Boise fire chief urges gradual move to four-person staffing, cites Station 6 as next priority

Summary

Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer told the Boise City Council that moving engines to a four-person staffing model improves response and resilience but carries substantial upfront and ongoing costs; Station 6 on Franklin Road was identified as the next priority and would boost on-scene performance roughly 32 percent, he said.

Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer told the Boise City Council during the first budget workshop that moving additional fire stations to a four-person-engine staffing model would improve emergency response times and operational resiliency but would require ongoing personnel and one-time capital funding.

Niemeyer said the city currently hits the target of having four firefighters on scene within eight minutes only “about 51% of the time on all our calls,” and that adding a fourth firefighter to Station 6 "would improve performance about 32%.” He presented a cost estimate showing roughly $73,000 in one-time capital costs per station (turnouts, radios and gear) and about $517,000 in annual ongoing personnel and M&O costs for adding three firefighter positions to staff a station at the four-person level.

Why it matters: The council is setting…

Boise fire chief urges gradual move to four-person staffing, cites Station 6 as next priority

Summary

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