The Gig Harbor Fire Department is growing, working on response times and has quite a bit of money in reserves, Fire Chief Bob Black said Thursday.

Black spoke during a public affairs meeting sponsored by the Gig Harbor Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce and outlined department challenges, recent purchases and laid the groundwork for the department’s proposed training facility.

Of the challenges currently facing the district, none is more important than getting to emergency situations more quickly.

“The biggest challenge we have is reducing our response times,” Black said.

Response times are broken into two areas — urban and rural — and the department has different goals for each. Urban response time goals are four minutes 90 percent of the time; rural response time goals are eight minutes 90 percent of the time.

In order to reduce response times, the district has hired 26 firefighter/paramedics in the past four years. The increase has led to full-time stationing abilities at the Point Fosdick station and, by January 2010, a professionally staffed 144th Street station.

“We’ve grown staff to get people into stations and closer to you, to have them there 24/7,” Black told the crowd.

However, there are wild-card elements to response times. Emergency 9-1-1 calls go though a law enforcement support agency, which then transfers the call to Gig Harbor Fire.

Black has received multiple complaints about response times from residents who live mere blocks from a fire station. He said the department is looking at options to reduce the lag time.

Equipment

Spending also was a topic of discussion.

In 2008, the department replaced three engines that dated back to the early 1980s. The price tag was about $500,000 each.

The new engines can disperse 750 gallons of water until hydrant water is necessary. Hoses disperse water at about 1,500 gallons per minute.

Each engine also has a compressed air and foam concentrate to lay down a layer of foam on a burning structure.

The department recently purchased 170 self-contained breathing apparatuses.

“Those aren’t cheap, either,” Black quipped. “Your fire department is becoming a busy business.”

Each self-contained breathing apparatus, which holds enough oxygen for about 30 minutes, costs $5,000 each, he said.

One item on Black’s wish list for the department is a ladder fire truck. Currently, Gig Harbor Fire has a mutual aid agreement with the Tacoma Fire Department to use a ladder truck. The truck was needed less than five times last year, Black said.

Ladder trucks cost about $900,000, he said.

“Eventually, we’ll have to have one,” Black said.

With all the spending and staffing, a department that relies heavily on taxes to fund programs and equipment must be forward-thinking, Black said.

The department currently has about $4 million in reserves, mainly set aside for capital project planning. However, that money could soon become a rainy day fund.

Black said he expects a 7.5 percent decrease in assessed values. And with 85 percent of fire funding coming through property taxes, the next few years could be rough, he said.

Headquarters also is in the midst of a nearly $400,000 facelift which includes renovating the attic for office space, new stairwells and an elevator.

New training facility

The price tag on a new training facility also was discussed. The proposed project would expand the existing headquarters training ground campus on Bujacich Road to include a new training tower, a training support building for vehicle storage and classrooms, and new drill areas.

When planning began in 1996, Black said the cost was estimated at $1 million. Now, he estimates the project could cost as much as $10 million.

The only way funding of that magnitude would be available is through a citizen-approved ballot bond measure, Black said.

The department was granted a five-year conditional use permit from the Pierce County Hearing Examiner.

An updated facility would help Gig Harbor firefighters train in simulated conditions without traveling to the state fire academy in North Bend.

When asked if the new facility would be able to generate revenue, Black said that wasn’t the initial goal of the project, but he could foresee the department allowing local fire districts train at the new facility.

The high cost could be attributed to creating the simulated fires in different prop environments.

Black gave the example of a kitchen fire simulation. After adding the fire technology of the propane and natural gas and the smoke equipment, each prop could cost nearly $250,000. The new facility would not burn wood and would need to simulate smoke for a more realistic exercise.

The proposed facility would have as many as four different simulation areas, which Black said the district could consider reducing in order to save money.

Working with others

Black also spoke about the department’s cooperative efforts with local fire districts.

Gig Harbor Fire teams up with departments in University Place, Lakewood and central Pierce County to form a technical rescue team.

The team responds to emergencies such as confined spaces, trenches and structure collapse.

Without the partnership, Gig Harbor would not have those services, Black said.

“Gig Harbor could not afford to do that by itself,” he said.

The department also is part of a regional hazardous material team and has about $100,000 worth of hazmat material in the district at no cost.

Beginning this month, St. Anthony Hospital of Gig Harbor became the base station for medics with on-scene questions and training.

However, the recent addition of St. Anthony also has impacted fire district revenues.

Black said hospital transport revenues are down 10 percent since St. Anthony opened. He believes it comes down to people driving themselves to the hospital instead of calling for a medic service.