(NewsNation) — Police and fire departments, particularly those in small cities, are feeling the crunch of high gas prices, as some departments have had to change their mode of operations to save on fuel.
The national average price for a gallon of gas has climbed to more than $5 per gallon, raising fuel costs for some police and fire departments by 30-70%, according to retired fire chief Marc Bashoor.
“You may get to a situation where some of these places go, ‘Look, I just don’t have money to put fuel in fire trucks,'” Bashoor said.
South Metro Fire Rescue in Colorado is expecting pay $300,000 more on fuel this year, according to local media. In Wisconsin, a fire department in the small town of Merrill says it’s been paying $60-80 for fuel every time a truck is deployed.
Departments have been making small cuts to their budgets to afford fuel, Bashoor said. Examples include cutting back on safety programs, switching in-person medical response calls to tele-response, delaying construction and renovation projects and reducing the number of vehicles sent to incidents.
“They’re afraid they’re going to end up in a situation where fuel has caused them to get fewer firefighters to show up, which could ultimately lead to somebody’s demise and none of us want to see that,” Bashoor said.
