Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register
Terming it “the big ask,” Springfield Fire Chief Brandon Blough gave city council members Tuesday a first look at what replacement of some fire equipment might look like. The information was based on Blough’s appearance last week at public budget talks during which he presented a snapshot of the ages of the department’s engines and trucks.
Thirteen of the rigs are 15 years or older, with eight of them 20 years or older. Industry “best practices,” a report on the SFD from the Center for Public Safety Management, LLC, suggest equipment should be replaced after 15 years.
Blough’s submission at Tuesday’s committee of the whole was for the purchase of six engines and one truck at a cost of about $5.5 million.
With one engine and one truck purchased from the FY22 budget but not yet delivered, Blough said the plan “will get us really close to where we need to be in line with ‘best practices.'”
While council members like Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said that fire equipment is “a necessity,” the city’s preliminary fire budget also calls for the construction of four firehouses, a project Mayor Jim Langfelder has touted.
Blough admitted after the meeting that he been put in “an interesting position” about whether he favors one over the other.
“That’s a difficult question for me,” he said. “I really do think we have an opportunity to do a little bit of both. I think the mayor is open to that. I think we’re going to have some fruitful discussions over the next week or two as far as what that looks like.
“I had never framed it in the ‘we have to rob Peter to pay Paul type of thing.'”
City budget director Bill McCarty said the $12 million in the budget may cover the construction of three firehouses instead of four as originally planned.
McCarty said Tuesday that planned construction would begin in June or July, but that may be up to construction material and company availability.
Blough said packaging the equipment together now would also save money in the long run. Costs of the equipment are projected to go up 3 to 7% per year over the next five to seven years.
What the economy looks like or what material costs look like, “we don’t have any control over that. But what we do have control over is buying them now. We know what that looks like. Is it the right move? That’s something we’re going to have a discussion about.”
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 