Firefighters in Grapevine are pushing back against a city proposal to shift resources toward EMS, warning the plan could reduce fire response capacity in a rapidly changing community.
A union representing local firefighters is urging Grapevine officials to add more equipment and personnel rather than reallocate existing resources as part of a proposed restructuring of the city’s fire and emergency medical services operations.
The proposal under consideration by city leaders would take Engine 1 out of service and replace it with a specialized “squad” unit capable of handling high-risk rescue operations while also providing emergency medical services.
City officials say the shift reflects the department’s workload, noting that roughly 71% of calls involve EMS rather than fires, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Grapevine Professional Firefighters Association has opposed the change, arguing the city should expand its fleet and staffing instead of reducing traditional fire suppression capacity.
Union representatives have warned that removing an engine could affect the department’s ability to respond quickly to fires, particularly in busy areas that attract large crowds, including the shopping complex Grapevine Mills and resort hotel Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine.
City officials, including the fire chief, have defended the plan, saying the reorganization has been under review for several years and is designed to better match resources with the types of emergencies firefighters most often handle.
“We are strategically reallocating resources and strengthening minimum staffing to be more efficient stewards of public funds,” the city’s mayor and city manager said in a joint statement cited by the FWST.
Union leaders say the proposal may rely on outdated data. According to a union spokesperson quoted in the report, the consultant study guiding the plan used information from 2019, before recent demographic shifts and changes in call-tracking systems.
“The city has grown, the population has increased, a lot of things have changed in the city since that report was compiled,” the spokesperson said. “Also, admittedly, the data that they used is incomplete… We’ve since upgraded our reporting software, we could get a much more accurate picture.”
The dispute has also drawn attention from local education leaders. A.J. Pontillo, a trustee on the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District school board, publicly raised concerns about how the changes could affect emergency coverage for nearby schools, including Cannon Elementary, Silver Lake Elementary, and Grapevine Middle School.
“I fully understand tight budgets and hard choices,” Pontillo wrote on social media. “However, I don’t believe financial constraints should compromise the safety and security of our students, staff, or community.”
The debate comes as many North Texas fire departments face increasing EMS call volumes while balancing budgets and staffing needs.
