Lane Fire Authority cuts staff, scales back services after levy expires

Lane Fire Authority cut multiple positions and pulled two peak-hour ambulance units from service after its local option levy expired June 30, tightening emergency coverage for the 45,000 people it serves across 282 square miles in the Willamette Valley.

The district eliminated fire and EMS training roles, maintenance positions, paramedic jobs, a public education coordinator and an executive secretary post. Two 24-hour advanced life support ambulances remained in operation, but the reduction removed the extra capacity that helped cover busier stretches of the day.

Public CPR classes ended July 1, and the district stopped offering volunteer academies, school programs, fire extinguisher training, defensible space assessments, community presentations, station tours and field trips. Walk-in help is gone, front-office staffing is no longer dedicated, and residents who call with non-emergency questions may not get an immediate answer. They now must use an online contact form and wait longer for a response.

Chief Dale Borland warned in May that the district did not have enough people to keep operating at its former level. “If we have to live in this proposed budget, we don't have the staff to run ambulances,” Borland said. Lane Fire Authority had already removed one ambulance from service and eliminated two full-time paramedic positions before the final vote. Its board is now reviewing staffing reductions, response-capacity changes and other operational moves, while employees face wage freezes and no cost-of-living adjustments in contract talks.

The levy sat at 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, after voters rejected a renewal and increase on May 19. The defeated measure would have raised the rate by 20 cents to 55 cents per $1,000 for five years beginning in 2026-27, money the district said would have funded two additional firefighters and a modular building for staffing quarters at Station 109 on Spencer Creek.

Lane Fire Authority puts call volume at about 7,400 calls a year, about 80% of them EMS responses, and says volume has climbed almost 20% since the 2021 levy passed. Lane Fire Authority says costs have surged since 2021: ambulance licensing fees up 220%, overtime up 72%, maintenance and repair up 79%, federal and state mandates up 60%, insurance up 48%, health care up 27% and 911 dispatch services up 19%. A Eugene medical equipment supplier hopes to help fill the CPR-training gap.