Buckling Down
Like most Americans, I have been forced to buckle down and count my pennies to survive the current economic climate. I’ve clipped coupons. I’ve cancelled cable. And I bring my lunch to work every day.
According to economists, the U.S. economy will be slow to recover, as corporate profits take time to stabilize and governments try to meet their budgetary shortfalls. Fire departments are no different, said Bruce Evans, the assistant chief of support services for the City of North Las Vegas Fire Department. He’s responsible for EMS, training, business processes, accreditation, facility maintenance and vehicle acquisition — and just learned he must cut $3 million from his budget.
That’s a tall order, and Evans said one area that won’t be cut is firefighting training.
“Sometimes the first thing fire departments do is cut the entire training budget,” Evans said. “So that obviously not wise because that is an investment in the future and can also lead to a risk management issue later on.”
Instead, Evans said support services will be cut across the board. At the same time he’s considering ways to save money. For example, he’s re-negotiating prices on service contracts or on reconsidering equipment purchases — sometimes choosing the lower bidder and sacrificing bells and whistles. He also is working with vendors willing to deliver items right the first time in an efficient manner, which saves money in the long run, he said.
Evans also is considering ways to generate revenue by reexamining fees for ambulance services. In many cases, fire departments can start expanding coverage areas or bill car insurance companies. Departments can raise other fees, such as building inspection and permitting for hazardous materials.
“Those are all things that would potential have increases in fees,” Evans said.
Evans said departments need to track every penny and get reimbursed. For example, he said a neighboring department transports 600 patients a year and doesn’t bill for it because it occurs in an overload situation when a private ambulance doesn’t have a unit unavailable.
“In the past, those would have went uncollected or unprocessed,” he said. “Even though it’s a small amount of money you can’t leave that sitting on the table anymore. You have to go after it.”
In addition, fire departments should know how much each response costs, including what a fire engine costs per hour based on the specific staffing pattern. Documentation of staffing and other administrative processes is important money as well, Evans said. He recommends chiefs track costs on a mapping software so city officials can be convinced with data how much the fire service needs to operate based on the types of calls, their location and the response time.
“So when the city council says ‘well do we really need this fire truck in this location’ based on calls you can go back and prove the need using the data,” Evans said.
Evans noted departments must be innovative without compromising a good work environment, safety or gains toward technology and better service to the community.
“But if you are not innovative, your [department] won’t survive,” he said.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am
This is exactly why I have always had heart burn over using large apparattus for EMS runs. On one hand the unit is on the street and guys ar earning thier keep. On the other hand though it cost a lot more money to operate a fire engine or ladder truck then a suburban.
The operational savings including wear and tear on large apparattus seems like it would pay for the smaller vehicle especially in an urban setting. The risk of losing a piece of fire equipment in an accident is another factor not many consider.
There are many ways to cut down on operational expenses from shutting down non-essential lighting to just plain turning off the motor if the unit isn’t being utilized. All this saves pennies that can add up to longer life of the vehicle as well as reducing expenses.
If you don’t track your expenses how can you justify your costs?
Thanks for a great article
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