Frequently Asked Questions

The Fire & EMS department relies on a blend of full-time career fire staff and a dedicated group of approximately 52 Paid on Premise (POP) part-time firefighters and 21 Fulltime Fire Division staff. EMS has 28 Fulltime Staff and 11 POP Staff. 

Our POP staff allow us to maintain 24/7 coverage across two stations. However, the POP model is under extreme pressure. Sun Prairie has become a premier training ground in our region, but other Wisconsin communities offer higher wages for part-time staff and more opportunities for full-time careers. This creates a “revolving door” effect. We invest heavily in training and outfitting of these professionals only to lose their expertise to larger departments.  

Additionally, we’re seeing a significant generational shift – younger professionals prioritize work-life balance and family over the intense, demanding and irregular hours of public safety careers. There’s also a national shortage of individuals interested in public safety careers due to the high physical and mental toll of the job.  

An approved referendum would allow for an investment in the Fire & EMS department to pay our POP staff higher wages, encouraging them to stay with Sun Prairie. It would also enable us to hire two full-time firefighters to ensure we’re able to maintain the high-quality emergency services our community expects, even as call volumes continue to rise.   

Sun Prairie Fire & EMS has long prioritized a cost-effective approach to public safety by:  

• Utilizing a blend of full-time and part-time/Paid-on-Premise professionals. By utilizing staff at an hourly rate without full benefits packages, this model saves the City more than $2 million each year.  
• Pursuing grants. In 2018, the City secured a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant, which provided 75% of the funding for three years to hire the initial full-time staff required to open and operate Station 2 on West Main Street.  
• Sharing services and cost distribution. The department serves the Town of Sun Prairie and the Town of Bristol through the Northeast Dane County Fire Unit (NEDFU). Under intergovernmental agreements, these towns share the costs of operations and apparatus, ensuring they receive the same service levels as the city while distributing the tax burden.  
• Relying on state-level funding and revenue. Each year, the Fire department receives approximately $250,000 by successfully completing the state’s 2% Fire Dues requirements. These funds, distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, are specifically designated for fire prevention, training and equipment.  
• Merging with EMS. In 2024, the City merged its previously independent nonprofit fire department and municipal EMS department into a single city-run agency. This merger combined leadership under a single Fire & EMS Chief, reducing long-term city costs.  

Following the 2024 merger into a unified city department, Sun Prairie Fire & EMS structures its "All Hazards" response around these specialized divisions:

• Emergency Fire Response: The "boots on the ground" fire division responsible for fire suppression/Auto Extrication/Technical Rescue/HAZMAT/Gas Leaks/Ambulance Assists in the City and Towns of Bristol and Sun Prairie.
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS): A dedicated 24/7 EMS Division providing advanced life support, recently streamlined in 2026 to focus primarily on providing the highest level of care to local residents.
• Enforcement & Community Risk Reduction (CRR): This expanded division combines legal safety standards with proactive community outreach to prevent emergencies before they happen.
• Emergency Management: The city's primary planning arm for large-scale disasters. This division oversees the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and maintains city-wide emergency preparedness according to federal standards.
• Fire Prevention Bureau: Reviews hundreds of building plans annually and conducts roughly 3,000 safety inspections on existing commercial structures to ensure they meet current design and engineering standards.
  • CRR Initiatives: The department uses data from past incidents to target specific risks, such as car seat installations, public education workshops, and smoke alarm programs designed to make the community more resilient.

It is a national "scorecard" (1–10) that measures a fire department's ability to protect its community. Class 1 is the highest possible, and Class 10 is the lowest. Sun Prairie is an ISO Class 2 Department. This elite status places Sun Prairie Fire & EMS in the top 3% of Fire/EMS departments in the United States.

 This means:

• Lower Insurance Costs: Most insurance companies use this rating to set premiums. A Class 2 rating often leads to lower property insurance rates for residents and businesses.
• Proven safety: It conforms our staffing, training and equipment meet the highest national standards.
• Reliable infrastructure: the rating also accounts for the city’s excellent water supply and 911 dispatch efficiency.

In Sun Prairie, we utilize a “Dual Response” model to provide the highest level of care. It is common to see both an ambulance and a fire engine at a medical emergency for three reasons:

• Faster life-saving care – Fire engines are often closer to your location than the nearest available ambulance. Our firefighters are licensed Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) or Paramedics  who carry advanced life-support equipment, including AEDs and oxygen. They can begin stabilizing a patient minutes before an ambulance arrives.
• Capacity for critical emergencies – Critical calls, such as cardiac arrests or major trauma, require more than two people to manage. An ambulance typically has a two-person crew. By dispatching a fire engine, we provide the extra hands needed to perform high-quality CPR, manage advanced airways, and safely lift and move patients into the ambulance.
• Scene Safety & All-Hazards Preparedness – On calls involving vehicle accidents or hazards, the fire engine provides a physical barrier to protect the medical crew from traffic and brings specialized rescue tools (like the "Jaws of Life") that ambulances do not carry. This ensures that no matter what the emergency evolves into, we have the right tools on scene immediately.