City Councilman Looking to Review Emergency Response Contract with UNL

On average, Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews respond to a call on Lincoln’s two campuses about once a day reports our media partner 1011 Now. A recent study by Lincoln Fire and Rescue shows that the resources committed to campus-related calls costs the city more than $400,000 per year.

For many years, the University of Nebraska has paid the city $16,000 per year to the city of Lincoln to provide fire and rescue services on campus. The LFR study showed that the service costs the city 25 times that amount.

“The University of Nebraska and the City of Lincoln have a 150-year relationship, and it’s a good relationship,” says City Councilman Roy Christensen. “But like all relationships, from time to time, it’s good to review things to make sure they are in balance.”

According to the LFR study, the city responded to 378 emergency calls in 2018. That’s up from the 358 incidents in 2017. In both years, fire and rescue units spent more than 400 hours responding to a medical, fire, hazardous materials, or a car crash situation on the Lincoln campus.