Legislature advances $347M fire station grant program

The Alaska House Finance Committee heard testimony Wednesday on Senate Bill 140, a bill that would create a state matching grant program to help communities replace and renovate aging fire stations across Alaska.

Fire chiefs statewide have identified more than $347 million in construction needs and $22 million in renovation needs for stations built decades ago that no longer meet modern seismic, cancer prevention or accessibility standards.

The program would mirror the state's harbor matching grant fund, requiring a 50 percent local match and capping individual grants to prevent one community from monopolizing available funds. Communities would apply through the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, with fire chiefs helping rank projects annually.

"Fire stations are not optional infrastructure," Forrest Kiper said, speaking on behalf of the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association. "They are critical response hubs. They house EMS, disaster response capability, wildfire response assets, and community resilience operations."

Kiper said the bill addresses two critical needs: replacement and reconstruction where facilities are no longer viable, and infrastructure upgrades to ensure stations are safe, resilient and capable of housing modern firefighting and EMS equipment.

Steven Reidyn, president of the Alaska State Fire Chiefs Association, said smaller communities lack the tax base to fund replacements independently. He named Hoonah, Angoon, Craig, Klawock and Coffman Cove as examples of Southeast Alaska communities that cannot afford to replace outdated facilities on their own.

"Every department in the state, our call volume increases every year, which leaves us even farther in the hole because we do not have the adequate quarters to house people to respond to those incidents," Reidyn said.

Senator Steadman, the bill's sponsor, said the program would operate like the harbor grant fund, with the legislature deciding annually how much to appropriate. Communities would need to demonstrate they have secured their 50 percent match before projects move forward.

"When you build a fire hall for five or six fire trucks, that is quite a bit more expensive than if you build a fire hall for two," Steadman said.

Representative Hannan asked whether the bill should include a cap on individual grants, similar to the $5 million cap in the harbor program. She also suggested requiring fire chiefs to rank applications and establishing ongoing maintenance requirements for communities receiving grants.

"I do not know if we need to place in statute that this would be the Fire Chiefs Association to do the ranking of those so that it is not a political decision," Hannan said.

Steadman said he was open to amendments addressing those concerns. He noted the harbor program's cap has remained unchanged for nearly 15 years and likely needs updating.

Representative Galvin raised concerns about smaller villages that might need firefighting equipment but not full stations, highlighting a potential gap in who the program serves. Steadman said those requests for apparatus without facilities would be better suited for the capital budget process rather than this grant program.

The committee set the bill aside without voting Wednesday. Members discussed possible amendments related to grant caps, ranking procedures and maintenance requirements.

"I would suggest that if you are interested in the program, to give it some thought, and let us try to put something together that works for all our communities," Steadman said.