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Fire chiefs present response metrics and staffing plan as council weighs build‑out goals
Summary
Bloomington fire leadership showed a firehouse video and 2025/2026 response metrics, reporting a 2025 90th‑percentile PSAP‑to‑arrival time of 9:11 (goal 7:30), 42% overlapping incidents and plans to add full‑time staff and station improvements over the next decade.
Deputy Chief Jay Forrester and Fire Chief Yulie Seal briefed the Bloomington City Council on May 18 with a video of a recent house fire, 2025 response metrics, and a proposed staffing and capital plan that the chiefs said aims to staff city fire stations more consistently.
Forrester played homeowner‑provided video showing rapid fire growth and stressed the life‑saving importance of working smoke alarms. He said there were roughly 11,730 fire/EMS calls in 2025, including 19 structure fires; the department recorded one civilian fatality and 14 injuries in 2025, with 11 injuries tied to a single lithium‑battery fire incident. Forrester said the department’s 2025 90th‑percentile PSAP‑to‑arrival time was 9 minutes 11 seconds (target 7 minutes 30 seconds) and that overlapping incidents occurred about 42 percent of the time, reducing available staffed apparatus.
Chief Seal outlined staffing and capital proposals: the department currently lists 48 full‑time firefighters (22 paramedics), about 62 part‑time firefighters, three vacancies and several staff out on leave. The department proposes hiring nine positions in 2027, promoting supervisory staff, and pursuing station projects (Station 2 target opening in 2028) as part of a multi‑year plan that could move toward roughly 78 full‑time firefighters by 2032 if recruitment and retention trends permit.
Council discussion focused on response outcomes in fully staffed districts, part‑time recruitment challenges and budget tradeoffs. Council members praised department performance, asked for district‑level response comparisons, and heard staff emphasize staffing uncertainty and the city's priority‑setting in budgeting for fire build‑out.
Next steps: Staff will continue to refine hiring and capital plans and return with budget proposals and updates; the city manager said staff will present a fuller legislative and budget report at the June 1 meeting.
