Former fire chief Jerry Strike urges Dayton to pilot 'duty crew' model to cut response times

Jerry Strike, a former career fire chief and consultant with Capstone, told the Dayton City Council on Oct. 28 that the city should pilot a daytime "duty crew"—scheduling paid-on-call firefighters at the station during peak hours—to shorten uneven response times as the city grows.

Strike said cities are free to choose their fire-service model and noted that "There isn't 1. There's no law that requires a fire department to exist in Dayton." He framed duty crews as an incremental step that preserves volunteer-based delivery while improving daytime coverage: "A duty crew is using the same volunteer, but you're staffing them at the station during your most critical times."

Why it matters: Dayton’s growing housing stock and current staffing pattern create an imbalance in daytime versus evening response. Strike said the city’s volunteers are legally city employees under state law and described rising costs to equip and train firefighters—"we're at 8 to $10,000 per fire per new firefighter to equip them"—as part of a broader trend pushing some suburbs toward career staffing or hybrid models.

On medical response, Strike explained that ambulance placement and protocols are governed by Primary Service Area (PSA) designations and the PSA provider. "North has the ability to respond code 3 lights and sirens, in 17 minutes and 59 seconds, 90% of the time," the fire chief (unnamed in the transcript) told the council, illustrating variable ambulance coverage across Dayton’s borders. Council members noted that longer ambulance arrival times are among the reasons firefighters often respond to medical calls.

Council member (speaker S6) noted the city's recent EMS registration and training changes: "Because on November 8 in 2024, we registered as a medical response unit with the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services, and it expires in 2026." Council members asked whether that designation and a shift from EMR to EMT training affect what the department may respond to; Strike replied that the medical director for the PSA sets treatment protocols and that EMT certification (roughly 110–120 hours) expands the scope of treatments compared with EMR training (about 40 hours).

Strike recommended an evidence-based, phased approach: use local call-volume data, consider a pilot duty crew for daytime staffing, measure impacts on response times and volunteer retention, and then reassess. He pointed to nearby examples—Maple Grove, East Bethel and Blaine—where duty crews or augmented daytime staffing were used as steps toward stabilizing service.

On costs and options, Strike said municipalities sometimes buy ambulances to improve local response but cautioned that owning a PSA or taking over ambulance services would involve legal and operational changes and added expense. He also described alternative pay models such as pay-per-call (paid-on-call) and hourly duty shifts as levers to improve retention without immediately converting to a full career department.

The council did not take formal votes on the proposal. The discussion closed with members asking the fire chief and staff to return with local data and impact projections; the mayor then adjourned the work session.