May 18, 2025
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Bristol Kendall Fire District increases staff, prepares for $12M station

Surging population has fire protection district planning for the future

By Joey Weslo
Chief Jeremy Messersmith welcomed five new firefighters to the Bristol-Kendall Fire Protection District on Sept. 5, including, Matthew Szopinski (far left), Michael Fennell (second to left), Brett Rhodes (middle), Jesse Holliger (second to right), and Lucas Lee (far right).

(File photo) The Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District has been adding new members to their team to keep up with the record numbers of calls coming in. Pictured, Chief Jeremy Messersmith previously welcomed five new firefighters to the team, Matthew Szopinski (far left), Michael Fennell (second to left), Brett Rhodes (middle), Jesse Holliger (second to right), and Lucas Lee (far right). (Provided by the Bristol-Kendall Fire Protection District)

With the Yorkville area’s population surging, the Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District is on track for its highest ever call volume. To support the increasing demand, the department has added extra hands and is updating its vehicle fleet.

This year the department brought-in three additional full-time firefighters, bringing the department’s total to 35-full time firefighters. Another 12-14 part-time staffers round out the team.

“We are upping our staffing right now to try to be ahead of the increase of call volume,” Fire Chief Jeremey Messersmith said. “With the community’s growth, we are upping our staffing to 17 people a day. Now if we have to put another station in, we will already have the people working here and ready to go.”

Just one new fire truck carries a $1.2 million price tag. The department has a total $5 million in vehicles on order, including two fire engines, one ladder truck, and two medic units. Its are also allocating an extra $700,000 for future vehicle replacements.

To help pay for the department’s expansion, the maximum tax levy increase was approved by the fire board back in December. A public hearing was held because the increase was above 5%. Because of the region’s increased Equalized Assessed Value, taxpayers actually saw a five-cent decrease on their tax bills.

The department also increased ambulance fees last year to generate greater revenue to supplement the tax levy increase. The board also passed a rule eliminating any remaining fees tax payers are charged that are not covered by insurance.

“Our focus and goals this year and the next five years are to be prepared for the growth Yorkville is seeing,” Messersmith said. “(This includes) upgrading current stations and light renovations to free up future capital costs for when a fourth station and maintenance facility need to be built.”

The strategic plan within this year’s budget includes $300,000 for a possible land acquisition for a future fire station. A new station is projected to cost around $12 million.

This year’s budget is also helping finance a $360,000 station call alerting system, a $400,000 roof replacement at Station 1, $500,000 in station facility improvements across the department. A new emergency vehicle technician has been hired as well.

As part of the plan to increase staffing and training, the department has developed in-house training workshops to train the up-and-comers. The in-house classes have saved the department money and allowed them to specialize the workshops to fit the unique needs of the Yorkville community.