Here is why Edina needs more paramedic firefighters, according to Edina Fire Chief Andrew Slama:
Edina is growing - the city has a bigger population, more seniors, and many more housing units than in the past.
Current staffing is lower than the National Fire Protection Association recommends for even single-story residential fires.
With current staffing, the Edina Fire Department usually can respond to just 3 incidents at a time, but 4 or more incidents overlap hundreds of times each year.
Response time is measured by how long it takes after a call to arrive on site 90% of the time. The Commission of Fire Accreditation sets the goal at 8:12 minutes.
90% response time in Edina has exceeded 12:29 minutes since at least 2021.
90% response time in Morningside for the past 5 years has exceeded 15 minutes.
Time matters in medical emergencies - in a cardiac emergency, initiation of CPR/Defibrillation within 6 minutes from time of collapse improves survival, with a drop in survival rate of 7-10 % for each minute that defibrillation is delayed.
Time matters for fire calls - firefighters have 20 minutes to flashover in legacy construction but just 3-5 minutes to flashover in new construction.
According to a 2018 study commissioned by the City, Edina needs a third fire station to serve the NE quadrant. But no funding has yet been allocated or secured.
The proposed 2026 budget includes funding to hire more paramedic firefighters. However, the City Council is seeking to reduce the amount of the preliminary tax levy it set in September and plans to make cuts in the budget before it is finally approved in December.
If you support hiring more paramedic firefighters, now is the time to make your voice heard. To contact City Council members, you can:
Send a single email to the Mayor and all four Council members at CityCouncil@EdinaMN.gov
Contact the Mayor and Council members individually by letter, email, or telephone. City Council members serve at-large, meaning they each represent the entire city.
Find contact information for every Council member at: https://www.edinamn.gov/772/City-Council#contactcouncil.
Chief Slama will speak at the MNA Annual Meeting on Sunday, October 26 at 3 PM in the Weber Park Shelter. All are welcome!
For more information, here are slides from presentations Chief Slama made to the MNA Steering Committee on July 31, 2025, and to the League of Women Voters on September 11, 2025.