IAFF Local 851 Firefighters

IAFF L851

Wed Jul 16 2025 report for ESF units

ESF was out of ALS Ambulances 7 times

ESF was down to their last ALS Ambulance 18 times

ESF was out of fire apparatus in Battalion 1 0 times

ESF was out of fire apparatus in Battalion 2 0 times

ESF was out of fire apparatus in Battalion 3 1 times

More than half of ESF fire apparatus were commited to calls 1 times

ALS stands for Advanced Life Support. To be an ALS Ambulance, the ambulance must be staffed with at least one paramedic.

ESF runs a three battalion system. A battalion consists of a group of stations and fire apparatus within a geographical area.

Battalion 1 is east Eugene. Battalion 2 is west Eugene. Battalion 3 is Springfield.

Why More Resources Matter

Your Eugene Springfield fire department is facing several challenges due to outdated equipment, understaffing, and budget shortfalls. It's crucial that we take action now to ensure the safety of our community.

Eugene Fire 1981

Current ESF Eugene

City Population

106,100

177,923

Avg. Daily Firefighters

37

38

Fire Supression Units

12

12

Firefighters per resident

1 Firefighter for 2868 residents

1 Firefighter for 4946 residents

Springfield Fire 2002

Current ESF Springfield

City Population

54,382

62,996

Avg. Daily Firefighters

15

15

Fire Supression Units

5

5

Firefighters per resident

1 Firefighter for 3625 residents

1 Firefighter for 4199 residents

Brownouts

Browning out a station means temporarily shutting down a fire station to save money. With a 24 hour shift model that means 1 full day without fire and EMS coverage from that station everytime it gets browned out. The City of Springfield passed a budget which will brownout a fire station for up to 44 days.

Springfield Fire Engines

A single house fire takes 4 fire engines and 1 fire truck company. The city of Springfield has 4 fire engines and 1 fire truck company. If there is a house fire in the City of Springfield it takes every fire apparatus within the city, assuming they are all available, leaving nothing else to protect the 63,000 residents without utilizing fire apparatus from the city of Eugene.

Response Time

Since 2021, calls for Springfield fire resources have gone up over 13%. This has caused the average response time to increase by over 30 seconds. While this may not seem like much, a fire can double in size in that same 30 seconds and brain tissue death begins in as little as 4 minutes during cardiac arrest. Brownouts only serve to decrease unit availablity and increase response time.

Calls for Service

Since 1981 Calls for service for the fire department have gone up over 1000%. This is with ZERO additional Fire supression units in the city of Eugene.

District Model Benefits

Shifting to a district model will give the department more stable funding which will allow for better allocation of resources, improving coverage and improving response times.

The views and opinions presented on this page are of the IAFF Local 851 Firefighters and do not represent either city or the fire department
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