As City officials wrestle with how to fund the fire department, a closer examination of the consultant’s report gives insight into how Hamilton’s fire services stack up to those of other similar-sized cities.

Berkshire Advisors Inc., the consultants hired to review the city’s fire and EMS operations, reported last week to City Council that changing the workweek from 48 to 52 hours could reduce as many as 17.5 positions and save $825,000 in overtime costs. The study also recommended closing fire stations on Shuler Avenue in East Hamilton and on Laurel Avenue in Lindenwald.

More than 100 Hamilton residents and firefighters packed City Council’s chambers Tuesday night to express their concerns about closing those stations.

“I still can’t understand (the recommendation to close Stations) 26 and 27,” said former fire chief Joe Schutte. “The south end and Lindenwald are going to be hurt.”

Several businesses and industrial areas off Bypass Ohio 4 and around the Symmes Road area, including the Butler County Regional Airport, depend on those two stations for fire coverage. Residents also expressed concerns because of the closeness of homes in Lindenwald and Linden Elementary School.

Hamilton’s response rate for the first apparatus to arrive at a structure fire is 5.30 minutes 79 percent of the time. The National Fire Prevention Association standard is 5.30 minutes 90 percent of the time.

When asked what the response time would be for the southern areas of the city that are currently covered by stations recommended for closure, consultant Mike Walker said closing those stations would increase response times by one minute.

Walker noted that 83 percent of the runs are for EMS services and said a fourth EMS unit should be established for 12 hours a day, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Where that fourth unit would be housed was not determined.

Berkshire Advisors compared Hamilton to five other like-sized cities: Middletown; Springfield; Youngstown; Decatur, Ill.; and Owensboro, Ky.

According to the study:

• Hamilton had the second lowest geographic area and the third highest percentage of population. Middletown had the lowest population and the third largest geographic area while Springfield ranked fourth in both categories. Hamilton also ranked first in terms of fire department budget as a percentage of the General Fund in its group with 32 percent or $12.6 million. Middletown was second with 31 percent or $9.7 million and Springfield was fourth with 25.9 percent or $12.7 million. These totals exclude several special funds that provide additional funding for these departments.
• Other comparisons note that Hamilton was second in terms of budgeted overtime at $1.1 million or about $10,099 a year per uniform employee. Middletown is third with $285,761 in budgeted overtime or about $3,528 a year per uniform employee, and Springfield ranked fourth at $301,043 or about $2,370 a year per uniform employee.
• Springfield ranked first in terms of uniform staff per 1,000 population; Hamilton was third, and Middletown was fourth.
• Springfield and Decatur, Ill., had the most number of staffed fire stations with seven each. In Springfield, each station covers about 3.6 square miles. Hamilton was second with six stations that each cover 3.73 square miles, and Middletown was fifth with its five stations that cover 5.16 square miles per station.
• Hamilton deploys 10 apparatus while Middletown deploys six and Springfield deploys nine. Hamilton, Middletown and Springfield each operate three medic units. All six cities in the group assign the same minimum number of staff for its fire and EMS units.
• In terms of number of incidents per 1,000 population responded to, Hamilton ranked third. Springfield ranked first and Middletown ranked second in this comparison.
• Middletown ranked fourth in average response time to fire suppression incidents at just under five minutes. Hamilton ranked fifth at 5 minutes, 9 seconds and Springfield ranked sixth at 5 minutes, 43 seconds. All six departments have a minimum of 10 firefighters at the scene within eight minutes of being dispatched.
• The workweek for Hamilton firefighters is 48 hours while Middletown and Springfield’s workweek is 51 hours. There is no limit on the maximum number of hours a Hamilton firefighter can work. Middletown limits its firefighters to 48 consecutive hours while Springfield has a limit of 60 consecutive hours with a mandatory eight hours off after that.
• Springfield ranked first in the percentage of EMS runs to fire runs at 84.1 percent. Middletown ranked second at 81 percent. Hamilton city officials said 83 percent of its runs are for EMS.

The study also recommended some administrative changes in policies and procedures. However the Berkshire Advisors study said the Hamilton Fire Department is well managed and the opportunities for improvement are in areas that many department struggle with. It also said while there are opportunities to improve performance and reduce costs, the department is already operating at a high level.

Hamilton has been down this road before with consultants and fire department efficiency studies.

In 2000, an study was done of the department which noted it was organized and administered well. That study also explored the feasibility of adding a third EMS squad as the city was growing. Schutte, who was a deputy chief at the time, said the credibility of the was questioned by City Council because that consultant reported that Hamilton did not need a third squad even though the number of calls were rising for the two front-line squads. He said some council members were irked because the same consultant told Fairfield officials that they needed an additional EMS squad even though they had fewer runs than Hamilton.

“The credibility of the report was in question,” Schutte said.

He said in November 2002, residents approved a 1-mill property tax levy for fire protection and voted a separate 1-mill property tax levy for police services. That levy enabled to city to add a third EMS squad.

Since the release of the current study, emotions are running high with residents that may be affected by the station closures.

“Most people aren’t willing to give up a fire station,” said Frank Downie, co-chair of PROTOCOL, the Lindenwald neighborhood organization. He said many in the neighborhood consider the Laurel Avenue station a Lindenwald asset.

“Some are for closing if it will push the city into bankruptcy, but many are leaning for keeping it open,” he said.