Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Department Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fire chief asks board for training, whole‑blood program and civilian positions in FY2026 budget
Summary
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief presented decision packages that include officer development training, a whole‑blood program for trauma response, additional civilian administrative staff and equipment/fleet investments; total decision‑package ask ~ $1.3 million, while baseline budget pressures were described at roughly $4.2 million.
Fire Chief Golden presented Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue’s FY2026 decision packages May 14, asking the Budget Advisory Board to consider funding training, operational continuity and new medical and administrative capabilities that the department says will improve response and readiness.
The chief said the most urgent asks are an officer development program (training for about 100 firefighters over two years), a whole‑blood prehospital program for major trauma incidents and several civilian administration positions to provide continuity in timekeeping, emergency‑management paperwork and fleet coordination. "My very first task is for an officer development training," Chief Golden said, adding that this training is meant to prepare staff to fill upcoming retirements.
Staff also described the department’s recent staffing change: Fort Lauderdale was awarded a SAFER grant that added 28 firefighters; those federally funded positions become a city cost when the grant expires in three years. Chief Golden told the board the city will need to account for roughly $4.6 million in additional annual costs in the year the grant ends.
On prehospital care, Golden said a whole‑blood program could increase survivability for patients with major hemorrhage if blood is administered before arrival at surgery. "When you look at those, if whole blood is administered prior to getting to the hospital ... it increases survivability for the first 24 hours, somewhere between 60 and 90 percent," he said. The department noted whole blood must be rotated because blood expires on a roughly 21‑day cycle.
Other decision‑package items included underwater sonar and technical‑rescue gear, powered air‑purifying respirators and cameras for fire investigations, a fleet coordinator (civilian) to manage more than 50 apparatus, uniform enhancements and a public educator to deliver prevention programs and community CPR training. The department provided equipment unit‑cost examples in discussion: rescues at about $500,000 each, engines at about $1.1 million and ladder trucks at about $2.4 million.
Chief Golden and staff answered board questions about fiscal impacts and operations: the department expects a FY2026 baseline increase of about $4.2 million for current service level needs (primarily salary and benefits); the additional decision‑package asks sum to about $1.3 million. The chief said last year’s SAFER hiring was a grant win but that the city must plan to absorb those salary costs when the federal support ends.
Board members asked operational questions about implementation (how a whole‑blood response would be dispatched and which units would carry blood), local hiring and training timelines, and performance measures such as response times and ocean‑rescue interventions. Chief Golden said supervisors would be trained to deliver whole blood to rescue crews when a candidate patient is identified and noted Broward Sheriff’s Office currently provides county‑level whole blood by air and limited ground units.
No formal board vote was requested; the presentation provided committee members with background and numbers that staff said would be used in the City Manager’s preliminary budget.
