Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cape Coral Fire Department unveils 2025–2030 strategic plan focused on health, readiness and training
Summary
Fire Chief Mike Russell presented a five‑year strategic plan that reaffirms the department’s mission and lays out seven goals, including health and wellness, operational readiness, technology, and a training campus upgrade.
Fire Chief Mike Russell presented the Cape Coral Fire Department’s 2025–2030 strategic plan at the committee meeting on Oct. 15, 2025, outlining a five‑year roadmap intended to align department work with city priorities and to prepare the department for continued growth.
Chief Russell said the plan was developed with broad stakeholder input, including community groups, department personnel across divisions and representatives of labor unions. “This is everyone's responsibility and shared vision for the department,” Russell said, describing a process that used a SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) framework to focus on improvement rather than weaknesses.
The plan sets seven goals: 1) health and wellness, 2) strengthened operational readiness, 3) a communications and education strategy for risk reduction, 4) a positive safety and professional culture, 5) reliable assets (apparatus, facilities and equipment), 6) technology to increase efficiency, and 7) upgrading the training campus for foundational and advanced training. The mission statement the department adopted for this plan is “to save lives, protect property, and serve the community through risk reduction and emergency response.” Chief Russell said the department aligned each goal with the city’s broader goals and developed SMART objectives and timelines for implementation.
Chief Russell said the plan was designed to be actionable and measurable, with leaders assigned to the objectives and reporting to a compliance team to ensure steady progress. He emphasized the relationship between departmental health and the city’s ability to deliver services: “Without a healthy, mentally, physically, spiritually ready workforce, we will not be able to deliver high quality services and amenities to the residents and visitors of the city,” he told council.
Council members praised the plan and asked staff to remain mindful of budget implications for asset and technology goals. The chief and assistant city manager said some elements — such as facility and apparatus replacement planning — are already included in budget forecasts, but staff acknowledged additional requests could arise as new needs are refined.
Next steps
The department will continue to implement the plan, convene the assigned goal teams and report progress to city leadership; several council members asked staff to highlight any budget needs as part of the normal budget process.
