Future of firefighting in EP is focus of study

How should firefighting change as Eden Prairie ages? City officials will soon find out.

A six-month, $79,000 study approved Tuesday, Jan. 2, by the Eden Prairie City Council will analyze how the Eden Prairie Fire Department provides fire coverage, how the department is staffed, and what short- and long-term improvements may be needed.

Fire Chief Scott Gerber views it as a way to maintain a high level of fire service into the future and to find ways to make it even better. “A master plan, if you will,” he explained.

Cities including Minnetonka, Hopkins, Bloomington, and Eagan have done similar studies, and Shakopee’s study is currently underway, according to Gerber. Some have even used Citygate Associates, the Folsom, California, firm hired this week by Eden Prairie.

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But the so-called “standards of coverage and staffing” study is a first for Eden Prairie.

A casual observer might wonder what fire department changes are needed, with Eden Prairie already nearly fully developed. But staffing trends and local redevelopment – including the advent of light-rail transit (LRT) and large numbers of apartments being built in northeastern Eden Prairie’s industrial area – pose potential risks.

And, while much can be learned from what other fire departments are doing, Eden Prairie also has some unique features to consider, says Gerber: a reliever airport, a major shopping mall, a confluence of major highways, a railroad freight line, a large school district, and soon LRT.

So, Citygate Associates is expected, in the “coverage” aspect of the study, to look at things such as geography, station locations, hazards, and response times – which, for the Eden Prairie Fire Department, is a current goal of responding to 90% of calls for service in eight minutes or less.

The “staffing” portion of the study will evaluate Eden Prairie’s hybrid model of personnel: 11 full-time staff along with 97 duty-crew firefighters who receive pay but typically have other full- or part-time jobs. 

It’s hard to know what staffing recommendations will come out of the study, says Gerber, but it’s possible that one will be a continuance of the duty-crew model coupled with the hiring of more full-time firefighters.

At this stage, it’s also uncertain if the study will include public input, said the fire chief. The results, once complete, will be presented to the city council.

In 2022, the Eden Prairie Fire Department responded to 3,426 calls for service. Gerber says the 2023 final number will be closer to 3,260.

Seven vendors submitted study proposals for the city to consider; three vendors were interviewed. One-time public safety funding from the state is going toward the study’s cost.