ELKHORN, Wis. — For more than a year, Chief Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae has been looking into several issues raised by Elkhorn Area Fire Department staff.
Our investigative series 'Understaffed and Under Fire' exposed a series of issues like staffing, firehouse and equipment conditions, public safety and transparency.
On April 6, TMJ4 News spoke with paramedic Jess Nicikowski and now, former fire lieutenant Tristan McNamara. McNamara put in his notice to leave the department shortly after our stories started airing.
Elkhorn city leaders continuously refused on-camera interview requests from TMJ4 News.
You can watch 'Understaffed and Under Fire' here:
Fire department staff, former aldermen, and taxpayers have spoken at public comment during Elkhorn Common Council meetings, asking for transparency.
On May 8, Mayor Tim Shiroda and City Administrator Adam Swann sat down, on camera, with Chief Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae.
The interview itself was over an hour long. We covered topics like staffing, firehouse and equipment conditions, public safety and transparency. Many of the questions asked came directly from members of the fire department and taxpayers.
You can watch the full interview at the bottom of this article.
STAFFING CONCERNS
Rae: "Your own documents state that a minimum of eight people are supposed to be on shift, with two paramedics. We have emails between Adam and the chief saying the chief would be okay having seven as an absolute minimum, but you're not meeting that minimum, and why isn't that happening?"
Shiroda: "Well through no fault of the council or the mayor, I'll tell you that. We have no role in the hiring. The chief and the HPC [PFC], fire and police commission do the hiring."
Rae: "The fire chief and its employees have said they need eight people to operate and that they're not operating at that capacity."
Shiroda: "Our idea is, and the fire department went away from this, the paid-on-call and part-time. If we had a roster of those people... we'd get to the eight people. It would cut down on overtime, which of course would save the city money, and thirdly, quality of life for the existing full-time firemen would be better."
City leaders argued that it proposed using part-time employees and paid-on-call staff to fill the gap.
First responders said the largest staffing strain they experience daily is with paramedics. That strain amplifies when multiple 911 calls come in at one. This is also known as simultaneous calls for service.
Swann: "We're absolutely concerned about paramedics. That is a major concern for us. We've done everything we can to support, we're working again on a pay structure that they have indicated that they would like, but we do need compromise and we need to be trying to solve the problems."
Rae: "So you think that the fire chief is not willing to compromise and work with you to solve the problems?"
Swann: "No, I'm saying that we've had these conversations, but yes, there has been resistance to using part-time and paid-on-call."
Swann and Shiorda said a staffing study, paid for by the city, will better establish department needs moving forward.
FIRE HOUSE CONDITION AND EQUIPMENT
The staffing study comes after the city already paid Bray Architects nearly $40,000 for a study to look at the condition of Elkhorn's firehouse. The results of that study were presented to the Elkhorn Common Council in early 2025.
The Bray Architects study deemed several areas of the fire house in "poor condition," recommending a full replacement of the HVAC system and roof, upgrading the electrical system, installing appropriate fire alarms and smoke detectors, and remediating mold in the bathroom and kitchen.
Rae: "Why did it take you a year to get into the fire house and start making repairs?"
Swann: "Well, as far as the issues that we talk about in there [investment list provided by Swann] in terms of ventilation, mildew in the bathroom, concerns about the flooring, we weren't made aware of those issues, we weren't."
Rae: "You were. It was in the Bray study in 2025."
Swann: "I'm saying, I don't think the Bray study talked about."
Rae: "It did cause that's where we got it. I don't have it with me."
Swann: "I don't think it talked about mildew in the bathroom."
Rae: "It did. It talked about possible asbestos and mold in the ceilings and in the showers in the bathroom; it talked about the kitchen floor. It was all detailed. It's like an 82-page report. I thoroughly went through it, it's in there. They presented it to council.
Swann: "And maybe so. Maybe it is in those 82 pages, my point is at no point did the fire department, fire chief say 'hey, these are concerns'. As soon as we heard about the concerns during public comment, we immediately looked into it and got it resolved."
Rae: "It was presented in front of council in 2025."
Swann: "And I'm glad you mentioned that because, as you just said, the Bray study identified a lot of needs for the fire station. It wasn't just one thing. It's not really feasible for the city to replace or fix everything at once."
City leaders said they also resolved outstanding issues with equipment.
Swann: "Since at least 2022, we've bought two ambulances, two fire command vehicles, we bought a fire engine pumper, an aerial ladder truck, extrication equipment, turnout gear, anything that's been requested, we've provided."
It's gear that had to be replaced, according to a Fire Services Inc. report from 2025, which states the overall condition of Elkhorn Fire's fleet is "poor" and requires corrective action to remain safe and roadworthy.
A LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
In April, when we talked with McNamara and Nicikowski, they, too, had several questions they wanted city leaders to answer.
One in particular had to deal with equipment and the list Swann released about the investment the city had made into the department.
"It's money you're supposed to be spending anyways, so why are you holding that against us?" McNamara asked.
It's questions like that first responders, taxpayers and TMJ4 News have tried asking Swann and Shiroda. We also asked why city leaders haven't met to have an open dialogue with first responders.
Shiroda: "Well, we have public meetings here twice a month; we obviously let them get up and say what they want."
Rae: "Well, you don't let them. It's the law."
Shiroda: "As you well know, I answer my phone when someone calls me. Anyone can call me. I haven't heard from a single fireman."
Swann: "There's not a single person you can identify who we've refused to meet with, so I don't understand when they say they don't believe we're having the dialogue, we are having it."
City leaders referred to meetings with fire department union representatives as open dialogue.
First responders asked TMJ4 News to ask city leaders if they'd be willing to have a sit-down meeting at the firehouse.
Swann: "If the fire department, if the union representatives, fire chiefs said, 'hey, I think it would be helpful.'"
Rae: "I'm telling you that they are. They've asked me to ask you if you would be willing to have a sit-down, open forum, and answer questions with firefighters and paramedics."
Swann: "Yeah, and I'm telling you, Jenna, if that's what they told us, we absolutely would."
The entire interview with Swann and Shiroda is more than an hour. The interview in full, which has only been edited to switch between camera angles, is below.
Topics covered in the interview
00:00 - 00:38 - Why city leaders decided to interview now.
00:50 - 03:05 - Transitioning from a volunteer to full-time fire department.
03:10 - 05:00 - Referendum spending.
05:05 - 12:15 - Staffing, hiring practices, and city funding of staffing positions.
12:20 - 18:59 - Simultaneous calls for service, mutual aid, and paramedic coverage.
19:00 - 21:20 - Lafayette exiting EAFD, expanding residency in Elkhorn, and staffing study.
21:30 - 24:15 - Union representative dialogue with city leaders, open forum town hall.
24:20 - 26:10 - Staff feedback on equipment and staffing, city investments in equipment.
26:17- 31:20 - Fleet proactive maintenance/repairs and fleet management before Chief Eichmann.
31:22 - 38:30 - Fire house fixes, Bray Architects Study, and fire house expansion.
38:37 - 40:25 - Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) discrepancies.
40:30 - 43:50 - Transparency, public meetings, and meeting with taxpayers and first responders.
43:51 - 46:15 - Who is allowed to speak to media on behalf of the city.
46:20 - 48:30 - TMJ4 policy explanation/process of reaching out to public officials.
48:36 - 50:00 - First responder union contract negotiations.
50:30 - 53:50 - City leaders accuse TMJ4, again, of not including information in our reporting and not reaching out for comment.
54:15 - 58:45 - Chief Eichmann investigation, firefighter investigation interviews and assistant fire chief salary increase.
58:50 - 1:00:30 - EAFD merit-based raises.
1:00:31 - END - Clarification on mutual aid/simultaneous calls for service and final thoughts.
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