Fire Department Operations Annual Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
October 15, 2026
Item: d(3).
Presented by:
James Dobson, Assistant Fire Chief
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Mission:
Protect life, property, and the environment
through prevention and response
• Full-service, all-hazard metropolitan fire
department that serves the 12th-largest city
in the United States (San José) and
unincorporated areas of Santa Clara
County.
• The service population and area cover
over 979,000 residents and 200 square
miles.
San José Fire Department: Mission
2 Thursday, October 15, 2026
All-Hazards Response
3 Thursday, October 15, 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 2025-2026 Annual Call Volume
4 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Service areas cover residential, commercial, industrial, Wildland-Urban Interface, and the San Francisco
Bayfront.
High-Traffic/High-Risk response areas include:
• Major Transit Corridors:
Norman Y. Mineta International Airport, passenger rail
(VTA, Caltrans, ACE, BART, and Amtrak), freight rail
systems, and major highways.
• Major Event Venues:
SAP Center, PayPal Park, McEnery Convention
Center, Civic Center, and the Center for the Performing Arts.
• Other Facilities:
San José State University, regional malls, hospitals,
and over 100 high-rise buildings
San José Fire Department : Annual Calls for Service
5 Thursday, October 15, 2026
109,767 calls for service in FY 2025–2026
Incident demand continues to remain consistently above
historical levels, although FY 2025 - 2026 total incidents decreased slightly by 1.4% compared to FY 2024–2025.
103,145
109,143
110,255
111,373
109,767
98,000
100,000
102,000
104,000
106,000
108,000
110,000
112,000
114,000
2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 2024-2025 2025-2026
Call Volume and Population
Findings:
• 6.4% Call Volume increase in the last 5
years is significant
• 0.3% Population increase over the
same time period.
6 Thursday, October 15, 2026
103,145
109,143
110,254
111,373
109,767
976,482
959,256
969,256
997,368
979,415
920,000
940,000
960,000
980,000
1,000,000
1,020,000
98,000
100,000
102,000
104,000
106,000
108,000
110,000
112,000
2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025 2025 - 2026 Population
Call Volume
Fiscal Year
Call Volume Population
Call Volume by Battalion and Fire Station Response Area 7 Thursday, October 15, 2026
26,487
18,546
16,411
14,229 13,348 12,826
0 5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Battalion 1 Battalion 10 Battalion 2 Battalion 35 Battalion 13 Battalion 5 Call Volume
Unit Hour Utilization (UHU)
• Measures the percentage of time a fire unit is actively committed to emergency incidents and how often a unit is unavailable to respond to new emergencies. • Per the report, UHU above 10% indicates a unit is exceeding its capacity for service in the station response area.
• It identifies area call volume saturation that contributes to increased system response times.
San José Fire Department Findings
• The study identified 28 response units that exceed the 10% UHU threshold (Engines, Rescue Medics, and Urban Search & Rescue -USAR) • 4 units measured above 20% UHU
To improve response performance, the City will need to:
Add response resources or reduce emergency call demand.
LAFCO Service Review 2023 - Unit Hour Utilization
8 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Call Volume Heat Map
9 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Call volume intensity remains highest in
the City’s Downtown area.
Resource drawdown, occurring when
units are committed to active incidents and
unable to respond to additional calls in
their first-due response area impacts
response time performance for the entire
Department
FY 2025-2026 Call Type Distribution
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Call Type Number Percentage
Medical Only 66,785 60.84%
Fires 3,908 3.56%
Rescue, Haz-Mat, USAR & Non-Fire Hazards 6,050 5.51%
Good Intent or Service 10,607 9.66%
False Alarm / False Call 1,348 1.23%
No Incident, wrong location, Cancelled En Route 6,497 5.92% Other SJFD Calls (unclassified) 14,572 13.28%
Total Incidents 109,767 100%
EMS Call Volume Compared to All Other Call Types
11 • EMS call volume decreased by 2.5%
in FY 2025-2026 compared to the FY
2024-2025.
• It increased by 4.4% since FY 2021-
2022.
• All other call types' volume was
relatively steady, increasing 0.24% in
FY 2025-2026, as compared to FY
2024-2025. It increased by 9.8%
since FY 2021-2022.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
63,997
68,412 68,410 68,492 66,785
39,148 40,731 41,845 42,881 42,982
0 20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025 2025 - 2026 Call Volume
Fiscal Year
Medical Emergencies All Other Call Types
San José Fire Department
FY 2025-2026
Annual Emergency
Response Time
Performance Report
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Measuring Response Time Performance-City vs. County
13 Thursday, October 15, 2026
City Response Time Performance County Response Time Performance Late Response Heat Map (FY 2025-2026)
Travel Time Performance - Greater than 4 minutes
City Priority 1 Performance
Averaged 63% against the City standard of 8
minutes, 80% of the time.
County EMS Code 3 Performance
Averaged 85% against the County EMS
standard of 8 minutes, 90% of the time.
Travel time remains the Department’s
primary challenge in meeting on-time
response performance.
Measure T fire station projects such as
Stations 32, 36, and 37 are important elements
of the Department’s system-performance
strategy to reduce travel time.
14 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Response Time Work Plan Key Initiatives Update
15 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Initiative Description
CAD-to-CAD Dispatch Link Phase 1 of the CAD-to-CAD interface between San Jose and Santa Clara County Communications is now active. This phase enables direct exchange of updates after event creation, a task previously done solely by telephone. Subsequent phases will allow the exchange of unit status information and automated vehicle location information.
9-1-1 Phone System
Upgrade
The Department is working to incorporate new technology into the phone system upgrade. In FY 2026-2027, the phone system will be upgraded to a Next Generation 9-1-1-capable system.
Border Drops This project depends on completing all CAD-to-CAD link phases. Project discussion continues with Santa Clara County.
Traffic Signal Preemption The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Transportation and Santa Clara County, will launch a pilot of signal preemption at three County-controlled signal locations to improve response times in FY 2026-2027.
Response Time Work Plan Key Initiatives Update-Cont.
16 Thursday, October 15, 2026
Initiative Description
Closest Unit Dispatch Testing identified an unexpected critical implementation challenge. Coordination with Octave to review results and establish a mitigation is ongoing. Implementation has been extended to the fourth quarter of FY 2026-2027.
9-1-1 TelemedicineExpand Omega ProtocolThe Department has implemented on-scene field referral to the County EMS Nurse Navigator program.
To date, utilization opportunities have been limited. County EMS Agency has proposed countywide implementation of the Nurse Navigator as a component of dispatch for all county fire agencies.
Respective jurisdictions are evaluating service implications.
Community
Paramedicine
Pilot development is complete, and the Mobile Care Unit launched on October 1, 2026. Full implementation requires State authorization through Santa Clara County. The program is intended to connect specific patients with alternative care pathways, reduce avoidable 9-1-1 transports, and preserve emergency response resources for higher-acuity incidents.
Measure T Enabled Fire
Stations
The 2016 CityGate Fire Department Organizational Review prioritized Station 32 to serve a historically marginalized community. It is scheduled for completion this month, but funding for operational expenses is a challenge. The Department submitted a grant application for 7 firefighter positions. We were unsuccessful in the initial round of grant awards.
Station 36 is scheduled for bid proposals in winter 2027, with substantial project completion scheduled for winter 2028
Questions?
James Dobson, Assistant Fire Chief
Fire Department Operations Annual Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
October 15, 2026
Item: d(3).
17 Thursday, October 15, 2026