Eugene Springfield Fire will separate into two fire departments, ending their 16-year-long consolidation.
The two communities have been working for the last year on plans to launch a new shared fire government, but city officials say that’s no longer financially viable.
Eugene City Manager Jenny Haruyama sent the city of Springfield a notice of the end of the consolidation earlier this week. The transition will take two years.
In a news release, Haruyama and Springfield City Manager Nancy Newton said transitioning to independent departments would allow both cities to invest in direct fire serves rather than spending limited public funding to start up costs for a new fire government.
“Eugene and Springfield have benefited from a strong public safety partnership for many years, and we remain deeply appreciative of the firefighters, paramedics, and emergency responders who have served both communities with distinction,” Haruyama said. “As our cities look to the future, this transition creates the opportunity for each community to govern, invest in, and plan fire and emergency services in ways that best reflect local needs and priorities. Throughout this process, residents can expect the same commitment to high-quality emergency response and public safety.”
The two city’s leaders also said the change will allow their respective fire departments to focus on their own, unique infrastructure needs.
"Springfield residents should know this clearly: the quality, speed, and dedication of the emergency response you receive is not changing,” Newton said. “This transition reflects more than a decade of partnership with Eugene and builds a structure designed specifically for Springfield's community and future."
Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven said both cities have changed significantly over the last few decades and separate departments will allow them to focus on their unique needs.
"So Eugene's looking for ways to address some of those outstanding resources and investments and the fact that it's growing denser and higher,” Caven said. “That requires a different type of firefighter staffing level than what just kind of the traditional, suburban feel that we used to be."
He said many of the behind the scenes parts of the department have always been separate, with Eugene and Springfield each covering their share of personnel out of their own budget.
He said one of the potentially more noticeable transitions might be leadership. All non-union management positions at Eugene Springfield Fire are paid from Eugene’s budget.
“Springfield needs to rebuild that management structure within their fire department, that leadership,” Caven said. “That will most likely be people that are here. We have a ton of talented and capable people.”
He said both cities will continue to provide mutual aid and the public should expect no difference in the level of service they receive when they call 911.
"You probably won't notice until you see a different logo on a uniform or a fire engine,” Caven said. “It's the same fire stations, it's the same fire engines, it's mostly the same people, just where they're organized and assigned after that fact."
Read Eugene and Springfield's notices ending the intergovernmental agreement below:
