Long Beach Fire Department
Vertical Risk Assessment … More Than Fighting Fires
1 Where we are now…
2 • 78 High Rise Buildings
(an “occupied floor” more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access)
• 49 Fully Sprinklered
• 26 - Residential
• 20 - Office use
• 3 - Hospitals
• 29 Non-Sprinklered
• 17 - Residential
• 12 - Office use
• Approximately 223 Low-Rise Buildings
• Existing, under construction, or planned
Population (US Census)
July 2021 – 456,062
Then and now…
3 Continual Growth…
4 Call Volume…
• Increased response times
• Decreased training
• Sleep deprivation
• Increased injuries
• Quality of life
• Decreased employee retention
• Staffing issues (force hiring)
5 Where we are going…
6 Adopted in 2012
• Residential
• Retail
• Commercial
• Office projects
Mayor’s Annual Updates
• 8,231 Residential Units (built or in the pipeline)
• Average occupancy:
o 1 = 8,231 (Montecito) 2-stations (9 personnel each 24hr shift) o 2 = 16,462 (El Segundo) 2-stations (14 personnel each 24hr shift) o 3 = 24,693 (Seal Beach) *
Where we are going…
7 784 Units
Challenges for the Fire Department
8 • Increased call volume
• Increased on-scene to patient
or water on the fire (Firefighters
carrying 70-100 lbs. of gear to the fire floor)
• Fires require more personnel
• Requires mutual aid
Shoreline Gateway East Tower – 35 Floors
High Rise incidents…
9 714 Pacific Ave…
10 • Units Assigned – 39 (E,T,BC,R,BLS,Other)
• Personnel Assigned - 108
• Units Available – E11, E22, E4, R18, R4
• Mutual Aid – 3 x Regional Striketeams
• Backfill Arrival – Approx. 1hr
• Last Unit Cleared – 0314 (3hrs,45min)
• On scene to Knockdown – 23 minutes
City Coverage…
Comparison…
Long Beach Fire Department
• Area of coverage – 50.7 sq mi
• Population – 456,062
• High Rise - 78
• Stations – 23
• Engines – 20
• Trucks – 4
• ALS Rescues – 9
• BLS Ambulances - 5
Sacramento City Fire Department
• Area of coverage – 97.73 sq mi
• Population – 531,285
• High Rise - 68
• Stations – 24
• Engines – 24
• Trucks – 9
• ALS Rescues – 15
Fresno Fire Department
• Area of coverage – 114.72 sq mi
• Population – 539,862
• High Rise - 18
• Stations – 21
• Engines – 20
• Trucks – 5
Oakland Fire Department
• Area of coverage – 55.89 sq mi
• Population – 444,956
• High Rise - 131
• Stations – 25
• Engines – 24
• Trucks – 7
• Rescues - 1
Thank you!
Jeff Hardin
Deputy Chief
Operations Bureau
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