Idaho Falls Fire Department presents staffing, budget and regional response plans to council

The Idaho Falls City Council heard a detailed “focus” report from the Idaho Falls Fire Department on staffing, budgets, apparatus and regional response on May 6.

Fire Chief Nelson told the council the department is now the second-largest in Idaho and “the largest all-hazard EMS transport agency in the state,” and described a staff of about 44 sworn personnel on duty per day and additional administrative employees.

Nelson said the department’s minimum-staffing model intentionally places more resources in operations than in administration. “My stance since 2019 really [has been] to run lean in the fire administration side of the house, and put those people into operations,” he said. He told councilors the department currently has roughly 33 firefighters and 11 administrative staff and that “92% of our staffing is in operations.”

The chief outlined differences between Idaho Falls and similarly sized departments: Idaho Falls staffs ambulance transport directly, while some comparable jurisdictions contract ambulance service to separate providers. That operating choice increases personnel assigned to engines and ambulances, Nelson said, and explains the higher share of operations staff.

Budget and grant funding

Nelson and department staff reviewed the department’s current revenues and grants. The department reported it had recovered $93,000 of a projected $1.3 million…