Richland seeks measurable triggers for new fire stations, staffing in comprehensive‑plan update

Fire Chief Tom Huntington and department staff presented proposed updates to Richland’s comprehensive plan at a June 24 council workshop that would add measurable service‑level metrics to guide decisions on new fire stations and staffing.

The changes, presented as part of the comprehensive plan’s capital facilities chapter (Comp Plan CF, Capital Facilities 12), would move an existing policy to a higher priority and append a set of operational metrics staff would use to assess need and recommend funding or deployment changes. Fire leadership said they plan to return to council with a consolidated package — including a standards of cover document and a station‑deployment model — and a resolution asking for formal adoption within the next couple of months.

The proposed metrics are meant to act as “trigger points” that prompt staff to engage council, not to force automatic action. Deputy Chief (title used in presentation) summarized the main thresholds staff recommended: identify funding for a new station when 500 or more homes fall outside a four‑minute response area; monitor unit‑hour utilization (UHU) with a 20% target (roughly 4.8 hours of committed emergency work per 24‑hour period); evaluate industrial‑area exposures already in the plan; add staffing when a single station’s crew reaches about 3,000 annual responses; and watch concurrent‑call prevalence, with a 25% concurrent‑call benchmark as an alert that depth in the core may be needed.

"We would look at these metrics accumulatively," the deputy chief said, explaining staff will consider multiple metrics together rather than one in isolation. He likened UHU to a car’s tachometer: sustained high utilization indicates wear on personnel and apparatus and signals the need to rebalance or increase capacity.

Council members asked for data and transparency tools. Council member Jones and others urged staff to provide dashboards that break call volumes down by call type (EMS versus fire), by station, and by resource used, so council and taxpayers can see when metric thresholds are approached. Deputy chief staff said that data exists in annual reports and that staff is working toward outward‑facing dashboards.

Several council members questioned whether the city should build more stations or instead change the response model. Department staff described alternatives they are exploring: a "peak activity" basic life support (BLS) unit to carry nonemergent calls across the city, additional ambulances rather than full engines, and mobile integrated health or a resource‑navigator program that connects frequent 911 callers to community services. "Mobile integrated health ... is the future of the fire service," the deputy chief said, describing teams that could include nurses, physician assistants or behavioral‑health staff to reduce repeat 911 demand.

Chief Huntington and staff also noted existing automatic‑aid agreements with neighboring jurisdictions such as Kennewick and West Richland, dispatching the closest unit regardless of borders. Staff said those reciprocal agreements have been working well and will continue as the city considers station placement or depth in the core.

Staff provided context on station counts and timelines. Richland currently staffs six stations with minimum three personnel per station; the department’s station‑deployment plan first presented in 2018 describes a nine‑station target and, depending on long‑term industrial development to the north, a potential 10th station over a 20‑year horizon. Staff said the next capacity need is likely depth in the core rather than an immediate new outlying station, and that much depends on how the metrics trend in coming years.

Council members pressed staff to track the workload of the resource‑navigator program as a separate metric so the city can identify when that program needs more resources. Staff mentioned an ongoing conversation with Washington State University Tri‑Cities about using social‑work interns to support the program.

Next steps: staff will refine the comprehensive‑plan changes, incorporate standards of cover and station deployment modeling, and present a formal resolution for council consideration in the coming months. The presentation materials and data‑breakdowns will be provided to council before that packet, staff said.

Ending: Council did not take formal action on the item at the workshop; staff described the update as preparatory and planned to return with a full package and recommendation for formal adoption.