# 10/22/2026 Regional Fire Services Study Board Meeting

The Washoe County Regional Fire Services Study Board met on October 22, 2026, to review a draft regional fire and EMS study required by Nevada Senate Bill 319. County staff said the three participating governments share the study and consultant costs equally. Washoe County, acting as lead agency, contracted with Emergent Global Solutions under an RFP; the agreement was executed January 30, 2026. The consultant presented findings and alternatives including continued separate agencies, regional alignment, a general improvement district, and a legislatively created regional fire authority. The study cited dispatch coordination, response times, growth, staffing, capital needs, governance, and funding as key issues. It estimated about $170 million in combined direct agency budgets and identified approximately $285 million in five-year deferred baseline costs; the estimated cost of five additional stations to help meet NFPA benchmarks was not included in the model. No contract award or new spending approval occurred at this meeting.

Board members questioned the financial assumptions, long-term projections, funding and taxpayer impacts, service benefits, and analysis of alternative legal structures. They also sought clearer comparisons of costs and operational benefits and better alignment with the study’s scope. The board unanimously passed a motion directing the consultant to work with participating-agency staff over the next five weeks to address deficiencies and comments raised at the meeting, ahead of the November 30 final-draft deadline. The study recommended near-term regional collaboration, including dispatch improvements and closest-available-unit responses, while identifying a legislative regional fire authority as a possible longer-term option; no consolidation decision was made.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Public Safety, Professional Services
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure, Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 22, 2026

### Sources
- [10/22/2026 Regional Fire Services Study Board Meeting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlMhNl8g8eA) - Washoe County, Nevada