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Fire chief outlines hiring, training, hazmat readiness and rising insurance costs
Summary
Fire Chief Jeff Kindert presented a 2026 budget request that emphasizes staffing, training, equipment maintenance and new cameras for apparatus; the department reported hazmat and rope teams have expanded and noted a significant increase in property and liability insurance premiums tied to claims history.
Jeff Kindert, chief of the Richmond Fire Department, presented the department’s 2026 budget and described investments in personnel, training, vehicles, hazmat capabilities and vehicle/ambulance camera systems.
Kindert told the Committee the department remains focused on protecting lives, property and the environment while balancing fiscal responsibility. He said the department reduced some fleet and parts accounts but requested increases in accounts for installing exterior and training‑center cameras, dash‑cam cloud services and equipment repairs (including tornado‑siren batteries). “We put cameras…in the Station 5 parking lot, the training center and inside the training center. And we’re working on putting outdoor cameras on the parking lots of all the stations,” Kindert said.
On personnel, Kindert said the department has hired aggressively: he reported about 27 hires since 2024 are in the pipeline and that several recruits are scheduled for training through the fall. He expects improved staffing to reduce overtime; the department budgeted a lower overtime figure for 2026 based on the expectation of full staffing and more predictable training cycles.
Kindert described recent investments in special‑team training. The department recently graduated 15 hazmat technicians and 15 rope technicians; the chief said the hazmat vehicle and its equipment are in service, with a small outstanding order for monitoring equipment. He also described plans to cross‑train and consolidate specialty functions so response teams can cover hazmat, rope and confined‑space operations as needed.
Councilors asked about property and liability insurance premiums for the fire and EMS funds. Finance staff and the chief said a line‑item error had under‑reported the premium; staff corrected the figure and reported the premium should be about $133,650 (an increase from the previously shown $74,297). Finance staff attributed part of the increase to a multi‑year average of claims and increased claim experience in the department and EMS.
Councilors also discussed whether a shared IT position assigned to the fire department should remain a jointly funded role with police; the chief said the technical employee will be folded into the fire department pay scale and continue to coordinate with central IT, and legal/HR have reviewed the change.
The chief also sought capital purchases: vehicle rotation and turnout gear for many recent hires, plus an ambulance re‑box and pump testing and maintenance contracts. Councilors asked about life‑cycle planning for engines and ambulances; Kindert said lead times for new apparatus can be 18–32 months and that replacing or re‑boxing apparatus requires multi‑year planning.
