Graham Fire & Rescue (GFR) contracted with Levrum, Inc. to develop a Standard of Cover study in 2021.
The intent of this study was to assess the fire district and its capabilities. The study analyzes Graham Fire & Rescue’s response area, risks, service delivery, and response performance in detail, and compares the results found to national standards and best practices.
GFR provides fire and emergency medical services to nearly 70,000 residents, businesses and properties covering 70 square miles of south central Pierce County, including the communities of Frederickson, Spanaway, South Hill, Graham and Kapowsin. 106 dedicated firefighters and emergency service providers work out of the six fire stations located in the District.
The Fire District is a combination agency with full-time and volunteer emergency personnel serving the community. The District provides fire, rescue and emergency medical services (EMS) response including basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS). Since the census in 2000, GFR has been the fastest-growing medium-sized fire district in Washington. Its population, as monitored by the Washington Office of Financial Management, has grown from 38,293 in 2000 to nearly 70,000.
As part of strategic assessment and planning, GFR has committed to analyzing the community risk, matching District assets to the risk and creating a vision of continued excellence to serve the community in the future.
Key findings of the study included the following:
- Graham Fire & Rescue is currently well-deployed to meet its current service demand;
- Workload and risk are most heavily concentrated in the northern portion of the district; Graham Fire & Rescue’s resources are deployed proportionally to this demand pattern;
- Some future growth scenarios are likely to result in over-utilization of Graham Fire & Rescue resources, particularly medic units.
View the full report below
GFR-Standard-of-Cover-Study