Grapevine Fire Department Chief Darrell Brown unveiled a reorganization of the department's structure, which could start as soon as this summer.
The chief discussed deactivating Engine 1 and replacing it with Squad 1, a move that drew public comment at the Feb. 17 council meeting and has since drawn attention on social media following a post by the Grapevine Professional Firefighters Association.
Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate and Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow issued a joint statement Feb. 25 regarding the personnel changes.
“We are strategically reallocating resources and strengthening minimum staffing to be more efficient stewards of public funds,” the statement said. “We fully support Chief Brown and the Fire Department in their efforts to meet the ever-evolving needs of our citizens and remain community-focused.”
The details
Four ambulances will be stationed in Fire Station Nos. 2-5, and a squad company will be introduced at Fire Station No. 1, replacing Engine 1. Brown said the squad, which looks like a pickup truck with a camper, will be staffed by a captain and a firefighter-paramedic and respond to emergency medical services calls. The other firefighters on Engine 1 will be assigned to other stations. Brown said, looking at numbers, the squad could have responded to 1,300 calls in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
With the deactivation of Engine 1, a fourth medic will be placed in service, and a dedicated driver for the city’s blocking apparatus, called Scorpion, will be added, according to an email from Assistant Fire Chief Stuart Grant.
Brown said that despite changes, the fire department will increase the minimum staffing from 26 to 27 people. He said 33 people, barring vacations, sick leave or injuries, could be working every day.
"This proposal impacts response times, resource availability, firefighter safety and community safety," the Grapevine Professional Firefighters Association said in a statement.
What’s happening?
A 2021 study by consulting firm Fitch and Associates showed the city needed to purchase a fourth ambulance, according to previous Community Impact reporting. However, supply chain issues delayed delivery, the statement said.
The city statement also said that EMS calls made up 71% of the total calls received by the fire department in FY 2024-25.
Brown played a video with the council that was shared with the city’s four fire stations, as well as talking about the changes.
In the video said he gathered insights from a focus group of captains to look at staffing. Brown broke down some of the changes, which include moving the brush truck to Fire Station No. 3, adding the new ambulance at Fire Station No. 4 this spring, moving the Scorpion, or blocker, from Fire Station No. 1 to Fire Station No. 5 and moving the driver from Engine 1.
“One of the truck captains pointed out that the squad will often arrive first, allowing them to do a 360 [look], locate the fire and provide valuable information before the truck arrives and whether we need to pull a hose, do ventilation or perform a rescue,” Brown said. “This setup gives us many options.”
Brown said a fifth ambulance would not be added until 2029 or 2030. He said he sees the need based on the trend of calls for EMS service over recent years.
Quote of note
Council member Duff O’Dell raised concerns about the impacts a continued lack of funding has had on the department.
“When are we going to face the fact that we are not a town of 52,000 or 53,000 people? We have, conservative estimates, 7 million extra people in this town every year that you all have to take care of,” O'Dell said. “ We need to decide at some point that we can't just say every year that you can't have any more money in your budget. You won't come back to us in a year because these people will make it work, and we'll never see that. But that is not fair. That is not fair for us to continue to think that we don't have to add staffing.”
Diving in deeper
Brown said the deployment model is “pretty much the same” as in 2000 when the department had three ambulances and six fire companies. That was the year Fire Station No. 5 at 2801 Grapevine Mills Blvd. N. was opened.
“So, that's 26 years ago,” he said. “I think our city's changed just a little bit since then.”
Calls for service have risen 90% from 2005, exceeding 7,600 during fiscal year 2024-25, according to Brown’s presentation. He said the fire department responded to only seven actual fires in FY 2024-25, the largest being the Silver Lake Marina incident in October 2024.
Brown said the department should be receiving two new vehicles, a ladder truck and a bucket truck. He said once those two vehicles arrive, the new staffing model will be implemented.
“We're going to move forward,” he said. “I think I have a lot of personnel that will get behind this and do this. I've got some—they're going to be against it. I know that. But you know what? They respect me and I respect them, because we all have opinions ... but we'll collectively get together and try this.”
