VIDEO/PHOTOS: Eugene Springfield Fire is ready to start its newly adapted apprenticeship program to help meet the growing needs of the department as Springfield and Eugene continue to grow in population while the size of their fire department remains the same. Eugene and Springfield have a combined population of more than 200,000 people living in the area. Since the 1980s, the size of the Eugene itself has almost doubled to where it currently is today. With a growing city, the department has struggled to grow along with the population. Captain Dan Finney is the Program Coordinator with ESF working to get the apprenticeship program launched in the department. Finney said the call volumes in recent years is alarming for them as their department size stagnates.