Kokomo to make investments in KFD in 2025
The Kokomo Fire Department is receiving millions of dollars of investments next year, from new safety equipment, new trucks and a major renovation of one of its busiest stations.
The Kokomo Fire Department in 2025 will receive $2 million more than 2024, in what the local fire union has described as the largest year-over-year budget increase in recent memory.
The city of Kokomo's approved 2025 fire budget totals $15,106,991. That's a little more than $2.3 million more than in 2024.
It's additional money that will be used to purchase new gear, new equipment, hire more firefighters and to allow employees to travel for training, officials say.
In addition, Fire Station 6, located 1717 E. Boulevard near Indiana 931, will receive a complete rebuild next year to the tune of approximately $9 million.
All together, it's a significant investment in the city's fire department, one that Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore said has been brewing for a few years now.
"It's just been a matter of timing," Moore said. "Now that we've worked a lot on what needed to be infrastructure-wise with the (Starplus Energy EV) battery plant and that surrounding area, and with housing and incentives, we got to the point that we could focus a little more on public safety. Knowing that with the city growing in development and housing, we needed to take a more committed position on assuring we can add bodies to both police and fire."
Currently, members of the Kokomo Fire Department just have one set of gear. That is less than ideal, KFD Chief Paul Edwards said, as it can create a possible safety hazard.
If firefighters get called to a fire back-to-back without having a second set of gear, they will have to wear that "dirty" gear that has been exposed to carcinogens.
Part of the 2025 budget increase will be going toward buying a second gear for each firefighter.
Ideally, Edwards said, the city will purchase 30 new sets of gear for the next three years so that by the end of the three years, every firefighter has a second set of gear.
"It's just a way of making our guys safe," Edwards said.
In the same vein, the city is purchasing next year a new gear washer for $40,000. The current gear washer at Station 1 is about as old as the building itself.
Additional money is budgeted for out-of-city training.
Conveniently, the largest trade show for the fire and rescue industry, FDIC International, is held each year in Indianapolis, so KFD takes advantage of that education and networking opportunity.
But there are other such opportunities out-of-state that Edwards said he'd like to see more KFD firefighters attend. Now, they can.
"Those are the things I really want to take advantage of, to provide our guys with more and varied training opportunities," Edwards said of out-of-state conferences. "It's just a good way to go and network. You come back with skills, and you're able to teach our guys what you learned. It just continues to make the Kokomo Fire Department better."
Over the last few years, the city has retired old trucks and replaced them with new ones. A financial and assessment report completed in early 2022 recommended the city put in place a multi-year equipment replacement plan as many of its equipment were at or near their replacement time.
Since taking office, Moore has cited replacing both police and fire equipment, including vehicles, as one of his administration's biggest challenges. In the last few years, though, the city has begun chipping away at the problem.
In 2022, the city brokered a deal with Center Township for a new engine to be stationed at Station 3. It recently welcomed a new engine for Station 6 and a new battalion chief vehicle.
Later this year, the city is expecting to have delivered a new aerial truck.
Lastly, earlier this year, the city put in a $1.3 million order for a Rosenbauer rescue truck from St. Louis-based Sentinel Emergency Solutions to replace Station 1's rescue truck. The new truck is expected to arrive approximately two years from now.
KFD employment numbers hover around 90. The 2025 budget allows the department to hire up to 95 firefighters next year, Edwards said. Due to lower than needed staffing in recent years, the department has incurred overtime expenses of well into the six and sometimes seven figures.
"I think it's a sign that we're going in the right direction," Edwards said of the recent investments in KFD. "It will allow us to do things that we've needed to do for a long time and has really helped us modernize the Kokomo Fire Department."
Station 6 upgrades
One of the city's oldest and busiest fire stations is receiving a multimillion rebuild.
The city will have a new Station 6 in the near future. Construction is scheduled to start next spring. Upgrades include the new station having a third bay, making the bays tall enough to fit modern equipment, 10 bedrooms in the second floor to allow for future manpower growth, a new kitchen, three offices, a state-of-the-art fitness room and an in-house and community training room that can be used for CPR classes and more.
Station 6 has received a facelift in recent years, including in 2013 when the city updated the facade and restrooms and added a new HVAC system, but the station is old, having been built in 1963.
Moore said at his annual State of the City address in October that Station 3, also constructed in the 1960s, is next up for a rehaul, though he didn't specify a timeline for such action.
