Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - To the casual observer driving through the east side of Watertown, the sign posted on a vacant lot signals a simple construction project: the future home of t

"Exploring the Staffing Challenges Facing Watertown's Proposed Third Fire Station"

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - To the casual observer driving through the east side of Watertown, the sign posted on a vacant lot signals a simple construction project: the future home of the city’s third fire and medical station. But according to City Manager Alan Stager, the reality is far more complex than laying bricks and mortar.

In a move that prioritizes operational sustainability over political optics, Stager confirmed at last week’s media briefing that while the city is committed to expanding its emergency response footprint, formal building plans remain on hold until a much larger hurdle is cleared—personnel.

The holdup for the project isn’t the cost of construction, but the recurring cost of human lives. To meet the rigorous safety and response standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the city must hire nine additional full-time staff members to effectively man a third facility.

“There are no building plans because we really need to solve for how we expand staffing... so that we can operate three stations.” — Alan Stager, City Manager.

For the city, the math isn’t just about a one-time construction bill; it’s about a permanent, recurring annual budget commitment. In the world of municipal finance, finding a few million dollars for a building is a manageable hurdle. Finding the hundreds of thousands of dollars required annually for salaries, benefits, and training for nine new firefighters is a long-term fiscal challenge that could reshape the city’s budget for decades.

The Three-Station Balance

Currently, Watertown Fire Rescue operates out of two main hubs: the Downtown station and the Airport station. Introducing an Eastside facility wouldn’t just mean adding more people; it would require a delicate “rebalancing” of existing crews.

The plan involves reallocating experienced staff and new recruits across all three locations to reduce response times without compromising the expertise at any one station. This logistical challenge must be solved before construction begins, because the city cannot afford to build a state-of-the-art facility that remains unused due to insufficient staffing.