Final Report

Fire/EMS Operations

Germantown, Tennessee

Submitted by and reply to:

ICMA Center for Public Safety

International City/County Management Association

777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

ConsultingServices@icma.org

202-962-3607

1
ICMA Background

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is the

premier local government leadership and management organization. Since
1914, ICMA’s mission has been to create excellence in local governance by
developing and advocating professional local government management
worldwide. ICMA provides an information clearinghouse, technical
assistance, training, and professional development to more than 9,000 city,
town, and county experts and other individuals throughout the world.

ICMA Center for Public Safety Management

The ICMA Center for Public Safety Management team helps communities
solve critical problems by providing technical assistance to local
governments. The ICMA Center for Public Safety Managements’ areas of
expertise encompass the following areas and beyond: organizational
development, leadership and ethics, training, assessment of calls for service
workload, staffing requirements analysis, designing standards and hiring
guidelines for police and fire chief recruitment, police/fire consolidation,
community-oriented policing, and city/county/regional mergers.

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 Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................. 9
I. Introduction ................................................................................... 10
II. Overview...................................................................................... 11
III. Operations Analysis ...................................................................... 12
A. Evaluating Local Risks and Determining Resources ........................... 12
1. Risk Management ...................................................................... 14
B. Challenges Facing a Combination System....................................... 16
1. National Trends in Volunteerism .............................................. 16
2. Planning for Future Participation .............................................. 18
3. Where are Volunteers Needed? ................................................ 19
C. Measuring Performance in an Emergency Service Organization ......... 22
1. Developing an Effective Performance Measurement System ........ 23
2. Program Logic ....................................................................... 25
3. Benchmarking ....................................................................... 29
D. Ambulance Transport Service ........................................................ 32
1. Medical Transportation ........................................................... 33
2. Economic Factors Surrounding Policy Implementation ................ 35
3. Cost Factors .......................................................................... 37
E. Fire Station Location..................................................................... 42
1. Reducing Response Times ....................................................... 45
2. National Standards ................................................................ 46
3. Standards of Response Cover .................................................. 50
4. Risk versus Response Time Standards ...................................... 50
5. GFD Response Time Analysis ................................................... 51
F. Organization and Deployment – Increased Fire Potential within
Germantown ................................................................................... 52
G. Alternative Options for GFD Funding Allocations .............................. 54

3
 1. Data and Management Information Systems ............................. 54
2. Communications .................................................................... 55
3. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) .................................... 55
4. Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) .............................................. 56
5. Global Positioning Systems ..................................................... 56
6. Wireless Data and Laptop Strategies ........................................ 57
7. Fire Prevention and Public Education ........................................ 57
8. Public Education .................................................................... 58
H. Recommendations ....................................................................... 61
Data Analysis
Introduction ....................................................................................... 63
I. Aggregate Call Totals and Dispatches ................................................ 64
II. Workload by Individual Unit—Calls and Total Time Spent .................... 75
III. Dispatch Time and Response Time .................................................. 81
IV. Analysis of Busiest Hours in the Year ............................................... 96
Appendix I. Correspondence between Call Description and Call Type ....... 102
Appendix II. Workload Analysis for Administrative Units and Non-
Germantown Units ............................................................................ 105

4
 Tables
Table 1. Call Types ............................................................................. 64
Table 2. Calls by Hour of Day ............................................................... 70
Table 3. Number of Units Dispatched by Call Type .................................. 71
Table 4. Annual Deployed Time by Call Type Including Mutual Aid Calls ..... 73
Table 5. Annual Total Deployed Time by Call Type for Calls within
Germantown ...................................................................................... 74
Table 6. Call Workload by Unit and Station ............................................ 75
Table 7. Busy Minutes by Hour of Day ................................................... 77
Table 8. Engine and Truck Units: Total Annual Number and Daily Average
Number of Runs by Call Type ............................................................... 78
Table 9. Engine and Truck Units: Daily Average Deployed Minutes by Call
Type ................................................................................................. 79
Table 10. Rescue Units: Total Annual and Daily Average Number of Runs by
Call Type ........................................................................................... 80
Table 11. Rescue Units: Daily Average Deployed Minutes by Call Type ...... 80
Table 12. Average Dispatch, Turnout, Travel, and Response Time of First
Arriving Units by Call Type ................................................................... 82
Table 13. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Call Type ....... 84
Table 14. Number of Total Calls for the First Arriving Units ...................... 85
Table 15. Average Dispatch, Turnout, and Travel Time of First Arriving Units
by Hour of Day ................................................................................... 87
Table 16. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Hour of Day.... 89
Table 17. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time of First
Arriving Unit for EMS Calls ................................................................... 91
Table 18. Average Response Time for Structure Fire and Outside Fire Calls
by First Arriving Fire Units ................................................................... 92
Table 19. Average Response Time for Structure Fire and Outside Fire Calls
by Second Arriving Fire Units ............................................................... 93

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Table 20. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time of First,
Second, and Third Arriving Fire Units for Structure and Outside Fire Calls .. 95
Table 21. Frequency Distribution of the Number of Calls .......................... 96
Table 22. Ten Hours with the Most Calls Received ................................... 97
Table 23. Unit Workload Analysis Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on January
29, 2010 ........................................................................................... 98
Table 24. Unit Workload Analysis Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on April 13,
2010 ............................................................................................... 100

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 Figures
Figure 1. Performance Measurement Systems ........................................ 24
Figure 2. General Program Logic Model ................................................. 26
Figure 3. Costs Needed to Support a New or Expand an Existing Program. . 39
Figure 4. Incident Development and Response Timeline and NFPA 1221 and
1710 Recommendations for Career Firefighters ...................................... 48
Figure 5. Incident Development and Response Timeline and NFPA 1221 and
1720 Recommendations for Volunteer Firefighters .................................. 50
Figure 6. Outcome for Heart Attack Victims Based on When CPR is Provided
........................................................................................................ 59
Figure 7. Non-canceled Calls by Type and Duration ................................. 66
Figure 8. Non-canceled EMS and Fire Calls by Type ................................. 68
Figure 9. Average Calls per Day by Month ............................................. 69
Figure 10. Calls by Hour of Day ............................................................ 70
Figure 11. Number of Units Dispatched by Category................................ 71
Figure 12. Busy Minutes by Hour of Day ................................................ 77
Figure 13. Average Dispatch, Turnout, Travel, and Response Time of First
Arriving Units by Call Type ................................................................... 82
Figure 14. Number of Total Calls for the First Arriving Units ..................... 85
Figure 15. Average Dispatch, Turnout, and Travel Time of First Arriving Units
by Hour of Day ................................................................................... 86
Figure 16. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Hour of Day .. 88
Figure 17. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time of First
Arriving Unit for EMS Calls ................................................................... 90
Figure 18. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time of First,
Second, and Third Arriving Fire Units for Structure and Outside Fire Calls .. 94
Figure 19. Unit Workload Analysis by Call Type Between 10 p.m. and 11
p.m. on January 29, 2010.................................................................... 99

7
Figure 20. Unit Workload Analysis by Call Type Between 10 a.m. and 11
a.m. on April 13, 2010 ...................................................................... 101

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Executive Summary

The report provides an analysis and evaluation of various aspects of the city
of Germantown Fire Department with emphasis on challenges facing
combination type departments in light of decreased volunteer resources,
feasibility of Advance Life Support program expansion, options for future
funding allocations, and improvements to the strategic management
processes.

Peak load staffing solutions in the wake of increased demands brought on by

increasing emergency medical responses has been in use in other
departments for some time. Various approaches to increase volunteerism
are employed by nonprofit organizations with great success. Supplementing
volunteer membership with paid part-time employees is a natural transition
for the combination department whose call volumes continue to escalate.

Some recommendations challenge perspectives regarding deployment

initiatives. Although ICMA data analysis mirrors the results of some GFD
internal performance indicators, a different approach is taken with respect
inferences made and conclusions drawn. The goal in these instances was to
stimulate creative thinking and cost-effective measures for improving
service delivery efforts. System service enhancements can be achieved in a
modest fashion thereby re-directing funds to other deserving areas.

Reconstructing performance objectives as a part of the development of a

total performance measurement system will aid in accountability and
monitoring goal achievement.

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I. Introduction

ICMA was retained by the City of Germantown, Tennessee to conduct a

study of the Germantown Fire Department (GFD). The department is all risk
providing Suppression, Emergency Medical Service, Hazardous Materials and
Technical Rescue, Fire Prevention and Public Education, Emergency
Management, and Community Emergency Response Team services.

The organization has evolved over the years from an all-volunteer service to
its present form of a combination fire department. GFD has enjoyed many
successes on the road to improving the level of service provided to its
citizens. It is a well-organized department with established well written and
maintained standard operational procedures. These guidelines provide a
significant measure of safety to both its emergency responders and the
citizens of Germantown. It uses strategic management concepts to
determine its future direction based upon continued environmental scans -
both internal and external - to identify challenges and opportunities. The
department consists of a dedicated group of men and women, paid,
volunteer and civilian which contribute to its delivery of exceptional service
to the community.

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II. Overview

The project team conducted an on-site analysis mid-August 2010.

Qualitative interviews were conducted with members of the command staff.
All operational facilities were visited and less formal qualitative interviews
transpired with facility personnel. A thorough review of literature was made
examining the latest information regarding the subject matter. Observations
made in the data analysis were used to make inferences as to operational
strategies to employ for service delivery improvements. The study focused
on the following key issues:

What are the advantages/disadvantages associated with a change of

EMS service delivery method from private to fire based transport?
What organization and deployment methods are needed in light of a
new mixed used neighborhood which will include an eight story
building?
What is the appropriate staffing, deployment, and equipment levels
needed taking into consideration the possibility of additional fire
station?
What challenges are present in a ―combination‖ type department and
what is the most effective use of its reserve component?
What opportunities for continuous improvement exist and what are the
key variables that should be tracked routinely to assist with budgetary
and policy decisions.

The Operational report will show tables and figures representing national
standards for fire department response times; components of performance
measurement systems; State of Tennessee census data; cost associated
with program development; demand analysis data, and Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation timeline.

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III. Operations Analysis

A. Evaluating Local Risks and Determining Resources

The City of Germantown Fire Department (GFD) Strategic Plan 2009-2014

identifies its number one core business as that of suppressing fires.
Operating element number eight lists identifying fire risks and assessing
community risks.

The department has developed a business plan to identify the magnitude

and scope of probable fire risks in the community, a plan that every fire
department should conduct and periodically update. This risk analysis or
assessment process enables the department to determine what assets
within the community are at risk and what resources are available or needed
to effectively deal with them.

A universal tool that allows the entire community to be evaluated in relation

to the risk of fire is the Risk, Hazard, and Value Evaluation (RHAVE) model,
which the Commission on Fire Accreditation International developed as a
way to classify individual properties in relation to protecting lives and
property.1 The RHAVE software and documentation is available at no cost
from the U.S. Fire Administration.

The risk evaluation process enables a department to establish a fire risk

score for every property and to categorize a property as one with either low,
moderate, or high/maximum risk. Once completed, the risk ratings of
individual properties can be aggregated to establish a risk level of low,
moderate, or high/maximum for each geographic area of the community.
These ratings are then used to determine the appropriate level of fire

1
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, Third Edition, ICMA, 2002, p. 40.

12
suppression resources needed (equipment, personnel, and apparatus) to be
deployed for the initial arriving unit, the full alarm assignment, and any
additional alarm assignments for each level of risk.

The GFD has successfully developed a strategic plan. However, its business
plan needs to be refined if the department wishes to achieve its goals. A
business plan is the direct link between the operational planning of a
department and the overall community’s agenda. Business planning is the
process of arriving at a document that outlines how the organization will
achieve its objectives in conjunction with the fiscal constraints set by the
budget process. The document outlines the major tasks to be performed to a
specified level of service (e.g., responding in a certain number of minutes in
at least a certain percentage of calls or having a certain number of
firefighters on scene within a certain number of minutes for at least a certain
percentage of all reported working fires) and the cost associated with those
tasks.2 The development of these targets or performances measures will be
addressed later in the report.

Miami-Dade County incorporated the strategic planning process into its

management system in the early 1990s. This has evolved since then into a
highly efficient and effective method for monitoring the performance of its
departments. It is the department business plan, outlining performance
measures, that makes it a highly effective accountability document.

The GFD business plan was analyzed against a business plan recommended
by ICMA in its book Managing Fire and Rescue Services (p. 175). Although
the GFD plan does touch key areas such as customer identification, services
analysis, history, mission, vision and broad goals, it fails to identify specific
objectives and the action plans necessary to carry them out. Program

2
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, Third Edition, ICMA, 2002, pp. 172-173.

13
objectives should specify milestones to be attained within certain time
periods. To do otherwise does not convey management commitment to
achieve any particular results. Moreover, they provide little guidance for
defining meaningful measures to assess performance. Truly useful objectives
can be developed using the SMART convention: such objectives are specific
in terms of the results to be achieved, measurable, ambitious but realistic,
and time bound.3 The subject of performance measures is addressed in
Section III-C of this report, ―Measuring Performance in an Emergency
Service Organization.‖

1. Risk Management

After risks within the community are identified, appropriate control

measures can be developed. The three generally accepted risk control
measures are:

Risk avoidance – making sure that the conditions giving rise to risk are
eliminated or not allowed to arise.
Risk transfer – moving the risk to another agency or an insurance
company.
Risk control - most commonly used by fire departments, this involves
implementing measures to control the frequency and severity of losses
and reduce the overall impact of community risks.

With regards to risk management, this report will focus on all three risk
control measures in some form or another.

When looking at risk avoidance, naturally one thinks of fire prevention and
public education. Effective measures to control risks take various forms. An
ordinance that requires the installation of fire suppression and detection

3
Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Poister, T. H. 2003, pg. 63

14
systems is an example of a risk control measure, as is marking the exterior
of abandoned buildings.

The greatest potential for increasing the installation of home fire sprinkler
systems is in new construction. Although a large percentage of current
housing stock in Germantown is considerably aged, it is important to ensure
that future residential buildings employ adequate control measures. The
construction of multi-use buildings within the city should take advantage of
all available measures to ensure the safety of occupants. Further, the use of
these measures helps to bring down the cost of suppression forces needed
to provide fire protection.

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B. Challenges Facing a Combination System

The GFD operates a combination system fire department, which presents

certain challenges not seen in fully-paid emergency service organizations.

Generally, there are a number of factors that may cause a combination

department such as GFD to assess its need for increased dependence on call
or paid personnel. Overall call volume can be a major factor in a determining
the need to increase paid staffing when the number of assigned volunteers
is holding steady or dwindling in light of increasing call volume.

Assessing when to evaluate the type of emergency service organization a

jurisdiction chooses to operate is dependent on multiple factors, including
rapid population growth, addition of new or different levels of service (such
as the plan to implement ambulance transport within GFD), increased
hazards within the response district, and changes in demographics. The
most common change is rapid residential growth, often in the form of single
family, two family, and multi-family structures.

1. National Trends in Volunteerism

Emergency medical services in the United States have depended on

volunteer support for many years and the importance of volunteers cannot
be overstated. Volunteers are of all ages, with the largest number between
the ages of 30 and 45. At the same time, almost a quarter of the population
under the age of 30 and over age 65 is involved in volunteer work. Each sex
is represented equally among volunteers; almost one-half of all males and
females are involved in volunteer activities. Both white collar and blue collar

16
workers, as well as students and retirees are represented among
volunteers.4

Prior to 1975 in Germantown, firefighters trained in first aid responded to

calls for medical assistance. In 1975, three Germantown firefighters became
licensed as Emergency Medical Technicians and the department placed a
basic life support response truck in service. Thus, the GFD has a thirty-five
year commitment to providing emergency medical treatment to citizens of
Germantown. Volunteers have played a significant role in the advancement
of service delivery not just in fire suppression but EMS activities as well.

The key to any successful program is its leadership. Without the

commitment of a manager to champion its cause, any program is destined
to evaporate into nothing more than an ineffective nuisance – something
that gives the appearance of being more trouble at times than its worth.

The management of a volunteer program is no different. It is important that

the GFD recognize the need for dedicated leadership and management
responsibility for its volunteers. Simply assigning a volunteer to fill the
management role creates issues of continuity of leadership. Likewise,
placing it under the umbrella of an assistant chief’s responsibilities does little
in the way of providing the close direction required to achieve established
goals and objectives. A full-time, paid employee can provide the needed
continuity of management and can represent the interests of volunteers,
paid personnel, and the community at-large.

4
Emergency Medical Service Recruitment and Retention Manual, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, (no date), pg. 3.

17
2. Planning for Future Participation

In order to be competitive in the marketplace of volunteerism, an

organization must accept certain realities. Volunteer programs must be
planned thoughtfully and managed well if they are to succeed. The
combination fire department would do well to take lessons from the
nonprofit agencies thatdepend primarily on volunteers in order to sustain
their operations. Fire departments and EMS agencies alike must compete
with other community organizations to attract the most capable and
committed volunteers. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, here are
the basic steps for recruiting and selecting EMS volunteers.5

Develop and implement a needs assessment based on the EMS

organization’s current volunteer staffing, existing vacancies, and
anticipated need for staffing, including daytime volunteers.
Identify the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed and any specific
certifications required.
Prepare job certifications required.
Prepare job descriptions based on tasks and responsibilities.
Develop a plan and timetable for the recruitment of the various types
of volunteer personnel and skills needed.
Implement a system for evaluating potential volunteers that is
compatible with applicable civil rights laws. The evaluation system
used may be an existing system or a new system developed by the
organization; however, the procedures employed in the system must
be valid and reliable. Skill or knowledge tests, if appropriate or open-
ended interview forms should be administered. Tests based on the
performance of real tasks offer the most reliable information about the

5
Emergency Medical Service Recruitment and Retention Manual, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, (no date), pg. 8.

18
 relative abilities of candidates for volunteer positions and are more
easily shown to be valid if challenged in court.
Rate or rank order the applicants based on established criteria.
Select the candidates with the best qualifications.
Develop a schedule compatible with current and anticipated needs for
volunteers for bringing the selected candidates on board. Schedule
follow-up contacts with qualified candidates placed on a waiting list.
Implement an orientation and training program for new volunteers.
Assess the progress of new volunteers and make recommendations as
to changes needed in performance or training.

As can be seen from the preceding list of tasks associated with recruitment
and selection program, oversight cannot be haphazard. The success of an
organization’s ability to provide the volunteers needed to assist in its
operations will depend largely on its commitment to providing the resources
required to achieve its desired goals.

3. Where are Volunteers Needed?

The GFD uses volunteers as paramedics, firefighters, and members of the

Community Emergency Response Team. Of course, these jobs are not the
only ones in which volunteers bring added value to the services delivered
by emergency service organizations. For example, in Miami-Dade County,
senior volunteers participate in a public education program to bring fire
safety information to their peers in nursing homes, senior adult congregate
living facilities, and at fire station open houses. In Germantown, people
between the ages of 60 and 70 years make up about 22 percent of the
population. This suggests the possibility of a fertile marketplace for
volunteerism.

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The following list of volunteer recruitment and retention strategies can point
the way for the GFD as it looks for ways to improve its recruitment and
retention program. Additional information for each strategy can be obtained
from the source of the list (see note).

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 Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Strategies
for Fire Departments6

Annual volunteer recognition Multilingual recruitment

event
Availability of non-
operational opportunities
Buddy system
Clearly written job
descriptions
Competitive testing for
promotions
Encouragement of family
participation
Formal recognition system
Free insurance
Free meals during long-
distance runs
Free personal equipment and
protective clothing
Free training
Informal recognition system
Length of Service awards
program
Mentoring
Movie theater advertisement
Welcome wagon
New, well-maintained vehicles
Open house
Out-of-town conferences
Participation-based
compensation
Physical activities
Piggybacking of recruitment
activities
Print advertisements
Recruiter incentives
Stipend (service account) for
volunteers who meet
minimum weekly participation
requirements
Targeted recruitment
24-hour central telephone
access by prospective
volunteers
Vacancy announcements
Volunteer EMT week
Youth development programs
Youth education

6
Emergency Medical Service Recruitment and Retention Manual, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, (no date), pg. 47-48.

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C. Measuring Performance in an Emergency Service Organization

The question of how to measure agency and program performance within a

public organization is one of the big issues within the field of public
administration today. Strategic planning and management has come to the
fire service and is unlikely to go away. It is leadership and the proper and
effective use of the right tools which will impact plan implementation.
Performance measurement is the ongoing monitoring and reporting of
program accomplishments, particularly progress toward pre-established
goals. The need to continually assess performance requires the addition of
new words and definitions to the fire service lexicon. Fire administrators
need to know the different tools and consequences of their use.7

Administrative feasibility. How difficult will it be to set up and operate

the program?
Effectiveness. Does the program produce the intended effect in the
specified time? Does it reach the intended target group?
Efficiency. How do the benefits compare with the costs?
Equity. Are the benefits distributed equitably with respect to region,
income, sex, ethnicity, age, and so forth?
Political feasibility. Will the program attract and maintain key actors
with a stake in the program area?

Performance measures are objective, quantitative indicators of various

aspects of the performance of public programs or agencies. Different kinds
of measures are used to track particular dimensions of performance, such as
effectiveness, operating efficiency, productivity, service quality, customer
satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. Performance measurement refers to the
process of defining, observing, and using such measures. The following is a

7
Managing the Public Sector, Eighth Edition, Starling, Grover, 2008, pg. 242.

22
step-by-step process for designing and implementing a performance
measurement system.8

1. Developing an Effective Performance Measurement System

Performance measurement systems vary among types of agencies. Some

systems focus primarily on efficiency and productivity within work units, and
others are designed to monitor outcomes produced by major public
programs. Still others track the quality of the services provided by an
agency and the extent to which clients are satisfied with these services.
Measurement systems are the principle vehicle for observing, reporting, and
using performance measures. In addition to the management function,
performance measurement systems consist of three components which
pertain to data collection and processing, analysis, and consequent action or
decision making as shown in Figure 1.

8
Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations, Poister, Theodore H., 2003,
pg. 3-4.

23
Figure 1. Performance Measurement Systems

The following represents steps associated with implementation.9

1. Secure management commitment.
2. Organize the system development process.
3. Clarify purpose and system parameters.
4. Identify outcomes and other performance criteria.
5. Define, evaluate, and select indicators.
6. Develop data collection procedures.
7. Specify the system design.
Identify reporting frequencies and channels.
Determine analytical and reporting formats.
Assign responsibilities for maintaining the system.
8. Conduct a pilot and revise if necessary (optional).
9. Implement full-scale system.
10. Use, evaluate, and modify the system as appropriate.

9
Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations, Poister, Theodore H., 2003,
pg. 22.

24
2. Program Logic

Public programs should be planned and managed with an eye toward

specifying and achieving desirable results. If a program cannot articulate
worthwhile results and provide evidence that its activities are producing
them, continued support will or should be questioned. Any sound program
design must be based on a set of assumptions regarding the services the
program provides, the clients it serves or the cases it treats, its intended
results, and the logic of how the use of resources in particular programmatic
activities will be expected to produce these results.10 Figure 2 represents a
pictorial view of the logic model.

10
Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations, Poister, Theodore H.,
2003, pg. 36-37.

25
Figure 2. General Program Logic Model

The logic model clarifies what goes into a program, who its customers are,
what services it provides, what immediate products or outputs it produces,
and what outcomes it is supposed to generate. Once this has been done, the
most relevant measures can be identified. For the most part, the type of
measures include measures of output, efficiency, productivity, service
quality, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.11

There are several studies, some of which date back to the 1970s, that
highlight important performance measures for fire departments. The GFD
has begun the process of measuring its performance, but more needs to be
done. There have been many key changes in fire codes since the 1970s. This
can have a profound impact on measures of fire department performance.

11
Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations, Poister, Theodore H.,
2003, pg. 47.

26
Fire detection and suppression equipment is now required in most new
construction. There are more requirements for nonflammable building
contents, such as upholstered furniture and mattresses and bedding.12

The easiest and best way of applying quantitative performance measures to

qualitative goal statements is to specifically identify target rates or
percentages of each goal. Elected officials will then gain a better
understanding of what it is the department is trying to achieve.

For example, stating that the GFD’s ‖response time goal‖ is to reduce
response time is a fine goal. However, an effective measure for this goal
would be the percentage of time the department responds to fire incidents in
five minutes or less.

Another example of a qualitative goal statement might be to ―control fire

spread upon arrival’‖ The department could use this measure: percentage of
fires that did not spread beyond the area of origin after arrival of the fire
department. The GFD collects the typical fire department data, such as
response times, total inspections, code violations found, code violations
corrected in ninety days, and response to structure fires by type. These
statistics, although reflective of typical measures seen among fire service
organizations today, should link department goals to specific target rates or
percentages if they are to be used persuasively to justify budget requests to
city officials.

According to Schaemann and Swartz in Measuring Fire Protection

Productivity in Local Government, The Urban Institute and NFPA, 1976, a
large part of the fire service contribution to reducing loss can be measured
by combining response time measures with measures of fire spread after

12
Fire Service Performance Measures, National Fire Protection Association, 2009, pg.3

27
arrival of the fire department. They also suggest analyzing the crash rate en
route to or from fires to indicate if response times are being achieved at the
expense of increased damage and casualties during response.

Additional methods that may be used for measuring success are:13

Comparing fire incidence, casualty, and property loss rates over time
both within the department and with the same rates of departments in
comparable communities.
Measuring the percent of fires confined to the room of origin.
Measuring intermediate outcomes, such as ―number of preventable
fires‖ (where ―preventable fires ―is defined as fires that could have
been prevented if an inspector or other educational intervention had
been performed).
Measuring citizen satisfaction with fire department performance.
(Public opinion of firefighters is generally quite high: thus any
indication of dissatisfaction among citizens should be considered an
indicator of possibly serious problems within the department.)

Although responding to fire incidents, by definition, is the fire department’s

primary mission and the majority of performance measure research focuses
on this function, performance measures must be identified for each
organizational function. They are especially important with regards to areas
of service delivery. Below are examples of outcome measures for fire
protection services.14

13
How Effective Are Your Community Services: Procedures for Performance Measurement,
Third Ed., ICMA, The Urban Institute, 2006, pg. 81-82.
14
How Effective Are Your Community Services: Procedures for Performance Measurement,
Third Ed., ICMA, The Urban Institute,2006, pg. 82-83.

28
 Number of civilian (a) injuries and (b) deaths related to fires, absolute
and per 1,000 population.
Number of firefighter (a) injuries and (b) deaths per 100 firefighters.
Direct dollar loss from fires (a) per $1,000 property protected and (b)
per 100,000 population.
Percentage of homes with working smoke alarms.
Percentage of (a) homes or (b) businesses with working sprinklers.
Average dollar loss for fires not out on arrival, by property type.
Percentage of fires confined to room or area of origin (or a specified
areas expressed in square feet).

3. Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the search for practices that lead to superior performance.

Basically, it involves comparing performance across organizations to
measure one’s own achievements and identify ways to improve.
Unfortunately, most comparisons in the public sector focus on resources
rather than on performance.

The most common resource comparisons in the fire service are per capita
costs, the number of firefighters per 1,000 population, and the number of
firefighters assigned to each piece of apparatus. A primary difference
between comparative resource analysis and benchmarking is the extent to
which the latter focuses on methods for improving performance.
Benchmarking seeks to identify best practices and then implement those
practices to enhance performance. The following is an example of
comparative data (taken from State of Tennessee fire department census
data):

29
 No.
Paid
Fire Dept. Type County of Volunteer P/C
CA
Sta.
Germantown MC Shelby 4 67 25 0
Shelbyville Shelbywille 3 37 18 0
Barlett MC Shelby 5 94 30 0
Millington MC Millington 4 47 30 0
Gallatin MC Gallatin 3 57 9 0
Collierville MC Shelby 5 64 0 15

MC = Mostly Career; Paid CA = Paid Career; P/C = Paid per call.

Whether initiated by a number of counterpart agencies or mandated by

some higher level of authority, the benchmarking process usually proceeds
through the following steps:15

Identify the measures to be used – what is to be measured and what

those measures will be.
Develop precise definitions of the operational indicators to be used by
all participants, along with clear guidelines for implementing them and
uniform procedures for collecting and processing the data and
computing the measures.
Collect and report the data on a periodic, often annual, basis.
Use the comparative data to assess the performance of a particular
agency or program, set targets for particular entities or more general
standards for the field at large, or identify star performers and
industry leaders and investigate leading-edge practices, as
appropriate.

There are challenges in the process that involve availability of data,

reliability of data, reliability of comparative data, and variation in operating

15
Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Poister, T. H., 2003, pg.
239-240.

30
conditions. These factors should not, however, deter an agency from
embarking upon this worthwhile endeavor as a means of improving
performance.

31
D. Ambulance Transport Service

The City of Germantown is considering the expansion of the GFD’s

emergency medical services to include ambulance transport. The city
currently participates with the cities of Arlington, Collierville, Lakeland, and
Millington in a shared, intergovernmental agreement with Shelby County for
ambulance transport services. GFD paramedics serve as first responders to
all emergency medical calls for service, turning over advanced life support
patients to Rural Metro, a private service contractor, for transport to an
appropriate medical facility.

According to a report issued by the GFD, two main problems exist with this
method of service delivery. First, GFD expends resources without the
possibility of cost recovery, and second, there is little to no control over the
quality of service delivered once patient transfer occurs. Another issue not
mentioned in the report but brought forward during the qualitative interview
process, was that of time constraints. Legislative action at the state level
could limit the city’s ability to implement transport service in the future.

In a 2008 pilot study published by the U.S. Department of Transportation,

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for the mid-Atlantic region,
it was estimated that the fire department served as the primary emergency
medical service transport agency for 31 per cent of the population of all
systems surveyed. Of course, this means that fire departments served
nearly 70 percent of the population with only primary first response.

Why do so many fire departments not engage in transport services? The

answer is not surprising. First and foremost, fire departments operating EMS
transport need additional personnel, as time spent delivering patients to

32
hospitals could otherwise erode effective fire company strength.16 This can
be especially burdensome for volunteer and combination departments.
Further, in addition to the human resources needed, the move to provide
this level of service represents a significant cost outlay for facility
renovations, equipment, and vehicle acquisitions, as well as maintenance
considerations.

1. Medical Transportation

Fire departments across the country assume many different roles in

performing medical transportation services. The most prevalent form of
medical transportation by fire departments is emergency-only service using
multirole personnel (sworn, uniformed firefighters with EMS training and
certification). Less prevalent are emergency-only service using single-role
personnel and the provision of nonemergency as well as emergency medical
transportation. Emergency-only service using multirole personnel seems
most compatible with the culture and strengths of most fire and rescue
services.17 For purposes of this study, we will only examine the benefits
and/or disadvantages of the emergency-only service role, which is the
preferred choice of GFD.

The fire department is uniquely suited to provide emergency transportation

service given its preparedness in areas ranging from dispatching to vehicle
maintenance and the advantages of station location and organizational
discipline. From an economic standpoint, emergency ambulance service
compared with nonemergency service requires a high state of readiness,
increases vehicle wear and tear, carries greater potential for civil liability,
and involves a higher percentage of uncollectible fees for service. Most

16
Fire Protection Handbook, 20th Ed., National Fire Protection Association, 2008, Vol. II,
pg. 12-72.
17
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, ICMA, 2002, pg. 30.

33
private ambulance companies are not in a strong enough financial position
to limit their services to emergency transportation, which is why so much of
their resources are dedicated to nonemergency transports – where the
higher percentage of revenues is received. Ideally, the ratio of billable to
nonbillable transportation events will be two to one: two-thirds
nonemergency and one-third emergency.18

Given this information, how could a local government – which has higher
salaries and more generous fringe benefits than most private companies --
provide emergency ambulance service on a competitive, cost-effective
basis?

Much depends on the demographics of the community, the payer mix, the
prevailing reimbursement rates, and the effectiveness of the billing and
collection processes. It is well documented that in most cases where the
service is provided by the fire department utilizing multirole personnel, the
marginal costs will be sufficiently low to allow the potential for full cost
recovery. Furthermore, service charges for local government agencies can
be lower than for private companies within the same geographic area.19
There are few if any current examples of government-operated EMS services
of this type showing a profit margin.

Recently, the City of Stockton, California made the decision to discontinue

its ambulance transport service after operating it for nearly two years. Three
ambulances and associated equipment were taken out of service, and there
was a reduction in personnel. The original feasibility study undertaken by
the department was favorable. It indicated better than average collection

18
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, ICMA, 2002, pg. 30
19
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, ICMA, 2002, pg. 31

34
rates within the surrounding market area, as well as good comparative data
among other fire departments providing the service.

2. Economic Factors Surrounding Policy Implementation

The GFD has researched the feasibility of implementing ambulance

transportation services for the City of Germantown. In its document entitled,
―Emergency Ambulance Service, Business Plan for the City of Germantown,‖
it identifies various key indicators that serve to support its recommendation
for the addition of this service delivery component to its core business
functions. The following list of key indicators taken from that document,
which are based on professional experience and judgment, offer the greatest
advantages favoring service implementation.

An aging population indicates a growth in the need for emergency

medical services.
During the next ten years, the majority of the baby boomer generation
will reach 65 years of age.
It is projected that between now and the year 2020, the growth rate in
the number of persons over age 65 will be twice the growth rate for
the general population.
Germantown’s median age is 41.3 years, which is higher than the
median age of the U.S. population, which is 35.5 years.
Germantown is growing at a faster rate than the national average. The
largest age group in Germantown is between the ages of 45 to 54
(21.7 percent of the city’s population). In four years, the largest group
will be 55 and older.
Germantown will need to provide medical (and other) services to
seniors sooner and at a much higher rate than in many other
communities.

35
 The number of medical responses the fire department makes to elderly
residents is increasing.
• The most common medical calls in Germantown associated with the
elderly include respiratory problems, chest pain, cardiac arrest, stroke,
diabetic emergencies, general illness, and falls.
The socioeconomic environment in Germantown and the market area
indicates a high potential for collecting revenue for services provided.
The market area contains mainly third-party payers
The vast majority of Germantown residents are well educated: more
than 40 percent are college graduates and more than 22 percent have
post-graduate degrees. This educational level indicates the probability
that most residents have jobs or careers that provide medical benefits
and/or they understand the need for comprehensive health insurance.
More than 89 percent of the households in Germantown report annual
salary and wage earnings.
More than 81 percent of households in Germantown report annual
earnings of $50,000 or more.
More than 46 percent of households report annual earnings of
$100,000 or more.
The median household income in Germantown is $113,769.
Per-capita income in Germantown is $44,021.

At first glance, these factors provide a good argument for the sustainability
of a fire department ambulance transportation service. However, there are
other factors to consider.

36
3. Cost Factors

The cost concept that is most useful in examining new or expanded service
is marginal cost. Marginal cost concentrates attention on the additional
expenditures required to deliver a new service or expand an existing one.20

The business plan prepared by GFD outlines many of the programmatic

costs associated with the implementation of an ambulance transport service.
However, all costs associated with a new program or expansion of an
existing one must be considered if an educated decision about program
development is to be made.

Cost projections and program objectives are used in choosing among

possible programs before anything is implemented. The goal of the planners
is to offer services that will justify the investment of funds.

Some will argue that the expansion of EMS service within the fire
department is a win/win situation for the department and community. No
doubt many local governments have benefited, although not monetarily,
from this expanded role for their fire departments. The enhanced reputation
and goodwill associated with this service have been a selling point for many
jurisdictions. At the same time, the idea that so many departments have
moved toward this type of service delivery does not preclude the need to
perform due diligence during the decision-making process. In this day and
age of economic decline, government entities are scrutinizing expenditures
closer than ever in order to keep costs down.

There are various costs associated with undertaking a program, including:21

20
Costing Government Services: A Guide for Decision Making, Kelly, Joseph T. 1984, pg.
89.
21
Program Evaluation Methods and Case Studies, Fifth Edition, Posavac, E., Carey, R. 1997,
pg.195-196.

37
 • Variable versus fixed costs: Cost borne to simply open an agency’s
door.
Incremental (marginal) versus sunk costs: Incremental costs are those
that must be covered day by day in order for a program to provide a
service-staff, salaries, or repairs. Sunk costs are those that have been
expended already. Sunk costs do not determine future behavior, but
incremental costs should.
Recurring versus nonrecurring costs: recurring costs are those due at
regular intervals, such as salaries, rent, utilities, and vehicle lease
payments if that is what is used to acquire vehicles. The cost of
purchasing equipment or vehicles is a nonrecurring cost if the
equipment or vehicles are expected to last a number of years.
Hidden versus obvious costs: Brings attention to the fact that some
costs are not easily recognizable.
Direct versus indirect costs: Those who provide the service and those
who make it possible to provide the service, such as the city or fire
department staff who provide administrative oversight for the private
billing service company.
Opportunity costs: Whenever money is spent to relieve one need, it
cannot be spent to relieve another need; that is the opportunity cost.

Figure 3 is a pictorial view of the costs associated with program

development.

38
Figure 3. Costs Needed to Support a New or Expand an Existing
Program.

A few factors missing from the proposed business plan are contract
administration, opportunity costs, discounting, compounding, future value,
and present value.

Contract administration can be calculated in one of two ways. The first is to

choose a percentage of the contract cost. A range of 10 to 20 percent for
contract administration is a rule of thumb, with the ratio dropping as the
total dollar amount rises. The second is to use the staffing formula
developed as a guide for federal agencies by the U.S. Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), and which is based on the number of government
employees needed to provide the service. For example, if government
provision of the service takes 66 to 91 employees, then according to the
OMB ratio four government employees would be needed to administer a
private contract covering that same range of personnel.22

22
Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Fifth Edition, ICMA, 2004, pg. 369-
370.

39
The factors of opportunity costs, discounting, compounding, future value,
and present value fall under the category of the time value of money.

Taking a closer look at opportunity costs, we begin to understand that even

though the idea of expanding EMS service delivery sounds good
theoretically, the decision to do so should be weighed against other
department needs. After all, resources are limited and it is the responsibility
of administrative and elected officials to make the best possible decisions
when allocating limited resources. Hypothetically, what if funds used for this
purpose were instead directed toward developing or enhancing a data and
management information system (DMIS), toward increased staffing in Fire
Prevention, or toward hiring a full-time volunteer coordinator? What about
adding an additional compressed-air foam system equipped pumper?

The decision not to expand into EMS transport is a difficult choice, but using
these funds could generate tremendous resources to advance GFD service
delivery by taking advantage of today’s technology and/or adding needed
support staff.

The wisdom of a resource allocation decision can be assessed by placing the

decision in context and by considering the time value of money. Was it a
good decision compared with some other option – including the option of
investing these funds? A standard method of making such an assessment is
to compare the ―return‖ or benefit from a project with the return on a
conservative investment of an equal amount of funds. On that basis, the use
of funds for a program with substantial revenue-generating or cost-
avoidance potential would seem to have an advantage over a conservative
investment of an equal amount of funds, which in turn would seem to have
an advantage over nonrevenue-generating alternatives; but the time value
of money comes into play in different ways.

40
A dollar in the hand today is considered to be more valuable than a
projected dollar to be received in the future for at least three reasons:23

It is a sure thing – the risk of nonreceipt is eliminated.

The possibility of consumption today rather than tomorrow is highly
prized (if owners must wait before gaining access to their resources,
compensation in the form of interest payment is expected in return for
deferred gratification).
Inflation erodes the buying power of money.

Our study will not attempt to compute any present or future values. This
task is best left to finance experts within Germantown city government.

In summary, the decision by public officials to spend financial resources

eliminates the possibility of using those same resources for other purposes.

23
Tools for Decision Making, Second Edition, David N. Ammons, 2009, pg. 126-127.

41
E. Fire Station Location

The most effective way to improve outcomes for both fire and medical
emergency response is to reduce response time. Excessive travel times may
mean an increased risk to the public. Therefore, the basic deployment
concept, or model, for a fire department calls for fire stations to be located
so as to form an orderly network of stations from which emergency service
is delivered. The network as a whole seeks to optimize coverage with short
travel distances, while giving special attention to natural and man-made
barriers that can create response time problems. When such barriers to
optimum response times exist, some areas may require more fire stations.24

Fire station location planning must take into account a number of variables
including:

The importance of time in responding to fire and medical emergencies

• Flashover (marks critical change in fire conditions)
• Fire department total reflex time sequence (dispatch time, turnout
time, response time, access time, and set-up time)
• Emergency medical services.

Prior to the gradual population growth to the northwest, the existing location
of fire stations within the GFD response area has served to provide an
effective deployment network for suppression and EMS resources. The
impact this growth will have on overall resource deployment can be
determined by analyzing historical response data and computer modeling. A
computer database of local streets, roads, and thoroughfares can help the
fire department planning staff by simulating responses from a proposed fire
station site along all streets at various average miles per hour. The more

24
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, ICMA, 2002, pg. 121.

42
realistic the average response speeds, the better the projected coverage
area can be defined.

This ICMA study is limited in its ability to provide this kind of station location
analysis; however, computerized programs are available for this analysis, as
are private consultants who specialize in such efforts.

In an examination of the historical data extracted from the department’s

computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, unit workload was identified.
Currently, engine 93 and truck 41 housed at station 3 are the busiest units
within the GFD response area. Engine 93 has the largest percentage of EMS
category calls (65.8) and the lowest percentage of fire category calls (33.8).
Truck 41 ranks third highest among the remaining vehicles in the
percentage of EMS responses. The following exhibit shows the call
percentage by broad category of call during our study period.

Station Unit EMS Fire Related

1 ENG 91 19.4 58.3
2 ENG 92 14.0 66.4
ENG93 65.3 33.8
3
TRK 16.4 62.8
4 ENG 94 21.5 48.9

Given the above information, certain inferences can be drawn from which to
make resource deployment recommendations.

It is obvious that the city would be better served if station 3 could be

supplemented with an EMS response unit, since the majority of its calls for
service are of this nature. The type of unit (e.g., Basic Life Support, BLS, or
Advanced Life Support, ALS, transport unit) would depend on the type of
calls received. ICMA data analysis is limited to a broad categorization of
EMS-related calls. Therefore, GFD would need to use its own resources to

43
determine the level of service needed in the wake of this information. This
strategy would also possibly bring about a reduction in EMS runs for truck
41, since number of runs per day for engine 93 average only 3.9.

This report has already mentioned the additional wear and tear on vehicles
with the implementation of transport service. Indeed, this is already being
experienced as a result of the heavy use of a ladder truck for the delivery of
this type of service. Increased maintenance costs are a result of this kind of
deployment strategy. It should be noted that the information provided does
not represent a trend analysis in that only a twelve-month period of data
was observed.

Another assumption that can be drawn from the data has to do with the
issue of capacity. Capacity is the number of simultaneous calls for service or
multiple alarms received by an agency and which would overwhelm its
ability to meet the increased demand.

ICMA data analysis shows the impact of simultaneous calls on department

capacity to be insignificant. Our research indicates that only four out of six
staffed units were busy during the peak workload hour of the period we
observed, with only two units busy more than thirty minutes of the hour.
Further, for the period studied, the hourly call rates were the highest
between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., averaging at least 0.42 calls per hour and the
call rate was lowest between midnight and 6 a.m., averaging .13 calls per
hour.

Based on this information the following alternatives for modifications to

deployment strategies are recommended for consideration (in order of
descending priority):

44
 Add a peak load (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) ALS unit to station 3, staffed by
reserve members. Shift staffing could be condensed to only eight
hours.
Add a peak load (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) BLS unit to station 3, staffed by
reserve members. Shift staffing could be condensed to only eight
hours.
Add a peak load ALS unit to station 3, staffed with paid, on-call
personnel during an eight-hour block time schedule.
Add a peak load BLS unit to station 3, staffed with paid, on-call
personnel during an eight-hour block time schedule.

Using either peak load staffing and paid, on-call personnel are deployment
methods that have used across the country for many years. These options
offer flexibility and efficiency while increasing effectiveness.

The unit demand analysis for the remaining stations shows near equitable
distribution of calls among the two broad call categories – fire and EMS. Call
volume does not require any recommended deployment modifications. A
new station appears to be unjustified at this point in time.

1. Reducing Response Times

Essentially, each community must decide its desired response and travel
times. There a number of factors that influence the selection of a specific
response/travel time and all must be considered.25 These factors are:

• What types of services are delivered by the fire department? Does the
department deliver both fire and emergency medical services or fire
service only?

25
GIS for Fire Station Locations and Response Protocol: An ESRI® White Paper, Jan 2007,
pg. 8.

45
 • What is reasonable travel time for the community?
• What is the size of the area being served and the type and amount of
resources that are available?
• What level of risk is the community willing to accept?

There are several ways a community can establish a response/travel time

standard.26

The use of historical fire and EMS response data.

Demand for service.
The level of care that the community wants to provide.
The level of care that the community is able to afford.

2. National Standards

There are three National Association of Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

standards that contain time requirements that influence the delivery of fire
and emergency medical services. These are:

NFPA 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of

Emergency Service Communications Systems
NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire
Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special
Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments
NFPA 1720, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire
Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special
Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments.

NFPA 1710 contains time objectives that shall be established by career fire
departments as follows:

26
GIS for Fire Station Locations and Response Protocol: An ESRI® White Paper, Jan 2007,
pg. 9.

46
 • Turnout time: One minute (60 seconds) for turnout time.
• Fire response time: Four minutes (240 seconds) or less for the arrival
off the first arriving engine company at a fire suppression incident
and/or eight minutes (480 seconds) or less for the deployment of a full
alarm assignment at a fire suppression incident.
• First responder or higher emergency medical response time: Four
minutes (240 seconds) or less for the arrival of a unit with first
responder or higher-level capability at an emergency medical incident.
• Advanced life support response time: Eight minutes (480 seconds) or
less for the arrival of an advanced life support unit at an emergency
medical incident, where the service is provided by the fire department.

The standard states that the fire department shall establish a performance
objective of not less than 90 percent for the achievement of each response
time objective. NFPA 1710 does not contain a time objective for dispatch
other than requiring that ―All communications facilities, equipment, staffing,
and operating procedures shall comply with NFPA 1221.‖ For the purposes of
NFPA 1710, the following definitions apply:

Dispatch time: The point of receipt of the emergency alarm at the

public safety answering point to where sufficient information is known
to the dispatcher and applicable units are notified of the emergency.
Turnout time: The time that begins when units acknowledge
notification of the emergency to the beginning point of response time.
Response time: The time that begins when units are en route to the
emergency incident and ends when units arrive at the scene.

47
Figure 4. Incident Development and Response Timeline and NFPA
1221 and 1710 Recommendations for Career Firefighters

Source: NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency
Services Communications Systems and NFPA: 1710 Standard for the Organization and
Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career
Fire Departments.

NFPA 1720 contains a time objective for dispatch time by requiring that ―All
communications facilities, equipment, staffing, and operating procedures
shall comply with NFPA 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and
Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems.‖ NFPA 1720 contains
no time requirements for turnout time and response time.

NFPA 1221 requires that 95 percent of alarms shall be answered within

fifteen seconds, 99 percent of alarms shall be answered in forty seconds,
and the dispatch of the emergency response agency shall be completed
within sixty seconds 95 percent of the time.

• After receipt of a call for assistance, the fire department will respond
with the first unit to that location within three minutes.

48
• After receipt of a call for assistance, the fire department will respond
with a unit to the location, within four minutes, to 90 percent of area
served.
• After receipt of a call for a medical emergency, the fire department will
respond with an engine company to that location within four minutes
and an ambulance with six minutes.

49
Figure 5. Incident Development and Response Timeline and NFPA
1221 and 1720 Recommendations for Volunteer Firefighters

Source: NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency
Services Communications Systems and NFPA: 1720 Standard for the Organization and
Deployment off Fire Suppression Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by
Volunteer Fire Departments.

3. Standards of Response Cover

Other guidelines for the deployment of emergency resources are the

Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s standards of response
coverage. The components of this resource were identified previously in this
report.

4. Risk versus Response Time Standards

Some communities may choose to adopt several response time standards

for various levels of risks in the community, or they may adopt one single
response time standard for all risks. GFD has elected the latter. A risk refers
to a location where the response may be made and the characteristics (e.g.,
fire potential, occupant exposure) at that location. Providing a single
response time simplifies the station location study process; however, it does

50
not negate the need to conduct a community hazard analysis and needs
assessment.

5. GFD Response Time Analysis

According to the GFD business plan, the response time objective is five
minutes within the city limits. ICMA data analysis indicates that for 90
percent of the time, response time is 7.3 minutes or less. Although still
within the acceptable NFPA standard, this figure provides a more precise
picture of where the community stands with regard to response time.

51
F. Organization and Deployment – Increased Fire Potential within
Germantown

Preparation for potential fire operations prior to actual alarms requires pre-
incident planning; staffing assessment; determination of apparatus and
equipment needs; and training of emergency response personnel. With the
construction of a mixed-use occupancy and a high-rise structure within
Germantown, the development of new standard operating procedures and
tactics and strategies will be needed.

Pre-incident planning is conducted to allow firefighting personnel to view

conditions within a structure or site, evaluate what these conditions are
likely to develop into in the event of an emergency, and then develop
strategies for dealing with potential problems. NFPA 1620, Recommended
Practice for Pre-Incident Planning, should be reviewed by the department
command staff prior to the development of a pre-incident planning program
or updating an existing one. The following provides a summary of the steps
involved in the process.27

1. Determine the priorities to address – that is, life hazards, firefighter

traps, and critical infrastructure.
2. Decide what data are needed.
3. Develop a standardized information capture method, preplan form,
and so forth.
4. Train collectors to gather information.
5. Perform visits and collect data.
6. Develop strategic and tactical plans.

27
Fire Protection Handbook, 20th Edition, National Fire Protection Association, 2008, Vol. II,
pg. 12-302.

52
 7. Distribute copies to all potential users.
8. Train users on objectives.
9. Review the plan periodically (annually at minimum).
10. Revise as needed, redistribute, and retrain.

Making the plan available to those who need it in an emergency is the last
step in the pre-incident planning process. Information dissemination can be
handled in a number of ways. Currently, the GFD uses both written
documentation kept on field units and some limited storage within the CAD
system as a means of getting the information to incident commanders. The
CAD is by far the most effective tool for retrieving pre-incident planning
information.

Of course, the information within the system is only as good as the

information that is put into it. Continual updating, at least on an annual
basis, is required in order to ensure the safety of responding emergency
personnel. The department should consider evaluating the effectiveness of
the current CAD system to take advantage of available technology.
Improvements in this area are not only critical to the safety of responding
units, but also to reducing response times.

The amount of information that can be amassed about a typical high rise
building can be quite extensive. In many cities where the CAD systems have
been developed or expanded, data entry issues have been resolved by
requiring the property owners of certain ―target hazards,‖ such as high-rise
buildings, to provide the information in a standardized electronic format.
This can often be accomplished by using a commonly available electronic
program that architectural or engineering firms use.28

28
Fire Protection Handbook, 20th Edition, National Fire Protection Association, 2008, Vol. II,
pg. 12-307.

53
G. Alternative Options for GFD Funding Allocations

1. Data and Management Information Systems

Fire and rescue service managers must have accurate information. They
need it to make decisions, and they also need it to explain and defend their
decisions to local government managers, budget directors, the media, and
citizens. Like other agencies and public interest groups, the fire service must
be prepared to make the case for its priorities.

The number of problems a fire department faces is voluminous and the

range of activities it engages in is broad. The GFD needs to able to handle
the huge amount of information required to make intelligent and informed
decisions. Even the smallest department can be confronted with a myriad of
situations and require hundreds of material resources in order to deal with
them. This is where access to a sophisticated method of managing data and
information becomes important. Moreover, the proper use of good statistics
can help managers identify potential problems, develop public education
programs, and a build positive image of the fire department.

Management information systems allow stored data to be manipulated and

intermixed with advanced systems using computer models for decision
making. Management information systems can also incorporate logic and
information of experts to create ―expert systems‖ that imitate highly
experienced advisers.29 This can be extremely effective in both the
administrative and field environments. Hazardous materials incidents,
disaster management, and EMS patient interventions are just a few of
scenarios in which technology can be useful in improving the level of service
provided.

29
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, Third Edition, ICMA, 2002, pg. 424.

54
2. Communications

Of all the areas in which technology can be applied to enhance public safety,
communication probably provides the most ―bang for the buck‖ and also the
greatest number of options. Some of the technology applications that affect
communications are global positioning systems, internal communications
systems (pagers, voice mail, e-mails), methods of geographically locating
callers using cellular phones, and voice data logging systems.

Because a new system that solves one problem may create new problems if
it is unable to share resources with an existing system, it is wise to
assemble representatives from all public safety entities to review any
proposed purchases of technology, even though the purchase appears to
affect only a single agency. For instance, an evidence tracking system for
the police department might appear to affect only that department.
However, if the fire department has a role in bombing or arson
investigations, fire personnel may be involved in the collection or processing
of evidence, or even have primary responsibility for arson investigations.30

3. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

CAD can be interfaced with GIS, thus allowing various data to be presented
in graphical form tied to maps of the community. For example, one can
create a circle one mile in radius around a factory site and feed the
telephone numbers of all residences in that area to an automated telephone
calling system. This can then be used to provide evacuation information and
instructions to the population at risk. GIS can also be integrated with
enhanced 911 systems: when the location of the caller is overlaid with road
closure information, emergency responders can be routed more efficiently.

30
IQ Service Report, ICMA, Vol.32/Number 1, January 2000, pg. 8.

55
There are many other ways GIS can be used to improve service delivery in
public safety operations.

4. Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)

The CAD system in use for public safety purposes within the city of
Germantown is a work in progress. The GFD lists in its business plan the
objectives to be achieved in this area. It is important to understand the
implications of changes to a system, especially as noted previously when
multiple agencies are involved.

Newer systems make it possible to transfer responsibility for status changes

to the field units when those units are equipped with simple data status
units, mobile data terminals, or mobile computers. Further, CAD systems
can interface with enhanced 911 systems (systems that show the location of
the caller) and with governmental computer systems. This interfacing allows
access to vast amounts of information that, if properly managed, can be of
assistance to emergency responders.31

5. Global Positioning Systems

Global positioning system (GPS) technology allows the user to establish, to a

very high degree of accuracy, his or her location in three dimensions
anywhere on or above the surface of the earth.

The most common use of GPS in public safety is to locate mobile assets from
a central control station. GPS technology can be used to track the
movements of a receiver, or the vehicle on which it is mounted. The term
―automatic vehicle locator‖ is the term often used to describe this
technology. It updates the location of receivers up to several times a
second. The direction of travel and rate of speed can be tracked with high

31
Managing Fire and Rescue Services, Third Edition, ICMA, 2002, pg. 463.

56
accuracy, and either transmitted to a base station or stored for later
retrieval. Because units may be away from the station for various reasons
during the course of a shift, GPS can have a significant effect on decreasing
response times by enabling the dispatch of the closest unit to an
emergency.32

6. Wireless Data and Laptop Strategies

A wireless system can connect a person in the field to the relevant database
so that he or she can get information directly, instead of waiting for it to be
read by a dispatcher. The technology can have a tremendous positive impact
on the delivery of emergency services. Fire prevention code inspections can
be completed with information inputted directly from the field, thus creating
efficiencies and enabling the recording of more accurate information. The
same is true with EMS patient reporting. Depending on the sophistication of
the system, mobile data systems can enable field workers to bring up maps
or diagrams of areas, floor plans, research the system for previous calls the
area or address, and gather intelligence on the incident as they respond. 33

7. Fire Prevention and Public Education

There are a number of critical time factors that are within a fire
department’s power to manage within the total reflex time sequence of
every emergency. The United Kingdom released The National Plan in 2004,
replacing earlier standards of coverage documents. The new report found
that without prevention and mitigation, a fire department’s ability to have an
impact on the level of safety for responders and the public would reach a
plateau. Using the analysis of risk and looking at what strategic actions can

32
IQ Service Report, ICMA, Vol.32/Number 1, January 2000, pg. 11.
33
GIS for Fire Station Locations and Response Protocol: An ESRI® White Paper, January
2007, pg. 11.

57
be taken may not only prevent the incident from occurring, but may also
minimize the severity when and if the incident ever occurs.

At present, staffing within the GFD fire prevention section is minimal. The
fire marshal has no additional human resource outside of himself to attend
to the myriad responsibilities required of the functional area. It appears that
all funding is allocated toward the suppression side of the equation, giving
little emphasis to the importance of fire prevention and education efforts.
This is not unusual among fire department organizations, given the limited
resources available. However, if real progress is to be made in controlling
the escalating cost of providing fire protection to our communities,
adjustments in priorities must take place. Continued channeling of resources
to control fire and medical emergencies after the fact is ineffective and
highly inefficient. What was mentioned earlier in this report is worth
repeating. Without prevention and mitigation, impacting the level of safety
for responders and the public would reach a plateau.

8. Public Education

The delivery of EMS by first responders is also time critical for many types of
injuries and events. If a person has a heart attack and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) is not started within four minutes, brain damage is likely
to occur. Moreover, the victim’s chances of leaving the hospital alive are four
times greater than if the victim did not receive CPR until after four minutes.

58
Figure 6. Outcome for Heart Attack Victims Based on When CPR is
Provided

Sixty-one million Americans have cardiovascular disease, resulting in

approximately 1 million deaths per year. One-third of these deaths (300,000
– 400,000) are due to cardiac arrest, the sudden and unexpected loss of
heart function.

In 1999, every police officer in Miami Dade County was issued an AED and
trained in its use. The City of Germantown, like many other cities across the
nation, could benefit from the implementation of a comprehensive Automatic
External Defibrillator Program. The operative word here is ―comprehensive‖.

59
In 1990 one of the first studies was initiated to determine the effectiveness
of putting AEDs on police cars. At the time the value of fully incorporating
their use in the community at large was not considered. Since then, it has
become a well-accepted fact that making AEDs accessible in as many public
places as possible dramatically increases survival rate for out-of-hospital
victims of sudden cardiac arrest.

Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Programs have been implemented using

various funding methods across the United States. Grants at all levels of
government are available for start-ups and some offer additional funding for
maintenance once programs have been initiated. The business community
has also contributed to the effort by not only providing opportunities for AED
station placements, but providing financial funding as well.

Training and public awareness play a key role in the success of a PAD
program. Fire departments should assume the lead role in this initiative and
aid in the administration the program, utilizing their association with local
medical professionals and access to the business community. GFD has been
forward thinking in this area, but the program should be expanded. The
public should have access to CPR and AED training opportunities and police
departments must have a strict protocol for the use of AEDs carried in their
vehicles. Additionally and most important to the deployment of AED from
police vehicles, is the cultural change within the police department that must
occur for program success. A full commitment to assume the added role of
becoming a medical first responder must take place. Communication center
response protocols must also be changed to achieve improvements in
survival outcomes.

60
H. Recommendations

Conduct community risk assessment and hazard analysis based on

RHAVE model developed by Commission on Fire Accreditation and
International.
Modify Business Plan to include SMART performance objectives
Consider FTE Volunteer Program Manager to lead and coordinate
recruitment and retention activities.
Implement lessons learned from nonprofit organizations on developing
strategies to recruit and retain volunteers.
Explore/identify areas within department where volunteers can serve,
such as fire prevention and public education and administration.
Implement part-time program to supplement Reserve Program
staffing.
Develop quantitative performance measures for all program areas that
link goals to specific target rates or percentages.
Establish benchmarking partnership(s) with comparable departments
to determine ―best practices‖ as means toward self-improvement
strategy.
Expand feasibility study to include consideration of additional items
associated with program expansion (marginal costs, contract
administration, opportunity costs, discounting, compounding, future
and present value).
Consider opportunity costs associated with decision to implement ALS
transport service.
Implement paid part-time program to enhance staffing during peak
load periods at Station 3 using various alternatives as determined by
feasibility and ALS and BLS transport data.
Reconsider need for additional fire station at this time.

61
 Data Analysis Report
Fire/EMS Operations

Germantown, Tennessee

Submitted by and reply to:

ICMA Center for Public Safety

International City/County Management Association

777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

ConsultingServices@icma.org

202-962-3607

62
Introduction

Germantown’s fire department has four engines and three reserve engines,
one aerial truck, one reserve hazardous material truck, one reserve brush
truck, one reserve squad, one rescue unit, and two reserve rescue units for
use during special events. These units are deployed in four stations. Every
day, the fire department staffs one supervisor, one or two firefighters, and
one driver in each of the four engine units; one supervisor, one driver, and
one or two firefighters in the aerial truck; and one paramedic in the rescue
unit.

Our data analysis is divided into four sections. The first section focuses on
call types and dispatches. The second section explores time spent and
workload of individual units. The third section presents response time
analysis. The fourth section presents analysis of the busiest hours in the
year we reviewed.

The data in this report cover all calls for service between July 1, 2009 and
June 30, 2010. During this period, Germantown’s fire department received
2,669 non-canceled calls in the city of Germantown and 34 non-canceled
mutual aid calls. As multiple units are often sent to calls, a total of 4,100
Germantown units were dispatched during this period. The total workload for
the year for all Germantown units combined was 1,894 hours. Lastly, the
average total response time was 5.1 minutes for both EMS and fire category
calls in the city of Germantown.

63
I. Aggregate Call Totals and Dispatches

In the year studied, Germantown’s fire department received 2,789 calls. Of

these, eighty-nine were structure fire or outside fire calls within the city of
Germantown and twenty-one were mutual aid structure fire or outside fire
calls. There were 1,710 emergency medical service (EMS) calls within the
city of Germantown and 8 mutual aid EMS calls. We categorized the calls
based on the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) call type
code, as shown in Appendix I.
Table 1. Call Types
Mutual
Germantown Combined
Aid
Call Type Calls
Number Call Number Number Calls per
per
of Calls Percentage of Calls of Calls Day
Day
MVA 112 0.3 4.2 1 113 0.3
EMS Other 1,598 4.4 59.5 7 1,605 4.4
EMS Total 1,710 4.7 63.7 8 1,718 4.7
Structure Fire 41 0.1 1.5 19 60 0.2
Outside Fire 48 0.1 1.8 2 50 0.1
Hazard 165 0.5 6.1 1 166 0.5
Alarm 454 1.2 16.9 3 457 1.3
Public Service 228 0.6 8.5 1 229 0.6
Good Intent 23 0.1 0.9 23 0.1
Fire Total 959 2.6 35.7 26 985 2.7
Canceled 16 0.0 0.6 70 86 0.2
Total 2,685 7.4 100 104 2,789 7.6

Observations:
Mutual aid calls were 3.7 percent of all calls. Of the 104 mutual aid
calls received, 70 (67.3 percent) were canceled.
In the city of Germantown, the department received 7.4 non-canceled
calls per day.
In the city of Germantown, EMS calls for the year totaled 1,710 (63.7
percent of all calls), or about 4.7 per day.

64
In the city of Germantown, fire category calls for the year totaled 959
(35.7 percent of all calls), or about 2.6 per day.
Calls for structure and outside fires combined averaged 2.1 calls per
week. Of these, 19.1 percent were mutual aid calls.
In the city of Germantown, alarm calls totaled 454 (16.9 percent of all
calls), or about 1.2 per day.

65
Figure 7. Non-canceled Calls by Type and Duration

66
Observations:
Of the sixty structure fire calls, nine lasted more than two hours,
thirteen lasted between one and two hours, and thirty-eight lasted less
than one hour. Among the nine calls that lasted more than two hours,
seven were mutual aid calls.
Of the fifty outside fire calls during the year, two lasted more than two
hours, nine lasted between one and two hours, and thirty-nine lasted
less than one hour. The two calls that lasted more than two hours
were calls within the city.
A total of 1,353 of EMS calls (78.8 percent) lasted less than one hour;
357 (20.8 percent) lasted between one and two hours, and 8 (0.5
percent) lasted more than two hours.
In all, the department handled 500 calls that lasted more than one
hour, an average of 1.4 long calls per day.

67
Figure 8. Non-canceled EMS and Fire Calls by Type

Observations:
A total of 110 structure fire and outside fire calls accounted for 11.2
percent of the fire category total.
Alarm calls were 46.4 percent of fire category calls.
Public service calls were 23.2 percent of the fire category total.
Hazardous condition calls were 16.9 percent of the fire category total.
Good intent calls were 2.3 percent of the fire category total.
Motor vehicle accident calls accounted for 6.6 percent of EMS category
calls.
Other EMS calls were 93.4 percent of the EMS category total.

68
Figure 9. Average Calls per Day by Month

Observations:
Average calls per day ranged from a low of 6.5 calls per day in
October 2009 and April 2010 to a high of 8.4 calls per day in January
2010. The highest daily average is 29 percent greater than the lowest
daily average.
Average EMS calls per day ranged from a low of 4.1 calls per day in
August 2009 to a high in 5.4 calls per day in March 2010.
Average fire category calls per day ranged from a low of 2.1 calls per
day to a high of 4.0 calls per day (lowest in April 2010, highest in
January 2010).

69
Figure 10. Calls by Hour of Day

Table 2. Calls by Hour of Day

Two-Hour Hourly Call Rate
Interval EMS Fire Total
0-1 0.08 0.05 0.13
2-3 0.07 0.04 0.11
4-5 0.07 0.05 0.12
6-7 0.13 0.08 0.21
8-9 0.28 0.15 0.43
10-11 0.36 0.17 0.53
12-13 0.34 0.17 0.51
14-15 0.27 0.14 0.42
16-17 0.25 0.18 0.43
18-19 0.22 0.10 0.32
20-21 0.17 0.13 0.30
22-23 0.11 0.08 0.19
Calls per
4.69 2.69 7.39
Day
Note: Calls per day will equal the sum of each column multiplied twice since each row
represents two hours.

Observations:
For the period studied, hourly call rates were the highest between 8
a.m. and 6 p.m., averaging at least 0.42 calls per hour.
The call rate was lowest between midnight and 6 a.m., averaging at
most 0.13 calls per hour.

70
Figure 11. Number of Units Dispatched by Category

Table 3. Number of Units Dispatched by Call Type

Unit
Call Type Four or
One Two Three Total
more
MVA 29 68 12 4 113
EMS Other 1,318 244 40 3 1,605
EMS Total 1,347 312 52 7 1,718
Structure Fire 12 2 25 21 60
Outside Fire 29 10 8 3 50
Hazard 56 17 64 29 166
Alarm 247 35 172 3 457
Public Service 212 8 9 229
Good Intent 11 5 6 1 23
Fire Total 567 77 284 57 985
Grand Total 1,914 389 336 64 2,703
Percentage 70.8 14.4 12.4 2.4 100

71
Observations:
Overall, four or more units were dispatched to 2.4 percent of calls.
On average, 1.3 units were dispatched per EMS call.
For EMS calls, one unit was dispatched 78.4 percent of the time, two
units were dispatched 18.2 percent of the time, and three or more
units were dispatched 3.4 percent of the time.
On average, 1.9 units were dispatched per fire category call.
For fire category calls, one unit was dispatched 57.6 percent of the
time, two units were dispatched 7.8 percent of the time, three units
were dispatched 28.8 percent of the time, and four or more units were
dispatched 5.8 percent of the time.

72
Table 4. Annual Deployed Time by Call Type Including Mutual Aid
Calls
Germantown Mutual Aid Combined
Annual Annual Annual
Call Type Number Number Number
Busy Busy Busy
of Runs of Runs of Runs
Hours Hours Hours
MVA 106 215 2 3 108 218
EMS Other 838 1,930 14 8 852 1,938
EMS Total 944 2,145 16 11 960 2,156
Structure Fire 83 135 234 76 317 211
Outside Fire 50 87 2 2 52 89
Hazard 187 405 3 2 190 407
Alarm 258 842 1 3 259 845
Public Service 88 254 1 1 89 255
Good Intent 13 43 - - 13 43
Fire Total 679 1,766 241 84 920 1,850
Canceled 4 23 9 71 13 94
Total 1,627 3,934 267 166 1,894 4,100

Observations:
Total deployed time for the year, or total busy hours, was 1,894
hours. This is the total deployment time of all the units that were
deployed on any type of call, including 267 hours spent on mutual aid
calls.
There were a total of 4,100 runs, including 166 runs dispatched for
mutual aid calls.
Fire category calls accounted for 48.5 percent of the total workload.
There were a total of 300 runs for structure and outside fire calls, with
a total workload of 369 hours. This accounted for 19.5 percent of the
total workload. The average busy time for a mutual aid structure fire
call was 184.7 minutes, which was five times longer than the average
busy time for a structure fire call in the city of Germantown.
Alarm calls accounted for 13.7 percent of the total workload.
EMS calls accounted for 50.7 percent of the total workload.

73
Table 5. Annual Total Deployed Time by Call Type for Calls within
Germantown
Busy Annual Runs
Percent Number
Call Type Minutes Busy per
of Hours of Runs
per Call Hours Day
MVA 29.7 106 6.5 215 0.6
EMS Other 26.1 838 51.5 1,930 5.3
EMS Total 26.4 944 58.0 2,145 5.9
Structure Fire 36.8 83 5.1 135 0.4
Outside Fire 34.3 50 3.1 87 0.2
Hazard 27.8 187 11.5 405 1.1
Alarm 18.4 258 15.9 842 2.3
Public Service 20.7 88 5.4 254 0.7
Good Intent 17.9 13 0.8 43 0.1
Fire Total 23.1 679 41.7 1,766 4.8
Canceled 10.3 4 0.2 23 0.1
Total 24.8 1,627 100.0 3,934 10.8

Observations:
The workload for calls in the city of Germantown was 1,627 hours.
EMS category calls accounted for 58.0 percent of the total workload.
The average busy time per EMS call was 26.4 minutes.
Fire category calls accounted for 41.7 percent of the total workload.
For structure and outside fire calls, a total of 222 runs were dispatched
and the total busy time was 133 hours. The average busy time for a
structure fire call was 36.8 minutes and the average busy time for an
outside fire call was 34.3 minutes.
On average, 10.8 runs were dispatched per day. Of these, 5.9 runs
per day were for EMS calls.

74
II. Workload by Individual Unit—Calls and Total Time
Spent

Here we look at the actual time spent by each unit on every call. We report
two types of statistics: workloads and runs. After the introductory table, we
present run data and workload data for every unit, as well as the daily
average for engine, truck, and ambulance units.

Table 6. Call Workload by Unit and Station

Average Annual
Runs Busy
Unit Busy Number Total
Station Unit Type per Minutes
ID Minutes of Runs Busy
Day per Day
per Run Hours
Engine ENG91 28.1 597 1.6 46.0 280
1
HazMat HZ41 36.5 39 0.1 3.9 24
Engine ENG92 30.4 500 1.4 41.7 254
2
Rescue RES41 31.8 307 0.8 26.8 163
Brush Truck BRT41 64.0 19 0.1 3.3 20
3 Engine ENG93 25.4 1,428 3.9 99.4 605
Aerial Truck T41 26.9 599 1.6 44.1 269
4 Engine ENG94 29.9 514 1.4 42.1 256
Special Rescue RES42 673.0 1 0.0 1.8 11
Event Rescue RES43 2.0 2 0.0 0.0 0
Note: Reserve engine ENG96 was dispatched one time and is counted as ENG91. Reserve
squad SQ41 was dispatched eight times and is counted as ENG92. Reserve engine ENG95
was dispatched four times and is counted as ENG93. Reserve engine ENG97 was
dispatched one time and is counted as ENG94.

Observations:
Engine company ENG91 made 597 runs in the year studied, averaging
1.6 runs and 46.0 minutes of busy time per day.
Engine company ENG92 made 500 runs over the course of the year,
averaging 1.4 runs and 41.7 minutes of busy time per day.
Engine company ENG93 made 1,428 runs during the year, averaging
3.9 runs and 99.4 minutes of busy time per day.
Engine company ENG94 made 514 runs during the year, averaging 1.4
runs and 42.1 minutes of busy time per day.
Hazardous material truck HZ41 was dispatched 39 times in a year.

75
Brush engine BRT41 was dispatched 19 times in the year.
Aerial truck T41 made 599 runs during the year, averaging 1.6 runs
and 44.1 minutes of busy time per day.
Rescue unit RES41 made 307 runs during the year, averaging 0.8 runs
and 26.8 minutes of busy time per day.
Special event unit RES42 was dispatched once and special event unit
RES43 was dispatched twice during the year.

76
Figure 12. Busy Minutes by Hour of Day

Table 7. Busy Minutes by Hour of Day

Two-Hour
EMS Fire Total
Interval
0-1 2.3 3.4 5.8
2-3 2.2 8.7 10.9
4-5 2.3 2.6 4.8
6-7 5.1 2.7 7.8
8-9 10.1 6.5 16.6
10-11 11.7 9.5 21.2
12-13 10.6 10.5 21.1
14-15 8.9 7.6 16.6
16-17 8.6 8.5 17.0
18-19 6.4 5.6 12.0
20-21 6.6 5.1 11.7
22-23 4.2 4.8 9.0
Daily Total 157.9 151.3 309.2
Note: Daily totals will equal the sum of each column multiplied twice since each row
represents two hours.

Observations:
Hourly busy minutes were the highest between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.,
averaging at least 16.6 minutes per hour.
Hourly busy minutes were the lowest between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.,
averaging at most 10.9 minutes per hour.

77
Table 8. Engine and Truck Units: Total Annual Number and Daily
Average Number of Runs by Call Type
Runs
Structure Outside Public Good
Unit EMS Hazard Alarm Total per
Fire Fire Service Intent
Day
ENG91 258 38 9 85 145 54 8 597 1.6
ENG92 212 34 14 55 148 32 5 500 1.4
ENG93 956 44 23 80 216 98 11 1,428 3.9
ENG94 258 29 13 54 135 18 7 514 1.4
BRT41 2 2 10 2 3 19 0.1
HZ41 2 30 1 6 39 0.1
T41 217 43 15 84 189 45 6 599 1.6

Observations:
Engine ENG93 was dispatched most often of all fire units. It made
1,428 runs during the year, averaging 3.9 runs per day. EMS calls
accounted for 66.9 percent of this unit’s total runs.
ENG91, ENG92, ENG94, and T41 each made between 500 and 600
runs, averaging between 1.4 and 1.6 runs per day.

78
Table 9. Engine and Truck Units: Daily Average Deployed Minutes by
Call Type

Fire
Structure Outside Public Good Category
Unit EMS Hazard Alarm Total
Fire Fire Service Intent Calls
Percentage

ENG91 19.2 8.4 1.2 6.9 7.0 2.8 0.5 46.0 58.3
ENG92 14.0 10.8 1.4 4.8 8.1 2.3 0.3 41.7 66.4
ENG93 65.8 9.8 1.6 5.7 10.0 5.9 0.5 99.4 33.8
ENG94 21.5 7.9 0.9 3.7 7.0 0.9 0.3 42.1 48.9
BRT41 0.1 2.1 0.8 0.1 0.3 3.3 97.0
HZ41 0.0 0.7 2.8 0.1 0.3 3.9 100.0
T41 16.4 7.6 1.5 6.0 10.1 2.3 0.3 44.1 62.8
Note: Fire category calls percentage is the sum of average deployed minutes per day of all
non-EMS calls divided by the total deployed minutes per day.

Observations:
On average, Engine ENG93 was busy 1 hour and 39.4 minutes per
day. EMS calls accounted for 66.2 percent of its daily workload.
On average, ENG91, ENG92, ENG94, and T41 were busy between 41.7
minutes and 46.0 minutes per day.

79
Table 10. Rescue Units: Total Annual and Daily Average Number of
Runs by Call Type
Structure
EMS Fire Runs per
Unit MVA and Outside Total
Other Other Day
Fire
RES41 17 233 24 33 307 0.8

Table 11. Rescue Units: Daily Average Deployed Minutes by Call Type
Structure
EMS Fire EMS Calls
Unit MVA and Outside Total
Other Other Percentage
Fire
RES41 1.7 17.2 5.8 2.1 26.8 70.5

Observations:
RES41 made 307 runs during the year, averaging 0.8 runs per day.
On average, RES41 was busy 26.8 minutes per day. EMS calls
accounted for 70.5 percent of its daily workload.

80
III. Dispatch Time and Response Time

In this section we present dispatch and response time statistics for different
call types and fire units. For most types of calls, we are mainly interested in
the dispatch time and response time of the first arriving units. However, for
structure and outside fire calls, we analyze the response time of the first and
the second arriving fire vehicles (no rescue units).

We use different terms to describe the components of response time.

Dispatch processing time is the difference between the unit dispatch time
and the call receipt time. Turnout time is the difference between the unit
time en route and the unit dispatch time. Travel time is the difference
between the unit on-scene arrival time and the unit time en route. Response
time is the difference between the unit on-scene arrival time and call
received time. A total of 335 calls have non-zero dispatch time, non-zero
turnout time, and non-zero travel time. Out of those 335 calls, 204 (61.1
percent) were calls in June of 2010 and 96 (28.7 percent) were in May of
2010. We use those 335 calls to present the average dispatch time, turnout
time, and travel time in Figures 13 and 15 and Tables 12 and 15. The
average response time of the 335 calls was 5.4 minutes and did not vary
much compared to the average response time of 5.1 minutes using all 2,651
calls. Thus, we report average response time using all 2,651 calls in the
remainder of the figures and tables in this section.

81
Figure 13. Average Dispatch, Turnout, Travel, and Response Time of
First Arriving Units by Call Type

Table 12. Average Dispatch, Turnout, Travel, and Response Time of

First Arriving Units by Call Type
90th
Dispatch Turnout Travel Response Percentile Sample
Call Type
Time Time Time Time Response Size
Time
MVA 0.4 1.1 3.0 4.5 6.5 18
EMS Other 0.6 1.1 3.5 5.2 7.8 211
EMS Total 0.6 1.1 3.5 5.2 7.7 229
Structure Fire 0.3 1.2 3.4 4.9 5.9 3
Outside Fire 1.1 0.5 3.4 5.0 5.4 3
Hazard 0.8 1.1 3.3 5.2 6.6 22
Alarm 0.9 1.2 3.6 5.8 7.4 60
Public Service 0.6 1.3 4.7 6.5 9.9 17
Good Intent 1.1 0.5 6.8 8.4 8.4 1
Fire Total 0.8 1.2 3.8 5.8 8.0 106
Total 0.7 1.1 3.6 5.4 7.7 335

Note: Figure 13 and Table 12 include only 335 calls that have non-zero dispatch time, non-
zero turnout time, and non-zero travel time.

82
Observations:
The average dispatch time for all 335 recorded calls in the City of
Germantown was 0.7 minutes.
The average turnout time for all 335 recorded calls in the City of
Germantown was 1.1 minutes.
The average travel time for all 335 recorded calls in the City of
Germantown was 3.6 minutes.
The average response time for the 335 calls was 5.4 minutes and the
90th percentile response time was 7.7 minutes.

83
Table 13. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Call Type
90th Response
Response Percentile Sample Time of
Call Type
Time Response Size Mutual
Time Aid Calls
MVA 4.2 6.1 111 5.4
EMS Other 5.0 7.2 1,588 17.5
EMS Total 5.0 7.1 1,699 16.0
Structure Fire 5.5 7.3 41 13.7
Outside Fire 5.3 7.8 47 14.5
Hazard 5.5 8.0 165 26.0
Alarm 5.5 7.4 452 10.1
Public Service 5.6 8.4 224 26.9
Good Intent 4.6 8.0 23 -
Fire Total 5.5 7.8 952 14.3
Total 5.1 7.3 2,651 14.7

Observations:
The average response time for all 1,699 EMS calls in the City of
Germantown was 5.0 minutes and the 90th percentile response time
for all EMS calls was 7.1 minutes.
The average response time for 952 fire category calls was 5.5 minutes
and the 90th percentile response time for fire category calls was 7.8
minutes.

84
Figure 14. Number of Total Calls for the First Arriving Units

Table 14. Number of Total Calls for the First Arriving Units
Structure
and Fire Cumulative
Unit EMS Total Percentage
Outside Other Percentage
Fire
ENG93 925 42 345 1,312 48.9 48.9
ENG94 232 22 163 417 15.5 64.4
ENG91 240 16 115 371 13.8 78.2
ENG92 128 15 152 295 11.0 89.2
T41 77 6 80 163 6.1 95.3
RES41 104 4 8 116 4.3 99.6
BRT41 - 4 2 6 0.2 99.8
HZ41 - - 4 4 0.1 100.0
RES42 1 - - 1 0.0 100.0

Observations:
Engine ENG93 arrived first on scene most often, followed by ENG94
and ENG91.
The top three units, ENG93, ENG94, and ENG91, were the first units
on scene for 78.2 percent of calls.
For structure and outside fire calls, Engine ENG93 was the first unit on
scene for 42 of 109 calls.

85
Figure 15. Average Dispatch, Turnout, and Travel Time of First
Arriving Units by Hour of Day

86
Table 15. Average Dispatch, Turnout, and Travel Time of First
Arriving Units by Hour of Day
Dispatch Turnout Travel Number
Hour
Time Time Time of Calls
0 0.7 1.9 3.4 4
1 0.4 1.9 5.3 5
2 0.4 2.7 3.7 6
3 0.9 1.5 3.6 10
4 0.5 1.7 4.4 6
5 0.6 1.5 4.9 8
6 0.4 1.2 3.6 10
7 0.4 1.3 3.2 13
8 0.8 0.9 2.7 18
9 1.4 0.8 3.2 20
10 0.6 1.1 3.3 25
11 0.6 0.9 4.3 20
12 0.9 0.9 3.8 28
13 0.7 1.0 3.7 24
14 0.3 1.1 3.8 16
15 1.0 1.0 3.5 22
16 0.5 0.9 3.5 22
17 0.6 0.9 3.0 25
18 0.4 1.3 3.8 19
19 0.7 1.0 3.5 5
20 0.3 1.0 3.4 6
21 0.4 1.6 3.2 10
22 0.4 1.8 3.4 6
23 0.7 1.4 3.5 7
Total 0.7 1.1 3.6 335

Observations:
Average dispatch time by hour of day was between 0.3 and 1.4
minutes for the 335 calls with all times recorded.
Average turnout time was between 0.8 and 2.7 minutes. Between 8
a.m. and 6 p.m., average turnout time was no more than 1.1 minutes.
Average travel time was between 2.7 and 5.3 minutes.

87
Figure 16. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Hour of
Day

88
Table 16. Average Response Time of First Arriving Units by Hour of
Day
Response Number
Hour
Time of Calls
0 6.7 55
1 6.1 38
2 6.3 39
3 6.2 36
4 6.1 46
5 6.2 40
6 5.1 66
7 5.0 81
8 4.9 150
9 5.0 161
10 5.1 198
11 5.1 187
12 5.2 181
13 5.1 188
14 4.9 145
15 5.1 154
16 4.9 161
17 4.7 147
18 4.7 126
19 4.5 104
20 5.2 113
21 5.1 99
22 5.3 80
23 5.9 56
Total 5.1 2,651

Observations:
Average response time by hour of day was between 4.5 and 6.7
minutes. Between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., average response time was less
than or equal to 5.2 minutes. Between midnight and 6 a.m., it was
more than 6 minutes.

89
Figure 17. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time
of First Arriving Unit for EMS Calls

Reading the CDF Chart

The vertical axis is the probability or percentage of calls. The horizontal axis
is response time. For example, with regard to EMS calls, the 0.9 probability
line intersects the graph at the time mark at about 7.1 minutes. This means
that units responded to 90 percent of these calls in fewer than 7.1 minutes.

90
Table 17. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time
of First Arriving Unit for EMS Calls
Response Cumulative
Frequency
Time Percentage
1 min. 29 1.7
2 min. 23 3.1
3 min. 113 9.7
4 min. 306 27.7
5 min. 430 53.0
6 min. 413 77.3
7 min. 200 89.1
8 min. 113 95.8
9 min. 45 98.4
10 min. 9 98.9
11 min. 11 99.6
>= 12 min 7 100.0

Observations:
The average response time for EMS calls was 5.0 minutes.
For 77.3 percent of EMS calls, the response time was 6 minutes or
less.
For 90 percent of EMS calls, the response time was 7.1 minutes or
less.

91
Response Time Analysis for Structure and Outside Fire Calls

The following tables and charts report our response time analysis of first
arriving units for structure and outside fire calls. The analysis focuses on the
arrival of firefighting equipment, including engine and truck units. The
response time analysis does NOT include the dispatched rescue unit for
structure and outside fire calls, since the rescue unit typically arrives along
with the engine company based in the same station.

Table 18. Average Response Time for Structure Fire and Outside Fire
Calls by First Arriving Fire Units
First Outside Fire Structure Fire Total
Arriving Response Number Response Number Response Number
Unit Time of Calls Time of Calls Time of Calls
BRT41 6.0 4 - - 6.0 4
ENG91 9.6 2 5.1 11 5.8 13
ENG92 4.6 9 6.7 3 5.1 12
ENG93 5.0 15 5.5 19 5.3 34
ENG94 5.3 12 5.3 5 5.3 17
T41 5.2 5 7.4 3 6.0 8

Note: One outside fire call is excluded since unit on-scene time is missing.

Observations:
For outside fire calls, Engine ENG93 was the first unit on scene most
often, and had an average response time of 5.0 minutes.
For outside fire calls, ENG92 had the shortest average response time
of 4.6 minutes when it was the first unit on scene.
For structure fire calls, Engine ENG93 was the first unit on scene most
often, and had an average response time of 5.5 minutes.
For structure fire calls, ENG92 had the shortest average response time
of 5.1 minutes when it was the first unit on scene.

92
Table 19. Average Response Time for Structure Fire and Outside Fire
Calls by Second Arriving Fire Units
Second Outside Fire Structure Fire Total
Arriving Response Number Response Number Response Number
Unit Time of Calls Time of Calls Time of Calls
BRT41 9.0 5 - - 9.0 5
ENG91 7.0 2 7.6 5 7.4 7
ENG92 5.1 2 7.4 6 6.8 8
ENG93 5.8 5 6.8 5 6.3 10
ENG94 8.6 1 10.5 4 10.1 5
HZ41 16.9 1 - - 16.9 1
T41 11.0 5 6.0 16 7.2 21

Observations:
Truck T41 was the second unit on scene most often.
When ENG93 was the second unit on scene, it had the shortest
average response time of 6.3 minutes.

93
Figure 18. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time
of First, Second, and Third Arriving Fire Units for Structure and
Outside Fire Calls

94
 Table 20. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of Response Time
of First, Second, and Third Arriving Fire Units for Structure and
Outside Fire Calls
First Unit Second Unit Third Unit
Response
Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative
Time Frequency Frequency Frequency
Percent Percent Percent
0 min. 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
1 min. 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
2 min. 1 1.1 0 0.0 0 0.0
3 min. 5 6.8 1 1.8 0 0.0
4 min. 10 18.2 5 10.5 0 0.0
5 min. 15 35.2 7 22.8 2 4.8
6 min. 28 67.0 10 40.4 7 21.4
7 min. 19 88.6 10 57.9 7 38.1
8 min. 3 92.0 11 77.2 5 50.0
9 min. 3 95.5 3 82.5 7 66.7
10 min. 3 98.9 2 86.0 6 81.0
11 min. 1 100.0 0 86.0 2 85.7
12 min. 0 100.0 1 87.7 1 88.1
13 min. 0 100.0 3 93.0 1 90.5
>=14 min. 0 100.0 4 100.0 4 100.0

Observations:
The average response time of the first arriving fire unit for structure
and outside fire calls was 5.4 minutes.
Ninety percent of the time, the first fire unit arrived on scene in fewer
than 7.7 minutes.
On average, the response time of the second arriving unit was 7.6
minutes, which was 2.2 minutes longer than that of the first arriving
unit.
Ninety percent of the time, the second fire unit arrived on scene in
fewer than 12.1 minutes.

95
IV. Analysis of Busiest Hours in the Year

There was significant variability in the number of calls from hour to hour.
One special concern relates to the fire resources available for the hours with
the highest workload. We tabulated the data for all 8,760 hours in the year.
Approximately once every six days the fire department will respond to three
or more calls in an hour. This is 0.7 percent of the total number of hours.

Once during the year, there were more than five calls (eight calls) in a single
hour. In studying these call totals, it is important to remember that an EMS
run lasts on average only 26.4 minutes and a fire category call lasts on
average 23.1 minutes. For the majority of these high-volume hours, the
total workload of all units combined is equivalent to four or fewer units being
busy the entire hour. Here, we report on the ten hours with the most calls
received. We also provide detailed analysis of the two busiest hours of the
year.
Table 21. Frequency Distribution of the Number of Calls
Number of
Calls in an Frequency Percentage
Hour
0 6,531 74.6
1 1,836 21.0
2 332 3.8
3 49 0.6
4 7 0.1
5 4 0.0
8 1 0.0

Observations:
There were sixty-one hours (0.7 percent) during the year in which
three or more calls occurred in an hour. This is approximately once
every six days.

96
Table 22. Ten Hours with the Most Calls Received
Number Number Total Busy
Hour
of Calls of Runs Minutes
01/29/2010 10 p.m. 8 9 243
04/13/2010 10 a.m. 5 8 263
03/23/2010 5 p.m. 5 8 185
05/01/2010 10 a.m. 5 9 125
08/18/2009 8 p.m. 5 7 228
09/09/2009 9 a.m. 4 4 96
12/22/2009 6 p.m. 4 7 215
07/29/2009 11 a.m. 4 6 149
12/28/2009 5 p.m. 4 8 154
01/30/2010 1 a.m. 4 4 394
Note: The combined workload was the total busy minutes responding to calls
received in the hour, and the response may have extended into the next hour or
hours.

Observations:
The hour with the most calls received was between 10 p.m. and 11
p.m. on January 29, 2010. The eight calls received involved nine runs.
The combined workload was 243 minutes, which may have extended
into the next hour or hours. This is equivalent to four firefighting units
being busy the entire hour.
The hour with the second most calls received was between 10 a.m.
and 11 a.m. on April 13, 2010. The five calls received involved eight
runs. The combined workload was 263 minutes, which may have
extended into the next hour or hours. This is equivalent of between
four and five firefighting units being busy the entire hour.
The hour on January 30th that had the highest total busy minutes (1
a.m. to 2 a.m.) included work that continued into the next hour or
hours. This was the result of one long public assistance call. Engine
unit ENG93 was tied up for six hours on this call.

97
Table 23. Unit Workload Analysis Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on January 29, 2010
Station 1 2 3 4 Number of
Unit ENG91 HZ41 ENG92 RES41 BRT41 ENG93 T41 ENG94 Busy Units
0-5 5.0 1
5-10 4.9 1
10-15 3.9 1.5 2
15-20 5.0 0.1 2
20-25 5.0 1.2 2
25-30 4.5 5.0 4.1 5.0 4
30-35 5.0 2.1 1.9 5.0 5.0 5
35-40 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5
40-45 1.4 5.0 5.0 2.3 3.2 5.0 6
45-50 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4
50-55 5.0 5.0 0.9 5.0 4
55-60 5.0 5.0 5.0 3
Total 15.9 0.0 46.0 0.0 26.9 16.4 10.7 46.1
Note: The numbers in the cells are the busy minutes within the five minute block. The cell
values greater than 2.5 are coded as red.

Observations:
In the city there are six units staffed all of the time. During the worst portion of the hour between
10:45 p.m. and 10:50 p.m., all six units were busy. Only two units were busy more than thirty
minutes during this hour.

98
Figure 19. Unit Workload Analysis by Call Type Between 10 p.m. and
11 p.m. on January 29, 2010

Observations:
Busy minutes for EMS calls totaled 36.2 minutes, which accounted for
22.3 percent of the total busy minutes.
Busy minutes for nonstructure and outside fire category calls totaled
125.8 minutes, which accounted for 77.7 percent of the total busy
minutes.

99
Table 24. Unit Workload Analysis Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on April 13, 2010
Station 1 2 3 4 Number of
Unit ENG91 HZ41 ENG92 RES41 BRT41 ENG93 T41 ENG94 Busy Units
0-5 0
5-10 1.6 1.6 1.6 3
10-15 5.0 5.0 5.0 3
15-20 5.0 5.0 5.0 3
20-25 5.0 5.0 5.0 3
25-30 5.0 5.0 5.0 3
30-35 1.8 1.8 5.0 3
35-40 5.0 1
40-45 5.0 2.8 5.0 5.0 4
45-50 5.0 5.0 2.8 5.0 4
50-55 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4
55-60 4.4 5.0 5.0 5.0 4
Total 42.8 23.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.8 17.8 51.6
Note: The numbers in the cells are the busy minutes within the five minute block. The cell
values greater than 2.5 are coded as red.

Observations:
In the city there are six units staffed all of the time. During the worst portion of the hour, between
10:40 a.m. and 11 a.m., four units were busy. Only two units were busy more than thirty minutes
during this hour.

100
Figure 20. Unit Workload Analysis by Call Type Between 10 a.m. and
11 a.m. on April 13, 2010

Observations:
Busy minutes for EMS calls totaled 55.0 minutes, which accounted for
35.9 percent of the total busy minutes.
Busy minutes for nonstructure and outside fire category calls totaled
98.4 minutes, which accounted for 64.1 percent of the total busy
minutes.
Appendix I. Correspondence between Call Description and
Call Type
NFIRS
Call Type Description
Code
MVA 322 Motor vehicle accident with injuries
MVA 323 Motor vehicle/pedestrian accident (MV Ped)
MVA 324 Motor vehicle accident with no injuries
EMS 300 Rescue, EMS incident, other
EMS 311 Medical assist, assist EMS crew
EMS 321 EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury
EMS 350 Extrication, rescue, other
EMS 353 Removal of victim(s) from stalled elevator
EMS 363 Swift water rescue
EMS 445 Arcing, shorted electrical equipment
EMS 460 Accident, potential accident, other
EMS 463 Vehicle accident, general cleanup
EMS 510 Person in distress, other
EMS 3211 EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury
EMS 3212 EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury
EMS 3213 EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury
Structure Fire 111 Building fire
Structure Fire 113 Cooking fire, confined to container
Structure Fire 114 Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue
Structure Fire 116 Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined
Structure Fire 130 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other
Outside Fire 118 Trash or rubbish fire, contained
Outside Fire 131 Passenger vehicle fire
Outside Fire 132 Road freight or transport vehicle fire
Outside Fire 137 Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire
Outside Fire 138 Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire
Outside Fire 140 Natural vegetation fire, other
Outside Fire 141 Forest, woods or wildland fire
Outside Fire 142 Brush or brush-and-grass mixture fire
Outside Fire 143 Grass fire
Outside Fire 154 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire
Outside Fire 160 Special outside fire, other
Outside Fire 162 Outside equipment fire
Outside Fire 561 Unauthorized burning
Hazard 211 Overpressure rupture of steam pipe or pipeline
Hazard 213 Steam rupture of pressure or process vessel
Hazard 240 Explosion (no fire), other
Hazard 243 Fireworks explosion (no fire)
Hazard 251 Excessive heat, scorch burns with no ignition
Hazard 400 Hazardous condition, other
Hazard 411 Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill
Hazard 412 Gas leak (natural gas or LPG)
Hazard 420 Toxic condition, other
Hazard 421 Chemical hazard (no spill or leak)

102
 Hazard 422 Chemical spill or leak
Hazard 440 Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other
Hazard 441 Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn
Hazard 442 Overheated motor
Hazard 443 Breakdown of light ballast
Hazard 444 Power line down
Hazard 480 Attempted burning, illegal action, other
Hazard 522 Water or steam leak
Hazard 531 Smoke or odor removal
Hazard 650 Steam, other gas mistaken for smoke, other
Hazard 651 Smoke scare, odor of smoke
Hazard 652 Steam, vapor, fog or dust thought to be smoke
Hazard 671 HazMat release investigation w/no HazMat
Hazard 672 Biological hazard investigation, none found
Hazard 746 Carbon monoxide detector activation, no CO
Hazard 814 Lightning strike (no fire)
Hazard 2511 Excessive heat, scorch burns with no ignition
Hazard 2512 Excessive heat, scorch burns with no ignition
Alarm 700 False alarm or false call, other
Alarm 710 Malicious, mischievous false call, other
Alarm 713 Telephone, malicious false alarm
Alarm 730 System malfunction, other
Alarm 733 Smoke detector activation due to malfunction
Alarm 734 Heat detector activation due to malfunction
Alarm 735 Alarm system sounded due to malfunction
Alarm 736 CO detector activation due to malfunction
Alarm 740 Unintentional transmission of alarm, other
Alarm 741 Sprinkler activation, no fire - unintentional
Smoke detector activation, no fire -
Alarm 743
unintentional
Alarm 744 Detector activation, no fire - unintentional
Alarm 745 Alarm system activation, no fire - unintentional
Alarm 7412 Sprinkler activation, no fire - unintentional
Public Service 331 Lock-in (if lock out , use 511 )
Public Service 462 Aircraft standby
Public Service 500 Service Call, other
Public Service 511 Lock-out
Public Service 512 Ring or jewelry removal
Public Service 520 Water problem, other
Public Service 550 Public service assistance, other
Public Service 551 Assist police or other governmental agency
Public Service 552 Police matter
Public Service 553 Public service
Public Service 554 Assist invalid
Public Service 800 Severe weather or natural disaster, other
Public Service 813 Wind storm, tornado/hurricane assessment
Public Service 5211 Water evacuation
Public Service 5212 Water evacuation

103
Public Service 5213 Water evacuation
Public Service 5214 Water evacuation
Public Service 5215 Water evacuation
Public Service 5216 Water evacuation
Public Service 8001 Severe weather or natural disaster, other
Public Service 8002 Severe weather or natural disaster, other
Public Service 8003 Severe weather or natural disaster, other
Standby 571 Cover assignment, standby, moveup
Good Intent 600 Good intent call, other
Canceled 611 Dispatched & canceled en route
Canceled 621 Wrong location
Canceled 622 No incident found on arrival at dispatch address

104
Appendix II. Workload Analysis for Administrative Units
and Non-Germantown Units
Number Busy
Station Unit Description
of Runs Hours
A command and interoperability
1 F-158 1 11.2
communications truck.
BT41 On duty Battalion chief SUV 636 286.5
3
UT41 Pickup truck 3 1.0
400 Fire chief car 21 20.0
401 Assistant Fire Chief car 26 42.3
402 Deputy Fire Chief car 15 32.2
Admin
403 Fire marshal car 32 47.1
416 Assistant Fire Marshal car 6 16.5
BC42 Off duty Battalion chief 5 1.6
MUTAID Mutual aid vehicle 5 2.9
WING Private Helicopter 2 1.5
RM31 Ambulance 1 0.5
RM32 Ambulance 31 12.9
RM36 Ambulance 951 388
Rural/Metro
RM42 Ambulance 397 173.3
RM45 Ambulance 34 12.4
RM50 Ambulance 4 2.5

105