So many fires, so few firefighters

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The number of calls the Galesburg Fire Department responds to increases each year while the number of firefighters keeps going down.

The GFD’s 2015 annual report shows the department responded to 4,286 calls — mostly for EMS — last year, an increase of 7 percent over 2014’s record breaking 4,005 calls. With the exception of a small drop in EMS calls in 2012, call volumes increase every year.

Despite that, the number of firefighters on staff is trending downward.

Galesburg Fire Chief Tom Simkins says the department operated with a crew of 51 in the early 2000s. Today, that number is down to 43.

With the announcement of 26-year veteran firefighter Chip Timmon’s retirement, the department’s numbers will drop to 42 after March 13.

For evidence of an impact, look no further than the department’s average response time to calls. Simkins says response time has increased from an average of 3 minutes and 30 seconds to 3 minutes and 58 seconds.

City Manager Todd Thompson tells WGIL the problem lies largely in the $1.3 million the city needs to fully fund pensions.

“The real issue across the entire budget,” he says, “is how do we continue to provide the same level of service, both in public safety and in general services, when revenues are stagnant or decreasing and costs are going up?”

Thompson says City Council will discuss public safety-related staffing in April.

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