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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 Budget Fire Department Questions (Answered)Filed in Clerk's Office 2026 Budget Fire Department Questions S P 2 3 2025 Bianca Tirado City Clerk, South Bend, IN 1. What is the Revenue from holding national Water Rescue training? IRRS charged $137,522 in 2024 and $149,173 in 2023. Year to Date for 2025 is $74,115 2. What is the breakdown for the types of the 17,842 ambulance calls? Car accidents? Heart attack? Stroke? Overdose? Work related? Mental Health Issue? Not only the number of calls, but the $ cost of each area. This would help us understand the issues in our community so we may be able to prevent some of them and know where to focus our efforts. I've attached the breakdown of the percentage for each Primary Impression as tracked by the ambulance crews. I do not have a break down of cost per calls. 3. How can we contain runoff at the airport to keep PFAS out of our water when fire foam is used? Cost to implement at the airport? The South Bend Fire Department does not control operations or training at the airport. Of note, the South Bend Fire Department transitioned from PFAS containing foam several years ago and participated in a State sponsored program to collect old unused foam. The State of Indiana outlawed the use of PFAS containing foam for training in 2020. 4. Instead of replacing whole fire trucks and ambulances, could the chassis be replaced to lengthen the life of them to reduce costs? The South Bend Fire Department has been doing this with ambulances for over 30 years and will continue to as long as it is economically viable. The costs per chassis have increased greatly and the gap is narrowing between new and rebuilt. Fire Apparatus chassis are not as viable. Because the South Bend Fire Department already uses its apparatus well past their NFPA recommended 15-year life spans (over 30 years in some cases) there is no business case to utilize a decades old body on a new chassis. 5. Would it be helpful to increase the number of medics that go out in an SUV vehicle instead of sending a full fire truck or ambulance? Only one now? What is the cost effectiveness of this compared to sending and ambulance or full fire truck? There are currently 3 Paramedic chase cars, one of which is entirely reimbursed by Saint Joseph County. Unit responses are dictated by the credentials of the personnel on duty on each apparatus and apparatus are assigned by the dispatch center through their call processing matrix. 6. I would like to see the Fire Departments offer both CPR and Stop the Bleed classes at the 11 fire stations for the neighborhoods they are in. This would not cost much and would train our community to be proactive. Minutes mean oxygen. 7. How many fire hydrants are operational vs how many have no water? The South Bend Fire Department does not service fire hydrants, this would be better addressed by Water Works. Our mobile data terminals are displaying 19 out of service hydrants but I wouldn't want to speak for another department on total operational. 8. Could renting out the training facility to other area fire departments bring in additional revenue? The South Bend Fire Department has been partnering with other agencies since the construction of the training center. Some are trainings are handled "in -kind" with shared instructors and resources, some are formal like the on -going CTE program with the South Bend Community School Corporation, and some are tuition based. Chief Roark would have to provide a more detailed breakdown. A/C Roark, Assistant Chief of Training replied: The South Bend Fire Department has consistently partnered with outside agencies since before the construction of our training center. These partnerships have taken several forms: • Shared Training Collaborations — Many of our joint trainings are conducted through cooperative agreements, where agencies contribute instructors, equipment, or resources. This allows all involved to expand training opportunities without duplicating costs. • Formal Partnerships — A prime example is our on -going partnership with the South Bend Community School Corporation through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. This program creates a pipeline for high school students into fire and EMS careers while ensuring that the training center is fully utilized. We are also recognized as a state fire training center. • Tuition -Based Courses — We periodically host open certification courses that are funded by the State of Indiana, County EMA, the Federal Government, or other external organizations. In these cases, the cost of delivery is covered through local, state and federal funding, and SBFD benefits by sending our members at no expense. • Community and Cross -Discipline Training — Beyond fire service, the center has hosted courses for Memorial Hospital, Western Michigan University, and local law enforcement agencies. While SBFD has not charged these groups, they assume the cost of running their own programs while we benefit from the educational value and the ability to send our members (and local police officers) at no cost. • Fee -Based Academy Opportunities — When SBFD does not have a direct educational or operational benefit, we have charged for participation. For example, when open spots have been available in our 22-week fire academy, we have extended those seats to outside agencies such as Michigan City and LaPorte City at a rate of $4,200 per student. However, due to the number of firefighters SBFD has had to hire since 2018, we have not had the capacity to extend this opportunity in recent years. Historically, our philosophy has been to prioritize mutual benefit over direct revenue. The city, county, and our department all gain when local agencies are trained to a higher standard, and SBFD's members consistently reap the benefits of attending high -quality courses at no expense. In short, while the facility could theoretically be rented for revenue, the greater value has been — and continues to be —derived from leveraging the training center as a regional hub of shared resources, producing well -trained firefighters, medics, and public safety professionals across multiple agencies, which directly benefits the citizens of South Bend. Please reach out if you have any additional questions pertaining to the South Bend Fire Department. Best, Chief Buchanon