Hopewell fire chief asks council for six firefighter positions, career-development funding and long-term apparatus plan

Chief Rupert told the Hopewell City Council on March 26 that the fire department is facing a sustained increase in emergency medical services demand and personnel shortages and requested new staffing, a career-development line and a plan to replace aging apparatus.

The department is operating with fewer personnel than the National Fire Protection Association’s staffing benchmark for single-family structure fires and has modified schedules to recruit and retain advanced life‑support (ALS) providers. Chief Rupert said the department switched ALS staff to a 24/72 schedule that has attracted applicants and that the department has hired four new ALS providers since changing the schedule.

To fully staff the new schedule, Rupert requested three additional ALS positions (requested cost listed in the presentation: $219,621.54 including benefits) and three additional positions to better staff a third medic unit (presented cost: $208,094.23). He also requested $48,008.54 to fund a career-development program intended to improve retention by providing a structured advancement path for firefighters.

Rupert described capital needs for stations and vehicles: both Station 1 and Station 2 are decades old (Station 1 will be 100 years old in 2026; Station 2 was described as about 75 years old). He said department apparatus lead times and prices have risen sharply; he gave unit prices of roughly $1.3 million for a fire engine and more than $500,000 for an ambulance. Replacing two engines and two ambulances outright, he said, would be roughly $3.7 million.

Because outlays for replacement apparatus are large and lead times long, Rupert said he has developed an apparatus-replacement plan that would use leasing to smooth costs. The presentation included lease-payment estimates for ambulances and engines and a multi-year lease schedule; the slides and his remarks emphasized that prices have risen substantially in recent months. He proposed that year-end EMS revenues and salary savings be permitted to roll into an apparatus replacement fund to mitigate budgetary impact and pay lease costs.

Councilors responded by asking about station siting and expressing support. Councilor Holloway and others said a third station in the River Road/WHAP area would improve response times; Rupert said he has begun exploring smaller station designs and funding options to replace existing stations without consolidating to a single large facility. Finance staff and council discussed amending financial policies and ensuring EMS revenues are available to support apparatus replacement.

No formal vote was taken on the staffing or capital requests during the presentation; council members voiced general support and directed staff to pursue budget and policy work during April’s budget meetings.

Ending: Council members encouraged further detail in the coming budget workshops; Chief Rupert said personnel requests and the apparatus plan would be included in the FY26 budget process for council consideration.