Hillsboro Fire & Rescue reviews five‑year data, plans Station 9 staffing in January

Hillsboro Fire & Rescue presented a five‑year review of call volumes, staffing and station deployment on July 1, telling the City Council the department is increasingly an EMS provider and will staff a new Station 9 this winter.

Chief Downey said the department has 148 full‑time positions citywide, about 114 dedicated to emergency response, and that roughly 82% of responses are emergency medical services (EMS) rather than fires. “We are as much an emergency medical services department as we are a fire department,” Downey said.

Why it matters: Hillsboro’s population and call volume have grown steadily; leaders told the council that deployment and station siting changes are driven by response‑time performance and projected growth. The department said total unit responses have risen about 5% per year and that the system’s busiest hours are roughly 10 a.m.–8 p.m., requiring more training and support work during daytime business hours.

Most important facts

- Station 9: A station in the South Hillsboro subdivision is under construction, roughly halfway complete and scheduled to finish in December; the department plans to hire a recruit class in August with the station staffed in January. “We should be staffed and ready to go January,” Downey said. - Staffing and hires: The department reported it has hired about 57 firefighters in the last six years to meet growth and that the…