Most fire calls are not for blazes

Less than 2% of fire calls were in response to fire emergencies according to a grand jury report.

by Teri Sforza

Orange County Register

The image of the gallant firefighter rushing into a blazing building to rescue its terrified occupants  is an endearing and enduring one — based more on lore than on current workloads, asserts a new report by the Orange County grand jury.

Once upon a time, fire departments were mainly in the business of putting out fires. But that was many decades ago: Less than 2 percent of the Orange County Fire Authority’s calls were to fire emergencies last year, the grand jury found.

Instead, the vast majority of calls — at least 70 percent — are for medical emergencies. In other O.C. fire departments, medical calls comprised 80 percent of the total.

“This transition from fire emergencies to medical emergencies has not generated major changes in the operation model for responding to these emergencies,” the grand jury wrote. “Each emergency call generally results in both fire trucks and ambulances being dispatched to the site of the emergency regardless of the type of emergency. The emergency response communities have discussed developing new models, but little change has been accomplished.”

It’s high time that changed, especially with municipal budgets in the tank, the grand jury said.

We at The Watchdog have heard from those who wonder if fire engines respond to medical calls because sick people might spontaneously combust; we have also heard jaundiced colleagues surmise that screaming fire trucks are responding to “dog hit by car.” These folks might have friends on the grand jury this year: Its report is cheekily titled “Emergency Medical Response in Orange County: Where did all the ‘fires’ go? Long time passing. Apologies to Pete Seeger.” (download pdf)

“Of the 180,000 incidents reported in Orange County in 2010 by the various fire departments, approximately 134,000 (76%) were for medical emergencies and 44,000 (24%) were for fires and ‘other,’” the grand jury wrote. “The Orange County Fire Authority alone reported less than two percent of their 88,227 responses were for ‘Fire/Explosion.’”

You can see all this in the chart to the right. Note the high, green EMS calls line (emergency medical services) ; the medium “other” line, which include “ruptures,” “hazmat,” “service calls,” “good intent,” “false alarms” and “natural disasters;” and the wee red “fire” line.

So why, in these times of tight budgets, do fire engines staffed with full crews show up when someone has a heart attack?

‘MINIMUM STAFFING’

Labor agreements with minimum staffing requirements, pretty much.

“Most fire departments now respond to traffic collisions, hazardous materials spills, remote rescues, medical aid calls and various other emergencies,” the grand jury wrote. “The typical emergency responses include a fire truck and an ambulance. The staffing of the OCFA emergency equipment is specified by their Memorandum of Understanding that states: 1. Each single-piece engine company shall have a minimum of three (3) personnel. 2. Each paramedic engine company shall have a minimum of four (4) personnel… Each truck company or urban search and rescue vehicle shall have a minimum of four (4) personnel… 3. Each paramedic van shall have a minimum of two (2) paramedic personnel.”

 

The grand jury interviewed fire chiefs scattered throughout the county — all of whom were relatively new, and all of whom had been challenged to look at their organizations and propose alternative ways to provide services.

“A problem that faces all of these agencies is financial,” the grand jury said. “The labor agreements adopted in good times have become financial burdens during the recent business downturn. These burdens not only affect the current but also future budgets. In most departments, the costs of the long-term benefits are not transparent to the boards of directors, city councils, and the public, consequently the challenge that the governing bodies have given to the new fire chiefs.”

This very issue was raised recently after it was revealed that overtime pay boosted the paychecks of more than 60 Costa Mesa firefighters and police officers by at least 40 percent over their base pay last year, and that a handful of them — all from its fire department — earned overtime that nearly doubled their base pay.

Councilman Jim Righeimer said the huge overtime bills were the firefighters’ fault, for refusing to adjust minimum staffing levels. The president of the firefighters association said it was the city council’s fault, for creating political chaos and failing to fill vacancies in the department.

This was also a big issue in Santa Ana,  where city dissolved its fire department and contracted with OCFA for fire services. It will save between $8.7 million and $10 million per year — largely by revamping minimum staffing requirements. The number of firefighters on duty  at any one time dropped from 63 to 48.

This sort of thing is possible due to the low percentage of fire emergencies, the grand jury wrote. And that’s thanks to “improved building codes, more alarm devices, fire suppression systems, stricter code enforcement, and perhaps greater public awareness,” it said.

SO WHAT NOW?

The grand jury wants OCFA and other fire departments to hire outside experts to cast cool, clinical eyes on fire operations.  ”This re-evaluation should consider the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the economics and operations of both the OCFA and city fire department’s emergency response models,” it said.

It would like those reports made public by July 31, 2013, thank you very much.

It also suggested that the departments should consider forming a unified Emergency Response Department that includes fire and medical response; separating the fire response from the medical response; and privatizing the emergency medical response. Agencies must respond, in writing, within 90 days.

We asked OCFA to weigh in, and spokesman Kris Concepcion told us this by email: “OCFA is in the process of reviewing the grand jury report and its recommendations. We will draft a response that will presented to our Board of Directors. We don’t yet have a tentative date for that presentation.”

Brandman University public administration professor Fred Smoller has long been advocating logical consolidation of municipal services, to save folks money.

“Amazing that only 2 percent of the calls are for actual fires,” he told us by email. “Of course, it is like the guy who plays right field: 99% of the time he just stands there watching the game. But during those key seconds when you need him to catch the fly ball, he better be there and know what he is doing.”

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