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 (details provided to council by department staff) and that a previously paused federal SAFER grant has resumed review; the department said it expects additional SAFER-related funding to be recovered later this fiscal year. Nelson also told councilors the department expects a state award of roughly $2–2.5 million as its share of recently budgeted state funds for regional hazardous-materials (hazmat) teams; the presentation said an $8.6 million total statewide appropriation was divided among teams and Idaho Falls expects approximately $2.5 million in equipment and vehicle funding if the grant award is executed as presented.

Operations, training and apparatus

Deputy/Assistant chiefs reviewed daily minimum staffing, the department’s cross-staffing model in which engines carry EMTs and medics, and five-year call-volume trends. The department said engines assist ambulances on roughly a third of ambulance patient calls and that engine and ambulance call volumes differ: engines assist on about 4,000–5,000 calls a year while ambulances run about 14,000–16,000 patient calls annually.

Staff also described plans and schedules for capital projects: construction of a new north-side Station 6 (an estimated 18-month build, with current schedule projecting move-in around January–February 2026), continued planning for a vehicle storage facility (80-by-230-foot conceptual size), and upgrades to training facilities. The department said it ordered three new pumper engines on lease purchase arranged years ahead and expects delivery in late 2026–early 2027.

Training and regional capability

The department emphasized regional roles: Idaho Falls participates in statewide technical-rescue teams alongside Pocatello, Coeur d’Alene and Boise and has proposed becoming the regional training hub for aircraft rescue firefighting and other specialties. Nelson said the department’s training tower (built 1964) is deteriorating and limits live-fire training; staff and councilors discussed planning and funding alternatives including modular training structures and regional partnerships.

Council priority: multi-jurisdiction service model

Chief Nelson presented an ongoing review of an enhanced service agreement with Bonneville County Fire District No. 1 (the district that serves Ammon). Nelson said the current service contract (cited in the presentation as approximately $1.8 million) could be expanded toward a model that would add personnel and services across district boundaries without formal consolidation or a change in levies; the expanded contract model, Nelson said, could add daily staffed personnel (moving the department’s daily staffing closer to 50 on-duty personnel) and add prevention, training and command positions. Nelson said the district’s current contract payments could be repurposed to achieve equalized response levels “for the same amount of money” and that district leadership had asked for more data before making a decision.

Council questions and context

Councilors asked how the department’s internal staffing model compares to nearby jurisdictions; Nelson said comparative departments that do not run transport directly have lower operations headcount because ambulance transport is staffed by separate agencies. Councilors also pressed about response volume trends, the timing of apparatus deliveries, and how grant and SAFER funds affect the administrative budget.

The presentation ran through performance and finance details including claims about the department’s shift from red to black on EMS finances over recent years and the department’s plan to submit cost-recovery data to the state and federal Ground Emergency Medical Transport program. Nelson said the department submitted a plan amendment in January 2023 and expects initial cost-recovery payments to be available later in 2025.

Ending

Councilors thanked department staff for the report and praised the department’s community reputation and recent financial results. The council did not take formal action during the presentation but discussed next steps for additional data collection and joint discussions with the fire district about an enhanced service agreement.