Committee recommends Fire Department budget; chief details wildfire response, staffing and capital needs

The City of Salem Committee on Administration and Finance recommended the Fire Department FY26 operating budget on May 20, 2025 after a detailed presentation on 2024 operations, wildfire response and capital needs.

The presentation matters because the department described unusually high operational demand in 2024, extensive mutual-aid reliance during brush fires, and several capital items that affect emergency response and long-term building sustainability, including a $2 million ladder truck request and a planned heating and ventilation retrofit.

Chief (Fire Department) told the committee the department handled 8,223 runs in 2024, about 4,728 of which were medical calls, and that the department averages roughly 8,000 runs per year in recent pre-COVID years. He said Salem currently has 89 firefighters, five dispatchers, a civilian mechanic and a civilian office manager under the fire department budget, and the department also oversees emergency management and dispatch operations.

On wildland and brush fires, the chief said Salem experienced unprecedented activity in September and October 2024, with the department operating in woods fires for 31 straight days and receiving mutual aid on 17 days. State task-force resources and National Guard aviation support were used on multiple days. "We could not have handled what we had without the mobilization plan in the state," he said, describing task-force firefighters and air support that assisted containment and extinguishment.

The chief outlined capital and equipment requests: a $2,000,000 ladder truck request for FY27 (noted as possibly pushed to FY28), a $205,000 brush/light-rescue truck request combined with an $80,000 prior capital placeholder, purchases for two UTVs with trailers and specialty wildland hose and equipment, and station heating and cooling retrofits to replace aging boilers with high-efficiency heat-pump systems. He noted an ongoing $4.5 million radio upgrade project for police and fire that will replace aging repeaters and Verizon copper phone line costs with a modern microwave/fiber system.

Fire prevention and inspections were highlighted: the department—ompleted about 4,100 inspections and 1,153 in-service inspections in the year, and staff completed significant weatherization and building repairs at Station 6 to secure emergency management equipment. The chief also described personal-safety measures including plans for NFPA-compliant ventilation lockers for turnout gear to reduce firefighters' exposure to PFAS and other contaminants.

On grants and donations, the chief said the department applied for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant to replace end-of-life SCBA bottles (hydrostatic and service-life limits apply) and that a Department of Fire Services (DFS) grant funded turnout-gear purchases. He also noted a private $35,000 donation for modern thermal imagers.

The committee moved to recommend approval of the Fire Department personnel line item of $10,804,711 and an expenditures line item of $542,440 for a department total of $11,347,151. Councilor Stott made the motion, Councilor Davis seconded, and roll call votes recorded Councilor Davis (yes), Councilor Stott (yes), Councilor Watsonfeld (yes) and Chair Merkle (yes); the committee recommended approval.

The chief said manning has improved to near-full strength, with recruit graduations and academy candidates in the pipeline; he noted that hiring and training are significant long-term costs. He reiterated that several capital projects (ladder truck lead time, radio system completion, station HVAC upgrades and brush truck procurement) will remain priorities in the five-year plan.

Ending note: the committee pproved the recommended operating request and forwarded the department's capital projects to the citywide five-year plan; the full council will consider funding-source votes on June 11, 2025.