Fire Department Budgets

Introduction
The issue today’s fire service is how to justify fire departments operating budgets when the rate of actual calls for structured fires are on the decline. Post 9/11 the federal government set aside millions of dollars in grant money for apparatus equipment and training supplementing operational costs of fire departments across America. With the depletion of those federal monies, local governments are scrutinizing their budgets overall in attempts to cut corners and keep the cost within reason. Even though all aspects of municipal budgets succumb to scrutiny, fire departments are no exception. The operational cost of million-dollar fire stations, manpower half-million-dollar apparatus with the one-hundred-thousand-mile replacement
The Wall Street Journal published an article reviewing approximately 90% of emergency calls to fire departments are medical related, and in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and Miami, community paramedicine is becoming the new way of the fire service (Tabarrok, 2012, p. 1). It’s estimated that 27% of all visits to emergency rooms are for non-emergencies, one driving force in the rise of healthcare cost. Medicare and Medicaid services in addition to some insurance companies are promoting this new way of eliminating unnecessary emergency room visits and their associated cost. Fire departments are eagerly embracing this new type of prehospital care model, it justifies their jobs and generates new revenues for their departments (Quinn, 2016, p.
Harry R. Carter a voice for the fire service states the fire service is consistently overlooked when it comes to proper staffing levels and allocations for departmental funding when compared to its law enforcement counterparts. In one firehouse article, Dr. Carter takes a closer look at the reasons why fire departments take second place when it comes to budget allocations (Carter Dr., 2010, p. 1). Dr. Carter cites several reasons for fire department shortfalls when it comes to funding, and aside from law enforcement and the priority to protect communities from crime. He states the federal government just doesn’t realize the crucial role the fire service plays. He blames the federal government is stealing our fire act money and redirecting it into areas of terrorism and feels that it changes it made soon fire departments will be in the poor house (Carter Dr., 2010, p. 1).
Randy Bruegman, Fire Chief, Anaheim, California published his thoughts on the matter in July 2014. Chief Bruegman identifies the static presence of current fire service delivery models of today which no longer apply to current service delivery models. The days of reactionary response to community needs is a way of the past. Four-man trucks and often two or three trucks at the fire station waiting for a 911 call to come in is no longer an efficient means for responding to community calls for