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Westminster fire chief outlines staffing shortfalls, training facility needs and EMS revenue that offsets costs
Summary
Fire Chief Eric Burke told the Jan. 27 Westminster City Council the department is functionally short frontline staff because recruits are tied up in extended academies and attrition, and urged investment in a local training facility and staffing options.
Fire Chief Eric Burke presented the Westminster Fire Department's 2025 staffing and budget priorities at a Jan. 27 council meeting, telling council members the department faces ongoing staffing shortfalls, long apparatus lead times and a need for a local training facility.
"The fire department has a total of a 53 full time employees," Chief Burke said, describing the department's administrative and operational structure and highlighting emergency medical services revenue. "In 02/2024, the Westminster Fire Department collected $3,200,000 for transport and medical related services," he said, adding the department received about $2,100,000 from the state's EMS supplemental reimbursement last year.
Burke said those medical revenues (roughly $5.3 million in 2024) have helped the city pay for equipment, turn leased engines into purchases and acquire medical devices, and he recommended continuing to use those funds strategically. He also outlined staffing and training pressures: the…
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