Fire Department Operations Annual Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
April 16, 2026
Item: (d)3
Presented by:
Robert Sapien, Jr., Fire Chief
Aaron Freyler, Deputy Fire Chief, Bureau of Field Operations Thursday, April 16, 2026
Mission:
Protect life, property, and the environment
through prevention and response
• Full-service, all-hazard metropolitan fire
department that serves San José and
unincorporated areas of Santa Clara
County.
• 12th largest city in the United States and
serves over 997,000
residents over 200 square miles.
San José Fire Department: Mission
2 Thursday, April 16, 2026
All-Hazards Response
3 Thursday, April 16, 2026
A.R.F.F.
Statewide
Mutual
Aid
US&R
Rescue
EMS Advanced Life
Support Wildland
Hazardous
Materials
9-1-1
Communications
Structure
Fires
San José Fire Department
FY 2024-2025 Annual Call Volume
4 Thursday, April 16, 2026
• Over 111,000 calls for service in
FY 2024-2025
• The protection area includes
Residential, Commercial, and
Industrial zones, Wildland-Urban
Interface (WUI) areas, and the
San Francisco Bayfront
• High-traffic areas such as the
San José Mineta International
Airport, the SAP Center, PayPal
Park, San José State University,
three super-regional malls,
seven major hospitals, and 108
high-rise structures
San José Fire Department : Annual Calls for Service
5 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Call Volume and Population
• City population
decreased over
4.9% in the last 5
years
• 21.6% increase in
demand for
emergency response
in the last 5 years
6 Thursday, April 16, 2026
94,784
103,145
109,143
110,254
111,373 1,013,240
976,482
959,256
969,491
997,368
930,000
940,000
950,000
960,000
970,000
980,000
990,000
1,000,000
1,010,000
1,020,000
85,000
90,000
95,000
100,000
105,000
110,000
115,000
2020 - 2021 2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025 Population
Call Volume
Fiscal Year
Call Volume Population
Call Volume by Battalion and Fire Station Response Area 7 Thursday, April 16, 2026
26,639
18,354
17,194
14,581
13,516 13,508
0 5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Battalion 1 Battalion
10 Batallion 2 Batallion
35 Battalion
13 Batallion 5
Call Volume
Call Volume Heat Map
8 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Call Type Distribution
9 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Call Type Number Percentage
Medical Only 68,492 61.50%
Fires 4,804 4.31%
Rescue, Haz-Mat, USAR & Non-Fire Hazards 6,295 5.65%
Good Intent or Service 11,106 9.97%
False Alarm / False Call 1,223 1.10%
No Incident, wrong location, Cancelled En Route 6,487 5.82% Other SJFD Calls (unclassified) 12,966 11.64%
Total Incidents 111,373 100%
EMS Call Volume Compared to All Other Call Types
10 • EMS Call volume has increased
19.8% since FY 2020-2021.
• Total responses for all other call
types increased by more than 13.8%
over a 5-year period
• Calls rose from 37,659 (FY 2020-
2021) to 42,881 (FY 2024-2025)
Thursday, April 16, 2026
57,125
63,997
68,412 68,410 68,492
37,659 39,148 40,731 41,845 42,881
0 20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
2020 - 2021 2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025 Call Volumne
Medical Emergencies
Medical Emergencies All Other Call Types
San José Fire Department
FY 2024-2025 Annual Emergency
Response Time Performance Report
11 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Measuring Response Time (City)
12 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Measuring Response Time (County)
13 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Late Response Heat Map (FY 2024-2025)
Travel Time Performance - Greater than 4 minutes
• Department maintained an unadjusted
average response time performance
rate of 86.92% against the 8-
minutes/90% of the time under the
County First Responder Funding
Response Time Compliance Standard
(measured from time of dispatch to
arrival on scene)
• Department maintained an average
response time performance rate of
64.25% against the 8-minutes/80% of
the time Department Standard
(measured from time of receipt of call to
arrival on scene)
14 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Key Initiatives in Progress in FY 2025-2026
15 Thursday, April 16, 2026
Initiative Description
Computer Aided Dispatch
(CAD): CAD-to-CAD
Interface with Santa Clara
County Communications
The CAD-to-CAD interface will enhance information exchange across CAD systems and will result in a substantial reduction in telephone calls between Communications Centers, improve unit location awareness, and enhance emergency backup capabilities. Completion targeted is Fall 2026.
Closest Unit Dispatch This effort would dispatch resources based upon apparatus proximity to the incident rather than to the station location. Implementation target is Fall 2026.
Community Paramedicine The Department is pursuing establishment of a Community Paramedicine pilot program as an alternative to traditional 9-1-1 prehospital care response, seeking to match residents with the appropriate definitive care or resource. Implementation target is Fall 2026. 9-1-1 Telemedicine The Department will be assessing the feasibility of implementing a 9-1-1 telemedicine alternative to connect patients with non-emergent medical needs with the appropriate medical care. Recommendations development targeted for Spring 2027.
New Fire Stations Enabled
by Measure T
Fire Station 32 construction is nearing completion and will be serviceable in Summer 2026 (pending budget decisions); Fire Station 36 is in Design Phase.
Questions?
Robert Sapien, Jr., Fire Chief
Aaron Freyler, Deputy Fire Chief
Bureau of Field Operations
Fire Department Operations Annual Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
April 16, 2026
Item: d(3)
16 Thursday, April 16, 2026