TO: PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE & FROM: Robert Sapien, Jr.
STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: FIRE DEPARTMENT CALL DATE: March 4, 2022
VOLUME STATUS REPORT
Approved Date
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the status report on Fire Department (Department) call volumes, including opportunities to triage calls for service so that departmental resources can be maximized to life-saving and fire mitigation calls.
BACKGROUND
The Fire Department has experienced an emergency incident call volume increase of approximately 30% from 72,528 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-2011 to 94,784 in FY 2020-2021.
Increasing call volume has challenged the Department’s ability to meet response time performance standards and to maintain balanced emergency response coverage throughout the City. To begin addressing these challenges, the Department has pursued several strategies as reported to the Public Safety, Finance, & Strategic Support Committee in the Fire Department Emergency Response Times Performance Semi-Annual Report.1 On June 7, 2016, the City Council received the City of San José - Fire Department Organization Review2 which included Standards of Response Coverage (SOC) analysis. The following was included in the report findings:
We find the City’s deployment system does not provide City Council-adopted and best practice desired response times, especially outside of the urban core as fire station spacing increases in the suburban areas. Delivering response times to all neighborhoods at the adopted City goal will require additional resources.
Consistent with the above conclusion, the City Council has taken budget actions to restore some response resources lost following the 2008 recession and advanced The Disaster Preparedness, 1 https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=7809474&GUID=3BC62690-745A-4B72-9F72-39A60839945D 2 https://sanjose.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=&event_id=2139&meta_id=576578 PSFSS COMMITTEE: 03/17/2022
ITEM: (d)2.
3/8/2022
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Public Safety and Infrastructure Bond measure to the November 6, 2018 ballot. Voters passed the $650,000,000 general obligation bond measure (Measure T) which included “…construction of Fire Station 37 and the upgrade and/or rebuild of additional fire stations to improve emergency response times based on the Fire Chief’s assessment of projects that are critically needed to improve emergency response…” At the June 18, 2019 City Council meeting, the Department’s Measure T - New Fire Station Placement Prioritization3recommendations were accepted by the City Council, initiating the construction of three new fire stations and replacement of two existing fire stations.
The additional fire stations provided by Measure T and continued advancement of response time performance improvement strategies will, at least temporarily, result in improved response time performance and resource availability. However, continued increases in population and emergency call volume will continue to challenge Department resources.
ANALYSIS
FY 2016-2017 call volume was 90,869 compared to 94,784 in FY 2020-2021, an increase of over
4.3%. City population decreased by 3.1% over that same 5-year period from 1,046,079 in FY 2016-2017 to 1,013,240 in FY 2020-2021. This data is reflected in Chart 1 below.
Chart 1: Call Volume and Population from FY 2016-2017 to FY 2020-2021 Generally, call volume is highest in the core of the City and lowest at the perimeter. As indicated in Chart 2 below, Battalion 1, which is centrally located, had 24,900 incidents in FY 2020-2021.
At peak periods, resources from other battalions are drawn into the core of the City as Battalion 1 resources are drawn down.
3 https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=7296426&GUID=8097B35E-F3AA-441B-A951-9B6135862F50 1,046,079
1,051,316
1,043,058
1,009,340
1,013,240 90,869
92,587
91,900 91,595
94,784
88,000
89,000
90,000
91,000
92,000
93,000
94,000
95,000
96,000
980,000
990,000
1,000,000
1,010,000
1,020,000
1,030,000
1,040,000
1,050,000
1,060,000
2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
INCIDENTS
POPULATION
FISCAL YEAR
Population Total Number of Incidents
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 2: Call Volume by Battalion for FY 2020-2021
Fire stations are located to provide coverage throughout the City; however, population densities and service demands can vary greatly for each station response area as shown in Chart 3 below. It is important to note that call volume numbers reflect single emergency incidents and not the total number of resource responses. A single incident may require a single resource response such as a Rescue Medic or Engine Company or several resource responses including multiple alarms of resources. Thus, incident response numbers only partially represent workloads for each of the fire stations. Battalion 1 fire stations and Fire Station 26 particularly, experience the highest call volumes. Three new fire stations enabled by Measure T will be positioned to strengthen central response capabilities and improve call volume distribution. 24,900
19,760
11,083
15,741
17,122
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Battalion 1 (Central) Battalion 2 (East) Battalion 5 (North) Battalion 10 (West) Battalion 13 (South)
CALL VOLUME
BATTALION
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 3: Call Volume by Fire Station Response Area and Battalion for FY 2020-2021 *Fire Station 33 is currently closed; however, the response area remains in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Closest appropriate resources are dispatched to incidents in Station 33’s response area.
The high call volume in the core of the City negatively impacts response time performance. Chart 4 below reflects call volume intensity ranging from lowest (blue) to highest (red). Current station response area call volumes result in reduced resource availability and compromised response time performance. Chart 5 reflects late response (travel times greater than 4 minutes) intensity ranging from lowest (green) to the highest number of late response (orange) showing how resource draw down impact response time performance.
4,239
4,595
2,291
3,931
6,123
3,720
1 5,112
1,406
4,346
2,069
2,931
2,424
1,472
3,366
125
2,112
495
1,554
3,431
3,811
2,280
2,822
2,672
3,124
1,032
1,833
3,499
1,972
3,499
1,073
1,771
441
3,034
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
B1 STA1B1 STA3B1 STA7B1 STA8
B1 STA26B1 STA30B1 STA33
B2 STA2
B2 STA11B2 STA16B2 STA19B2 STA21B2 STA24B2 STA31
B5 STA5
B5 STA20B5 STA23B5 STA25B5 STA29B5 STA34B10 STA4B10 STA6B10 STA9 B10 STA10B10 STA14B10 STA15B13 STA12B13 STA13B13 STA17B13 STA18B13 STA22B13 STA27B13 STA28B13 STA35 1 3 7 8 26 30 33 2 11 16 19 21 24 31 5 20 23 25 29 34 4 6 9 10 14 15 12 13 17 18 22 27 28 35
CALL VOLUME
FIRE STATION
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 4: Call Volume Heat Map 2021
Chart 5: Late Response Heat Map 2021
Call Type Distribution
Chart 6 provides the call type distribution of the 94,784 incidents in FY 2020-2021. Each call type was within 1% to 2% points from the prior year’s distribution, with an increase in the number of fire incidents. In December 2020, the Department closely monitored emergency
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
medical call volume due to the spike of COVID-19 cases and did so again in June of 2021.
However, the Department experienced no significant marked increase call volume through the end of the fiscal year, and there was no clearly discernable change in call type distribution.
Chart 6: Call Type Distribution for FY 2020-2021
Growing Population
The Department anticipates that population will continue to drive call volume. A closer look at call types reveals that emergency medical calls (EMS) call volume has increased generally proportionate to all other call types (fire, rescue, hazardous materials emergencies, non-fire hazards, service requests and good intent, false alarm/false call, wrong location, cancelled enroute, and other).
5,072
57,125
5,776
9,450
1,116
6,547
9,698
Fires (5%)
Medical Emergencies (60%)
Rescue, Haz-Mat, USAR & Non-Fire
Hazards (6%)
Service Requests & Good Intent (10%)
False Alarm/False Call (Mailicious)
(1%)
No Incident, Wrong Location, Cancelled
En Route (7%)
Other SJFD Calls (Unclassified) (10%)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 7: EMS Call Volume and All Other Call Types FY 2016-2017 through FY 2020-2021 From FY 2016-2017 through FY 2020-2021, EMS call volume increased 2% from 56,025 to 57,125. Total responses for all other call types increased by over 8% from 34,844 to 37,659.
Call volumes are increasing countywide; however, City EMS call volume increases have slightly outpaced countywide County Ambulance responses. The Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services 2021 Annual Report4provides 911 ambulance call volume history from calendar year 2016 to 2021. County 911 Ambulance responses increased by approximately 375 calls (.3%) from 126,019 in FY 2016-2017 to 126,394 in FY 2020-2021. In the same period, City total responses increased by approximately 4% from 90,869 to 94,595 and City EMS call volume increased by approximately 2% from 56,025 in 2016 to 57,125 in 2021. 4https://emsagency.sccgov.org/sites/g/files/exjcpb266/files/General/2019%20EMS%20Annual%20Report%20Final_ V.2_09-23-2020%20HHC%20Meeting.pdf
56,025 57,935 57,800 56,454 57,125
34,844 34,652 34,100 35,141 37,659
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
CALL VOLUME
FISCAL YEAR
Medical Emergencies All Other Call Types
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 8: City Call Volume and Countywide Ambulance Call Volume Aging Population
According to the California State Plan on Aging 2017-20215, the number of Santa Clara County residents above age 65 will increase 99% from 277,700 in 2010 to 553,409 in 2030, and County residents aged 85 and older are estimated to increase 85% from 28,039 in 2010 to 51,772 in 2030.
The Plan on Aging makes the following statement regarding health care demands of persons aged 85 and over:
The current size of the population age 85 and over, and the projected increase in this age group, is notable. Those 85 and older have a significantly higher rate of severe chronic health conditions and functional limitations that result in the need for more health and supportive services. The rapid growth of this age group has many implications for individuals, families, communities, and government.
In FY 2020-2021, available patient age data for Department EMS care indicated that 52.2% of patients were age 60 and over and 67.4% of patients were age 50 and over (both groups increased by 1.2% over prior year). Chart 9 below provides emergency medical response distribution across patient age groups for FY 2020-2021.
5 https://aging.ca.gov/download.ashx?lE0rcNUV0zbUy1iwYmWKng%3d%3d 90,869 92,587 91,900 91,595 94,784
126,019 123,478 124,394 125,394 126,394
56,025 57,935 57,800 56,454 57,125
0 20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
CALL VOLUME
FISCAL YEAR
City Call Volume County Ambulance EMS Response City EMS Call Volume
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Chart 9: SJFD Emergency Medical Services Response Age Graph FY 2020-2021 Medical Priority Dispatch System
The Department utilizes the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) and Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS) to triage incoming 911 calls to dispatch the best appropriate resources. The MPDS is a unified system used by many dispatch centers to dispatch appropriate help to medical emergencies. MPDS starts with the dispatcher asking the caller questions. These questions allow the dispatchers to categorize the call and set a priority level ranging from minor to life-threatening depending on the severity of the patients’ condition. The lines of questions also lead the dispatcher to providing the appropriate medical instructions to callers before Department resources arrive on scene. The MPDS determinates include Omega, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. Fire resources respond to all determinate levels except for Omega which is the lowest acuity level.
High EMS Demand Facilities
To reduce EMS calls to high demand facilities including the Santa Clara County Jail, Valley Medical Center, and others such as managed care, assisted living, and shelters, the Department has been working with the Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services Agency (County EMSA). New procedures have been adopted at the County Jail to reduce unnecessary 911 calls where non-emergency interfacility ambulance services are more appropriate. Additionally, the Department continues to engage with County EMSA to evaluate response data and identify appropriate and sustainable service delivery options for other high EMS demand facilities. 11 795
1,080
2,655
3,651 3,758
5,605
6,082
5,507 5,352
2,244
810
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
RESPONSES
AGE GROUP
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Dispatch Procedures
The Fire Department heard feedback from field personnel that they felt they were frequently being dispatched to law enforcement only calls. The Fire Department engaged with the Police Department to better understand the issue and to identify a remedy. Beginning January 1, 2018, a Police Department dispatch policy change resulted in a reduction of over 1,500 Fire Department incidents. This change eliminated a “combined event” type code (1053) and replaced it with two other codes which specified the need for police response only or EMS response needed. As shown in Chart 10 below, in FY 2016-2017 there were 3,990 dual responses (both Police and Fire) under the 1053 type code. The partial year change in FY 2017-2018 resulted in 988 calls where the Fire Department did not need to respond, and in in FY 2020-2021, Fire Department response was eliminated from 1,635 Police Department incidents.
Chart 10: Fire Department Response to Assist Police Department 2016-2017 through 2020-2021 Bay Area Rapid Transit
Based upon conversations with fire agencies with experience serving areas with BART service, the Department anticipated increased call activity proximal to BART stations and especially at end of line stations. With the opening of the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, the Department is experiencing frequent calls for service at that location. The Department will evaluate response patterns and seek to identify mitigations. It should be noted that it is likely BART ridership to this station has been low due to shelter-in-place requirements, and call volume experience may increase as ridership increases post-COVID-19. 3,990
2,243
988
1,564 1,676 1,635
1,036
1,985 1,757 1,951
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
NUMBER OF CALLS
FISCAL YEAR
Code 1053 Code 1053 PD Code 1053 EMS
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
Local Mutual Aid
Call volume is increasing throughout the county and particularly in areas south of San José, including Morgan Hill and Gilroy. San José has historically provided mutual aid support within the county and beyond. Locally, this is achieved through automatic aid and mutual aid agreements. Automatic aid is established to assign the closest station to areas regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, within specified limits. Automatic aid is generally designed to be reciprocal and has little or no impact on participating agency call volume. In-county mutual aid on the other hand is provided on an as-needed basis. As call volume increases in the city and response time performance continues to be challenged, mutual aid is becoming increasingly difficult to support. In past years, as resources were released to provide mutual aid support for other agencies, other resources could be moved up to cover vacated areas. Today, as resource availability decreases because of higher call volume, it is increasingly difficult to provide backfill resources and maintain response time performance levels while providing mutual aid support.
Public Education and Safety
The 2019-2020 Adopted Operating Budget included the addition of a Public Information Manager and a Video/Multimedia Producer. Outreach and education efforts focus on reaching as many of our diverse community members as possible to provide relevant and timely safety information with a goal to reduce fires, illness, and injuries. A Jr. Firefighter Safety video series was created in FY 2020-2021 and provides safety messaging geared towards children and families on important topics such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, exit drills in the home, and electrical safety. The Department has been challenged to reach community members in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has thus put great effort into building out educational materials available on the Department’s website and social media channels. Additionally, the Department continues to support city and county-wide public safety messaging to minimize the spread of novel coronavirus and works with partners to curb other causes of fire and injury including fireworks abatement and Vision Zero traffic safety efforts. Overall, the goals of public education to reduce the number and severity of fires, illness, and injury are in line with Department efforts to reduce calls for emergency services when such emergencies can be prevented.
CONCULSION
The Department anticipates that population growth will continue to drive call volume. As highdensity housing and larger commercial projects are developed, impacts will likely continue to be unbalanced across fire station response areas, further straining resource availability. Additionally, as mass transportation becomes more readily available to San José, the call volumes are expected to rise with an increase in daily population. To continue to effectively provide effective all-hazard response in the City and support other agencies through mutual aid, the Department will need to meet its City call volume demands. Continued focus on response time improvement initiatives and performance optimization will be critical while new fire stations are being constructed and
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE March 4, 2022
Subject: Fire Department Call Volume Status Report
additional response resources are funded. The Department will continue to engage at the county and state levels to advance effective and sustainable EMS delivery model changes.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Department will continue to monitor call volume data and will report annually to the Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
ROBERT SAPIEN, JR.
Fire Chief, Fire Department
For questions, please contact Robert Sapien, Jr., Fire Chief, at (408) 794-6952.