Four borough emergency service areas present staffing and capital requests; chiefs cite improved coverage and persistent volunteer gaps

Fire and emergency medical chiefs from four borough service areas told the Kenai Peninsula Borough assembly on May 20 that budgets for fiscal 2026 emphasize staffing, station safety upgrades and replacement apparatus, while volunteer recruitment remains a persistent challenge.

Central Emergency Services Chief Roy Browning said his service area proposed a mill rate reduction from 3.21 to 2.95 while adding staff to improve coverage. Browning requested four firefighter positions to staff Station 6 (Kasiloff) as 56‑hour positions so the station can operate with two-person minimum staffing on each 24‑hour shift; if approved, that change would restore 24/7 ambulance coverage at the station. He said the CES area covers roughly 1,000 square miles and reported roughly 3,252 incidents across the combined service area in the last calendar year.

Browning outlined capital and safety priorities: a new fire station under construction (target completion mid‑January 2026), a Sterling pumper tanker ordered last year, and proposals to install vehicle-exhaust filtration systems in several stations to remove diesel exhaust and volatile organic compounds. He also proposed a $175,000 cargo trailer for off‑road rescue assets and cited long‑term work on a fill site and maintenance shop to improve ISO coverage and reduce homeowner insurance in affected areas.

Kachemak Emergency Service Area Acting Chief Eric Schultz credited a fall 2024 transition to 24‑hour coverage with a substantial drop in average response time — from about 14 minutes before October 5 to roughly 4.5 minutes in the six months after that change. Schultz said the department now staffs three shifts of two personnel with an ALS provider assigned to each shift and that EMS calls make up the vast majority of their work. He characterized critical challenges as retaining volunteers, upgrading Station 2 living quarters, paving and boiler repairs, and planning a community response program for outlying roads beyond the 12‑minute drive area.

Western Emergency Services Chief John Marsh echoed the staffing and volunteer themes. Marsh said Western operates three stations across about 826 square miles and recently added a captain and two firefighters to achieve three 24‑hour shifts of three personnel. He said capital spending this year focuses on replacement utility vehicles and continuing joint training with neighboring departments. Marsh listed longer‑term needs including station renovations and a potential future Station 2 at an emergency water-fill site in Happy Valley.

Nikiski Deputy Chief Brian Letall summarized priorities for FY 2026: a proposed mill‑rate reduction (2.75 to 2.45), a planned $1 million transfer to capital projects for equipment replacement (to be done several years in a row), replacement of an ambulance to send a still‑serviceable unit to Tyonek, and addressing a freezing fill site hydrant with heat trace to avoid winter outages. He said Nikiski operates three main stations and that the service area includes significant industrial and wildland‑urban interface areas.

Assembly questions focused on the benefits of full‑time staffing for response times, the safety benefits of exhaust purification systems and prospects for grant funding to replace aging apparatus. Chiefs acknowledged grants help with smaller purchases but said large grants for apparatus and facilities are highly competitive and often go unawarded.

All chiefs emphasized continued emphasis on volunteer recruitment and cooperative training among borough departments and regional partners to maintain response capability across the peninsula’s large, low‑density service areas.