Budgeting is one of the most dreaded aspects of managing a fire department, but it’s also one of the most important. With many fire departments facing budget cuts, public scrutiny about their spending decisions, and dwindling resources, financial planning is crucial. 

If your local fire station has been struggling to receive the resources it needs to successfully serve its community, there are some actionable steps you can take to request additional funds and better manage the resources you do have. 

Resource Allocation Strategies

Outdated equipment, wide coverage areas, and limited staff can all spell disaster if these issues aren’t addressed in a timely manner. If equipment fails during an emergency, it could cause serious harm to residents or firefighters. A small kitchen fire could become a deadly blaze if firefighters can’t arrive on time. Overworked firefighters are more at risk of injuring themselves or others and making poor judgment decisions in high-stress situations.

Resource allocation strategies for fire departments include methods for decreasing hazards in the community, utilizing real-world data to express financial needs, and making the most of a tight budget. When these strategies are implemented, it can help your department make the best budgeting decisions for your staff and for the community as a whole.

Start a CRR Program

Community risk reduction (CRR) programs help fire departments recognize the specific risks in their communities and develop targeted plans to reduce these dangers. The first step in a CRR program is to conduct a community risk assessment to find the most pressing issues in the fire department’s coverage area.

Once the most important problems are identified, the U.S. Fire Administration recommends using the “5 E’s” strategy. This multi-step approach allows fire departments to tackle community risks through:

• Education: Includes school programs, public presentations, and social media campaigns to provide relevant information to the public.

• Engineering: Refers to products and equipment communities need to stay safe, such as smoke alarms, child car seats, and bike helmets.
• Enforcement: Includes building codes, smoke alarm installations, and other laws that reduce certain safety risks.
• Economic incentives: May include positive incentives (such as free smoke alarms, medicine lock boxes, or reduced insurance rates) or negative incentives (fines or tickets) to influence people’s behavior. 
• Emergency responses: Refers to properly training and equipping fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and medical providers to handle community emergencies.

CRR programs can make it easier for fire departments to choose where to spend their resources because teams get to learn which issues are impacting their neighborhoods the most. Having these insights will help fire departments make more informed decisions to reduce these risks and use their resources effectively.

Identify Unique Geographic Variations

The equipment your department will need varies greatly based on where it’s located. If you’re in a bustling urban county, you probably won’t need a brush truck. On the other hand, if you’re in a small town with limited water resources, a truck or UTV skid could be an excellent investment.

It’s important to assess what kind of equipment your department needs based on its proximity to hazardous areas, such as busy highways or rivers. If your team frequently ends up assisting with medical emergencies, allocating some resources for lifesaving equipment could make a major difference to your department and to any potential victims. 

Survey Your Department

One simple way to assess your department’s needs is by conducting an anonymous survey amongst your team. Ask everyone to submit their opinions about where resources should be allocated and what problems could be solved with increased funding in certain areas. For instance, additional training or new equipment could make it safer for them to do their jobs, assist victims of specific types of emergencies, or increase the overall efficiency of the crew.

Collect and Share Data

At the end of the day, numbers don’t lie. If you can consistently track and report key data points amongst your department, you can bring your findings to the community and to budget meetings to explain why you’re asking for certain resources or additional funds. Collecting data will help you build evidence that supports your department’s needs and will be far more convincing to those influencing your financial budget. 

You can start creating a strong database by double-checking that all data is being entered correctly and that every team member understands how to measure and report relevant metrics. Meticulous paperwork and data entry can be seen as a drag, but it can lead to serious benefits once you can start drawing conclusions based on past data trends.

When you share data with the greater community, the more specific you can be, the better your message will be received. Strive to use real-life examples and accurate predictive equations to illustrate your department’s needs. For instance, your argument will be viewed as much stronger if you explain that a new fire apparatus will lead to a 25% faster response rate instead of saying you need a new rig to get to rural areas faster.

Additional Resources

If you need more budget management advice for your fire department’s needs, there are several programs that could help:

• FireGrantsHelp aggregates thousands of grants that fire departments across the country can apply for. There is also a page where you can search for free products, such as turnout gear, personal protective equipment, radios, defibrillators, and more.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers three different grants through its Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program. 
• The National Fire Academy offers free educational programs, certifications, and training opportunities for firefighters and other emergency responders. 

If you’re managing a rural fire department, check out QTAC’s full product line of brush trucks, UTV skids, and other equipment that can help you keep your community safe without going over budget.