Scherer Urges Leaders to Stop Massive Cut to Springfield Fire Department

DECATUR, Ill. – Following a proposal to slash the city of Springfield’s fire department budget by $1.4 million, state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, is urging city leaders to find other budget solutions that would protect local firefighters and emergency services and stop dangerous cuts to a critical emergency department.

“The drastic budget cut to the fire department is harmful to the citizens of Springfield and reducing or laying off members of the fire department is not the avenue to pursue,” said Scherer. “Public safety is the number one priority of any elected official, and I implore the city to find an alternative measure rather than laying off the very people that my constituents rely on to be there for them.”

The Springfield Fire Department (SFD) is an Insurance Service Office (ISO) Class 1 fire department which places them in the top 1% of fire departments across the country. ISO collects and evaluates fire suppression capabilities in over 48,000 communities in the United States. ISO notes that most insurers use the PPC classification for underwriting and calculating premiums on residential, commercial, and industrial properties. The PPC score is a measure of the community’s overall ability to reduce property losses due to fires. Due to SFD’s rating, residents, commercial businesses and industries enjoy significantly reduced premiums.

In addition to fires, the Springfield Fire Department responds to a multitude of emergency calls ranging from any medical call, hazardous materials response, motor vehicle accidents, water and ice rescue, and domestic terrorism.

“Throughout this pandemic we have witnessed how important public service is to our communities,” said Scherer. “There is no question that firefighters, EMT’s, paramedics and all other first responders are a vital part of Springfield and are literally there for each resident and visitor of the capitol city every minute of every day.”