Sheridan study session reviews Fire Rescue long-range master plan and discusses $500,000 MRG for new engine

Sheridan — Fire Chief Gary Harnish presented the City Council with a five‑year Sheridan Fire Rescue Long‑Range Master Plan at the Jan. 27 study session, saying the plan’s long‑term recommendations will require administrative and council support.

Harnish told the council the plan “establish[es] a long term staffing strategy to achieve a minimum effective response force of 9 firefighters,” and said the department currently staffs four firefighters on duty each day. The plan groups recommendations into short (up to six months), mid (one to three years) and long (three to five years) term steps.

The plan’s long‑term priorities include raising minimum daily staffing, adopting an apparatus replacement schedule, funding and building a multi‑use training facility usable by fire, police and other county responders, and re‑evaluating station locations to improve response coverage.

Why it matters: Council members repeatedly framed the master plan as a budget and public‑safety document. Increasing on‑duty staffing from four to nine would change daily staffing costs and affect response capabilities for structure fires and high‑acuity medical calls; the plan also sets expectations for multi‑year investments such as training infrastructure and new engines.

Most‑cited findings and operational context

- Harnish said Sheridan’s last independent ISO (Insurance Services Office) study scored dispatch at about 71% of available points, the water supply at roughly 91.6% and the fire department at about 62%, with personnel levels driving much of the fire score.

- Harnish described operational limits created by current staffing: “We have 4 on duty today every day,” he said, and added that two firefighters can flow about 170 gallons per minute — sufficient for roughly 850 square feet of fire but short of typical 2,000‑square‑foot homes. He noted OSHA and accepted operational practices require roles such as pump operator and incident commander to be assigned, which is harder to accomplish with four on duty.

- Council members and staff noted an upcoming retirement wave: Harnish said eight of 21 firefighters are currently eligible to retire and predicted that by next year 10 of 21 will be eligible. He reported a hiring eligibility list of 15 candidates and said the department has applied for SAFER grants in the past and intends to pursue future SAFER opportunities to help fund new firefighter positions.

Apparatus funding discussion: MRG application

The session also included discussion of Resolution 04‑24, authorizing submission of a Mineral Royalty Grant (MRG) request for $500,000 toward a new fire apparatus. Harnish said both of the department’s front‑line engines are roughly 16 years old and due for replacement; one engine is rated “fair,” the other “poor.”

City staff reported the manufacturer’s current price estimate for a new engine at about $1.2 million to $1.3 million and noted lead times of up to four years from contract to delivery. The city would be required to match grant funds; Harnish said $250,000 of match funding is already included in last year’s budget and the department would request a second $250,000 allocation in the next fiscal year if it proceeds.

Council questions and staff direction

Council members pushed staff for detail on next steps, costs and priorities. Questions included how the department would phase hiring, whether a local training facility would help recall and staffing, and mutual‑aid arrangements with county volunteer departments (Goose Valley Fire Department was discussed as an automatic mutual‑aid partner). Harnish said a locally based training facility would allow firefighters to train on duty rather than travel out of town, thereby preserving recall capacity.

No final vote or formal adoption of the master plan or grant application was recorded during the study session; discussion centered on clarifying priorities and timelines and on preparing items for future council consideration.

Ending

Councilmembers and staff agreed the master plan provides a framework for future budgeting and asked staff to return with prioritized, costed steps (including grant timelines and SAFER‑grant opportunities) ahead of the budget cycle. Harnish said he would present personnel and funding proposals during the budget process.