By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A third-party study commissioned by the city of Norman, Oklahoma, found the fire department needs three additional stations and 78 more firefighters to meet its five-minute response-time goal.
- Fire Chief Travis King said increasing staffing is a priority both to strengthen existing crews and to staff proposed new stations.
- The plan calls for relocating Station 5 and building three new stations to address growth in southeast and northeast Norman.
- Each new station is estimated to cost $12 million to $13 million, not including land, equipment or staffing.
- Funding for the new stations has not been finalized and could require voter approval; the Station 5 relocation is already funded through a 2015 voter-approved public safety sales tax.
NORMAN, Okla. — A third-party study commissioned by the city of Norman has found that the fire department needs three additional stations and 78 more firefighters to meet its five-minute response-time goal and address public safety needs tied to the city’s growth.
Fire Chief Travis King told KOCO that increasing staffing is a top priority, both to strengthen existing crews and to provide personnel for the proposed new stations. “Anytime we open a new station, we need 15 people to do that. We do not have the surplus people to open any new stations, so it’s going to take hiring more people,” King said.
The plan calls for relocating the department’s Station 5 and constructing three new stations. Officials said growth in southeast and northeast Norman, particularly in rural areas, has made it harder for the department to meet its response-time goal.
King estimated each new station would cost between $12 million and $13 million to build, not including the cost of land, equipment or staffing. Funding for the new stations has not been finalized and could ultimately require voter approval. The relocation of Station 5 is already funded through a public safety sales tax voters approved in 2015.
Fire officials have presented the study’s findings to the Norman City Council, and department leaders said planning for the proposed stations can now move forward.