LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Significant upgrades could be coming to the Louisville Fire Department, as Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, proposed spending part of its budget surplus on LFD. 

What You Need To Know

  • Many Louisville Fire Department apparatuses are more than 20 years old and on the front lines 

  • Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, proposed spending part of the city's budget surplus on LFD facilities and equipment

  • Greenberg said he hopes to get the mid-year budget adjustments passed by the end of the year

  • LFD said it's working on a plan to make sure the department has what it needs in perpetuity

It has been a busy year for Louisville firefighters, from a truck dangling over the Second Street Bridge in March to a plant explosion just last week.

“We're just that next run away from not being able to do that because a piece of equipment fails in its response, and we're right around the corner from that happening,” said Jeff Taylor, president of Louisville Professional Firefighters Local 54.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said nine of their frontline apparatus, or firefighting vehicles, are more than 20 years old and another 10 are more than 15 years old. The National Fire Protection Association recommends those apparatus be placed in reserve status.

“The particular piece of equipment that was parked behind us earlier is a 2002," Taylor said. "If we order that piece of equipment today to replace it, it'll be 25 before the next one comes in, so we're at a breaking point." 

Greenberg proposed Monday that more than $6.1 million of the city’s budget surplus be spent on LFD. That would provide the department with three engines, one truck and renovations to a few stations.

"We've been championing this issue for a while now," Taylor said. "Things always don't happen as fast as you would like them to. It is refreshing to see that the mayor is listening, and he is making a significant investment in the Louisville Fire Department." 

“These investments will have to be repeated again in future budgets to catch up, but these investments today that we're announcing are a great start,” Greenberg said.

In future budgets, Taylor said he is hoping for investments in their other aging buildings, some of which are more than a century old. 

“Our department is very diverse, extremely diverse, but yet our facilities don't offer diversity within where they live and stay 24 out of 72 hours,” Taylor said.

Greenberg said he hopes to get the mid-year budget adjustments passed by the end of the year. His propositions will first have to go through Louisville Metro Council. 

O’Neill said the department is $34 million behind on deferred maintenance. He said LFD presented a plan to the mayor to catch up on maintenance and make sure the department has what it needs in perpetuity.

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