wildfire year but ongoing ambulance and staffing strains

Chief Kevin Kavan of Eugene‑Springfield Fire gave City Council members an update on wildfire response, ambulance service pressures and staffing at the council’s Oct. 6 work session.

Kavan said the department finished an extended fire season — extended to Oct. 15 — that was less destructive than recent peak years. “In 2024 there were 16 total conflagrations for 1,300,000 acres burned,” he said, and so far this year the department has deployed to six fires with 21 members for about 55 days. He told council that only four homes were lost in one dynamic wildfire (the Flat Fire near Sisters) because of the collective state response and earlier local efforts.

Kavan said fire prevention work in Springfield has expanded, including a defensible‑space program started in 2024 that has assessed more than 100 properties in the city, with more than half of owners implementing recommended corrections. He described the Community Wildfire Protection Program (CWPP) urban annex — developed with Eugene and Lane County — as important both for evacuation decision tools and for grant eligibility: “One of the important facts of the CWPP is, that without one, we're ineligible for certain federal grants for wildfire fuels mitigation,” he said.

But Kavan emphasized continuing strain on emergency medical services. He said the department has spent about 150 hours this year with no ambulances available (123 hours in 2024) despite growth in unit hours from 156 in 2014 to 228 today. “We spent 3,500 on the wall at the hospital in 2024,” he said, describing long waits to offload patients as an ongoing pressure on the system. Eugene‑Springfield Fire responds to roughly 42,000 EMS calls annually and transports about 54% of those; the department’s ability to recover costs is limited because about 83% of patients are covered by Medicare or Medicaid.

Kavan described a joint elected task force convened by the Lane County Board of Commissioners and transporting agencies to review systemwide ambulance reliability and potential funding or operational changes; he said the task force’s target timeline is about 18 months.

On staffing, Kavan said the department has hired aggressively — roughly 140 people in 18 months — and is preparing to add a fourth shift in January 2026 to reduce fatigue and forced overtime. He reported forced‑overtime shifts fell from 235 in July to 53 in September after recruitment, apprenticeship training and bargaining changes. “Our goal is to eliminate the use of forced overtime to staff the fire department,” he said. The department has an apprenticeship academy and plans further academies and lateral recruitment in 2026.

Councilors thanked Kavan and his staff for the work. Councilor Rodley said the staffing and overtime reductions were “really exciting to hear” and thanked leadership for finding efficiencies. Councilor Stout asked what drew lateral interest; Kavan credited recent bargaining changes that enabled the fourth shift and market‑competitive pay, but largely attributed recruitment to word‑of‑mouth and the department’s reputation for “doing good work.”

The presentation also noted funding context: Eugene‑Springfield Fire’s FY 2026 operating budget is “just under $90,000,000,” with about $25,000,000 from the City of Springfield and roughly half the Springfield budget coming from fees for service, contracts and the fire levy that is up for renewal.

Kavan concluded by inviting council questions and said staff would return as necessary with further updates.