New station for Brookline Fire if $10 million bond passes

Would decrease response time, Chief Kilburn says
The Brookline Fire Protection District is asking its residents to approve a $10 million general obligation bond when they go to the polls on Tuesday, April 8. James Kilburn, fire chief, said the funds would allow them to build a new fire station, which would allow them to serve the public better.
“In order to decrease response times,” he said, “we need a new station in our busiest and most populated area of the district with a general target point in the area of Farm Road 140 and Farm Road 115. The district will place this project at the highest priority with a fully operational goal of two years. This station would be 24-hour and fully staffed, so it would need to be equipped with living quarters including a food prep area, day room, and sleeping rooms, as well as offices and a training area and classroom. We want this to be a community-oriented facility including a meeting area available for public use.”
Growth increasing demand
Kilburn said the new fire station is needed due to the area’s growing population.
“In August of 2021, our community approved a levy increase that brought us from the lowest levy in the county to one that allowed us to begin the process of providing full-time staffing. By the fall of 2021, we began operating with three full-time firefighters per shift. In a time frame of only a few years, area growth and call volume increases quickly necessitated additional firefighters, and we are now staffing with five full-time per shift bolstered by our volunteer firefighters.  Our team has worked diligently to provide constant improvements including bringing the district to an ISO Classification 2, becoming a hub for firefighter and EMT training that is friendly to our volunteer firefighters seeking full certifications. We are now at a point where we need to begin staffing another full-time station, in the designated area, in order to meet the growing needs of the community. We expect our average response times to decrease by over two minutes when this project is completed.”
Would also help upgrade equipment
Besides allowing the district to build a new fire station, Kilburn said the bond would also give them the funds to upgrade their firefighting equipment.
“This bond will also allow the district to begin a replacement program of fire trucks, firefighter PPE safety equipment, life-saving medical equipment, and various firefighting equipment,” he said. "These items are subject to a finite life span that is dictated by the NFPA and affects our ability to maintain the excellent ISO classifications that we now have. Inflation rates have driven up the costs of equipment, facilities, repairs, maintenance, and employment expenses to the point that our levy alone is not able to keep up with these needs. Our fleet is aging out, with seven out of eight (fire trucks) not meeting NFPA compliance of under 10 years of age, with six of those being over 20 years old. The average cost of a fire engine is $800,000 and a ladder truck is approximately $1.5 million. You can see how these numbers add up quickly.”
Kilburn said there would be a gradual increase to the tax levy.
“In order to keep the levy at the smallest rate possible, the board of directors plans to take the bond money out in increments and only as needed,” he said. “So, for the first two years or so, the levy would be $0.14, at the next issue the levy would be $0.20, and finally, in four years going to $0.28. These amounts in addition to our present levy would be in range with the other full-time fire districts in this area. We project a total levy of $0.86 and under $0.98 throughout the life of the bond.”
The residents in the district would see lifesaving and money-saving benefits in approving the bond, Kilburn said.
“You will have improved response times by up to two-and-a-half minutes on average,” he said. “And we can maintain our ISO classifications to continue the savings on your homeowners insurance premiums.”
Kilburn also gave assurances that the funds from the bond would only be used to benefit those they serve.
“Brookline Fire takes our responsibilities very seriously and has the total team attitude for constant improvements,” he said. “We consider your tax dollars as investments in the fire district and pledge to use our resources wisely to keep that investment benefiting the community.”