Westminster fire chief outlines station shortfalls, growing medical calls as city begins 2026 budget work

Fire Chief Eric Burke told a Westminster town hall on the city’s 2026 budget process that the fire department has seen a substantial rise in calls for service over the last two decades and needs new or modernized facilities to maintain response standards.

“This increase is 128%,” Burke said, describing long‑term demand growth and telling residents the department exceeded 17,000 calls in 2023 and again in 2024. He said emergency medical calls now account for about two‑thirds of operations and that the department’s resident utilization rate has doubled from one call per 14 residents in 2004 to one call per seven residents in 2024.

The chief outlined two geographic service gaps — in the Orchard area in the north and along Westminster Boulevard in central Westminster — that the department cannot reliably cover within the four‑minute travel time commonly used in the emergency services industry. To address those gaps, Burke said the department has identified the need for two additional stations, which he referred to as Fire Station 7 (central) and Fire Station 8 (north).

Why it matters: Burke emphasized time‑sensitive medical and fire risks, noting that “patients without oxygen for a period of time, are at higher risk of permanent brain injury” and that fire spread is faster today because of modern construction materials. He told the audience that travel times in the uncovered areas could be “anywhere from 6 or more minutes.”

Burke also described aging facilities and equipment constraints. Several stations were built in the 1960s and 1970s and were not designed for modern apparatus, which has led to equipment being split between locations. He identified Station 3 and Station 4 as needing full replacement; Station 1 as the priority for modernization; and the department headquarters as outgrowing its space.

“Our training tower does not provide for comprehensive training and does not have a burn training,” Burke said, adding that sending crews to external training facilities lengthens the time they are unavailable for response and that availability at outside sites is diminishing.

City Manager Jody Andrews framed the presentations as part of early public engagement for the 2026 budget. “This is a very important step for the city. It's an early step, but an important one, as we work together to start to build our 2026 budget,” Andrews said, and he highlighted that the city opened a public submission portal for budget requests that will remain open through May 3.

No formal proposals or votes were taken at the town hall; the event functioned as a public workshop. Burke and other staff sought resident input on priorities that could feed into council deliberations and the formal budget process.

Community concerns raised during the small‑group discussions echoed the department’s themes: several attendees urged clearer explanation of past ballot measures related to fire funding, more public information on what proposed investments would cost in dollars rather than percentages, and tabletop evacuation exercises and communication improvements for wildfire or flood evacuation.

Clarifying details drawn from the presentation: • The city reported a sales and use tax rate of 3.85% and a city property tax mill rate of 3.65 mills (Jody Andrews noted a half‑million‑dollar home would pay about $108.82 a year in city property tax). • Burke said the department responded to more than 17,000 calls in 2023 and again in 2024; over a recent three‑year period the department handled roughly 51,000 incidents with ~66% medical, ~25% fire, and ~8% canceled/no‑incident calls. • The department currently operates six fire stations and has identified two geographic gaps that would be improved by an additional two stations. • Stations cited for full replacement: Station 3 and Station 4; Station 1 is the modernization priority.

What’s next: Staff will incorporate feedback from the town hall into the 2026 budget development schedule and present options to City Council in the coming weeks. The city manager invited residents to submit budget requests by May 3 for council consideration during the formal budget process.

Sources: city manager Jody Andrews; Fire Chief Eric Burke (remarks at Westminster 2026 budget town hall); resident small‑group reports compiled at the event.