BOISE, Idaho — Boise is growing up and out, which is making for more homes and more fires for our firefighters to battle. So, is all the growth making you less safe? We talked to Boise's Fire Chief to find out.
Growth is a fact of life in the Boise area. The population exploded by more than 50% in the past two decades. It means more apartments, taller buildings, and a denser downtown. Does that mean firefighters' tactics are having to change to keep up with the changing skyline? Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer said they're ready to fight any fire anywhere. But there is a pretty big problem with all this growth.
"We're always learning new techniques, but the core components of fighting those fires really haven't changed, even with the growth,” said Chief Niemeyer. “Certainly, what has changed is, number one, our ability to get from point A to point B. Response times have changed because we have more folks on the road. We have more construction."
That's right. Here's one more reason to hate traffic, it's slowing down firefighters. And Boise isn't just growing up, it's sprawling out, which is even worse for response times. More developments are being built into the former wildlands around the city, which means more homes farther away from the city center and most of the fire stations.
Niemeyer said, "Whenever you grow laterally and horizontally, it becomes more of a challenge because we may not be able to get there. We have a five-minute travel time goal. So, from the time that our wheels go out the door to the time we get on scene, we want to hit that five minutes. And the further you get out, we just don't have the station capacity further out to meet that five minute goal.”
So, how does Boise Fire keep up with the constant growth? Niemeyer believes it will take continued planning to make sure whatever development is proposed, firefighters can get there in time to save lives and property. Niemeyer said a big part of that planning ahead was the recently passed Modern Zoning Code. He says it gives the Department the roadmap for the future to understand if they can keep planned developments safe. And if that cannot happen, then development plans need to change, or they need to add another fire station.
Niemeyer said that entails, "working with the mayor and her staff, and then also working with Council to make sure everybody understands, if we're going to approve X, then what do we need to make sure we have in place to approve X, whatever X is."
Also, as the population grows, so does the number of fires, which is making it harder to find enough training time for crews. While the Chief says they are getting that critical training, they've had to be more creative to make the time.