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Public Services and Utilities <br />Affected Environment <br />This section describes the existing public services and utilities that serve the area in the vicinity <br />of the alternative sites being evaluated in the final EIS. Public services include fire and <br />emergency medical services and local law enforcement. Utilities include electricity, natural gas, <br />solid waste collection and disposal, telecommunication services, water supply, wastewater and <br />stormwater collection, and cable television. The following sections provide general descriptions <br />of the utilities in the vicinity of each alternative site. Figures 18 and 19 provide additional details <br />on the locations of most of the utilities discussed in the following sections. <br />Fire and Emergency Medical Services <br />City of Sprin~elrl (Alternative I) <br />The Springfield Fire and Life Safety Department is smaller than the Eugene department, with <br />approximately half the total number of paid and volunteer firefighters serving roughly half the <br />number of citizens. The department responds to emergency calls that require immediate <br />firefighting and medical assistance, with 65 paid and volunteer firefighters and additional <br />support staff. The department currently operates six engines, one ladder truck, and three <br />paramedic ambulances from five stations located throughout Springfield. All six fire engines are <br />pumping engines. The engines also provide paramedic services, including advanced life support, <br />but do not provide patient transport services. The nearest hospital is in Springfield at the <br />intersection of 4th and G streets. The hospital provides Level II trauma services. <br />The Springfield Fire and Life Safety Department provides a number of basic services including: <br />^ Fire suppression <br />^ Rescue from entrapment <br />^ Water rescue <br />^ Emergency medical services/ambulance <br />^ Ambulance billing <br />^ FireMed ambulance membership <br />program <br />^ Fire prevention <br />^ Fire and life safety education <br />^ Fire code enforcement <br />^ Hazardous materials control <br />^ Fire source investigations <br />^ Fire inspections <br />^ Emergency management planning <br />and response. <br />The 5th Street station (station #4) is located at 1475 5th Street, within roughly six blocks of the <br />Alternative 1 site (the Riverfront site). <br />Current average fire response time to either Springfield site is within 2 minutes, and ambulance <br />response time averages roughly 5 minutes for the Riverfront site and 3 minutes for the Gateway <br />site (Huffman 1999 personal communication). The reason for the difference in response times <br />for ambulance service is that ambulances are not deployed at every fire station. <br />New Federal Courthouse 137 Final EIS <br />