Consultants tell Menomonie City Council fire department is understaffed; recommend hiring, training officer and station renovations

A consultant team told the Menomonie City Council that the city’s combination fire and EMS service is under‑staffed for current demand and carries elevated safety and overtime risks.

Tim Franz, a consultant with Public Administration Associates, said the department has seen call volumes climb from roughly 400 calls a year in the late 1990s to nearly 4,000 at one peak year, and that staffing has not kept pace. Franz said the department currently staffs about nine personnel per 24‑hour shift and relies on 17 paid on‑call members. “Fire trucks don’t put out fires. People do,” Franz said.

The study authors recommended raising minimum day‑to‑day staffing to 14 personnel per shift — a recommendation intended to produce at least six people available at each station on typical days — and adding two daytime, 40‑hour positions: a training officer and a full‑time fire prevention/inspection officer. The consultants also recommended bumping the per‑shift paid‑leave coverage from 1.2 FTE to two FTE to reduce forced overtime and improve work‑life balance.

The study cites industry standards and state rules as context. Franz and colleague Jim Austin said the team benchmarked Menomonie against NFPA standards for staffing and response (NFPA 1710 for career departments and NFPA 1720 for combination/volunteer departments) and Wisconsin regulations in SPS 330 and SPS 314, as well as Department of Health Services rules governing ambulance services. Franz said those standards call for minimum crew sizes on many alarms and for two licensed EMS providers on medical calls.

Franz and Austin described operational impacts that flow from current staffing levels: limited time for consistent training because shift officers are occupied by response duties, higher overtime, recruitment and retention problems driven by work‑life balance concerns, and episodes when a single responder left the station alone to answer incidents. Franz said exit interviews showed departures were driven more by safety and balance concerns than pay.

The consultants also recommended facility work: renovate Fire Station 1 to improve gender‑inclusive facilities and mechanical systems, keep Station 1 in its current location if renovated, and plan future station needs as staffing grows. Cedar Corporation architect Corey Scheidler presented facility observations and supported renovating Station 1 while noting Station 2’s layout remains serviceable for future operations.

The report further suggests administrative changes including integrating apparatus procurement into the city’s purchasing schedule instead of leaving replacement as a separate contract item for the towns that contract with Menomonie. Franz said that change would help ensure timely replacement of apparatus that has outlived its useful life.

City Administrator David Scofield provided a high‑level cost estimate: implementing the consultants’ full personnel recommendations would cost about $1,800,000 annually; that estimate did not include station renovations.

The consulting team emphasized that enhanced use of paid on‑call responders is an adjunct, not a substitute, for additional full‑time staff. Franz said paid on‑call personnel “can help build a functional company to respond” during large incidents but that geographic and mutual‑aid realities make Menomonie a net mutual‑aid provider to distant neighbors.

The council did not take formal action on the report at the meeting; staff indicated cost and phasing analysis could be a next step.

Why it matters: The consultants linked safety deficiencies, rising EMS demand and recruiting challenges to specific staffing shortfalls and recommended concrete personnel and facility investments the city will need to weigh against budget constraints.

Quotes in this article are from Tim Franz (Public Administration Associates), Jim Austin (Public Administration Associates), Corey Scheidler (Cedar Corporation) and David Scofield (City Administrator).