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Fond du Lac Fire Rescue wins re‑accreditation, requests vehicles and station investment in 2027 CIP
Summary
Fire Chief Garretson told the council the department was unanimously re-accredited and requested capital improvements for 2027 including a replacement ambulance, thermal imaging cameras, battery-powered extrication tools and station alerting replacement; a feasibility study recommended a fourth fire station for 2028 construction.
Fire Chief Garretson told the council on July 8 that Fond du Lac Fire Rescue was unanimously re-accredited by the Center for Public Safety Excellence and that accreditation directly informs departmental budgeting and capital planning.
"Because of this process, we not only identify industry's best practices ... but we concentrate on where and how we will spend our budget dollars for years to come," Garretson said, linking accreditation to the department’s CIP requests.
The department’s 2027 CIP requests include an ambulance (funded from a special revenue account that sets aside funds from medical calls), replacement thermal imaging cameras, battery-powered extrication tools to replace aging hydraulic equipment, and replacement of an end-of-life station alerting system. The chief said the alerting equipment showed failures after a lightning strike and the vendor no longer services some parts.
Garretson also summarized response statistics for 2025: Fond du Lac Fire Rescue responded to 7,929 calls, including 6,646 prehospital EMS responses and 1,283 other calls of which 81 involved fires — an average of more than 21 calls per day.
The department presented findings from a 2025 feasibility study recommending construction of a fourth fire station to address a North-Central coverage gap measured against NFPA 1710 travel-time standards. The study identified site options on city-owned property at 365 North Main Street and recommended progressing to architectural planning with construction targeted for 2028 if approved.
Council members asked about long lead times for apparatus. Garretson said custom fire engines have about a five-year lead time and ambulances roughly two years; the department budgets by setting aside funds in advance or borrowing to secure a delivery slot when needed. When asked about overdose trends, Garretson said overdose calls have decreased locally in recent years and credited the availability of publicly used naloxone (Narcan) as a contributing factor.
There were no formal votes tied to the Fire Rescue presentation at this meeting; the department’s CIP requests will reappear in the overall budget process.
