Equipment Replacement Included in Jamestown Fire Department Budget | News, sports, jobs

Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Coon presents the projected 2025 budget for the Jamestown Fire Department to the City Council. PJ photo by Sara Holthouse

The Jamestown Fire Department’s 2025 budget is solid, but there are some important decisions ahead in 2026.

Replacing certain types of equipment, including the department’s most expensive truck, was among the key items discussed during a budget presentation during this week’s City Council meeting for the Jamestown Fire Department’s 2025 budget.

Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Coon presented the department’s budget to council. He began with a letter thanking the council and discussing some of the highlights of the budget.

“We are fully aware of the financial situation of the city and have therefore tried to present to you the budget that we believe we can live with for next year,” Coon said.

The fire department’s staff has grown slightly in recent years due to grants from ARPA and SAFER. Coon said there are grants available to fill those positions this year, while also reducing the city’s impact arbitration payments to zero this year. He added that over the next year, the fire department will continue to evaluate whether it can be as financially responsible as possible and continue to provide city residents with the best service at the best cost.

Notable items requested in the JFD 2025 budget request regarding salaries include: There will be no pay increase for all members of JPFA Local 137 for 2025 because the union’s contract with the city that firefighters receive expires at the end of 2024 however, incremental increases included in their contract.

“All ARPAs and all SAFERs have been accepted, so the last of the SAFER group will graduate from the academy on November 7th of this year,” Coon said. “If the administration decides to fund this, all replacements coming up next year would basically be budgeted for that.”

Additionally, Coon said fire impact payments are expected to drop to zero due to the expected opening of all fire stations and full staffing of all fire stations. The maximum impact payments would be just under $100,000 if the department has nine members per shift. In recent years, Coon said, the department hasn’t reached the full number of 10 members per shift, but has budgeted for it.

The department’s equipment replacement also includes turnout equipment, i.e. everything a firefighter has to wear to go into a fire. Coon said each set costs about $4,000 and lasts the department about seven years, although it aims for five years of sales.

“In general, we will try to maintain the equipment. However, if the equipment is usable, we have it repaired on site so it still passes inspection, and then members can wear a second set when they get their clothing “contaminated or soiled from firefighting,” Coon said.

Not every member will receive two sets, instead Coon said they aim to rotate sets as they continue to advance through the ranks.

The other equipment Coon said the department is looking to replace in the coming year is the self-contained breathing apparatus, which allows firefighters to breathe when entering a fire. The devices are replaced every 15 years and the department plans to replace 32 of them next year using assistance from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

“There is an NFPA standard that requires these devices to be replaced every 15 years,” Coon said. “In general, technology will change before these 15-year benchmarks are reached. Even for our equipment, the air package is designed to last about that long.”

The purchase of 32 devices is funded entirely by the FEMA grant and costs approximately $10,000 each. Coon added that all equipment is scheduled to be replaced in 2026, but including it in the budget now with the grant will give you a year’s head start.

“They’re reaching the end of their life, and the other part of that is the bottles,” Coon said. “The bottles also have a lifespan of 15 years. They endure a lot of abuse just through general service.”

Coon said the number of apparatus depends on the number of seats and not every new firefighter gets a new one. The department was noted to have 32 seats in total, and while Coon did not say there are many firefighters on duty each shift, the number allows for enough air packs to fully staff the department for an initial deployment, and again , if any, is a major incident. Air cushions are not member specific, the only equipment is the mask. Coon said he understands it’s difficult to replace all inventory at once, but there is a long history of the department replacing all of them at once and giving them a new inventory with a 15-year lifespan that sits on the remains consistent across the board.

Coon said the department wants to replace its ladder truck, which will cost about $2.1 million and take four years to deliver after it is ordered. There is no funding for this purchase in the 2025 budget.

Coon also told council members that the city’s second ambulance will be in use once radios are installed in it, as well as building maintenance goals, parking lot repairs and other general household expenses such as cell phone service, utilities, fuel for equipment and replacing things like computers and a new one Office copier.