1A, Lake Johanna Fire Budget, Capital Facilities Need Study

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Comprehensive Management Study of the Saint Paul Department of Fire and Safety Services Final Report RISK AND DEMAND Emergency medical calls account for 79 percent of the total emergency service demand_ False alarms and routine calls for assistance account for 14 percent. Fires are only five percent of the total calls. EMS calls are expected to increase over the next 10 years while fire incidents will remain about the same, as projected for most U.S. cities_ Saint Paul has a much higher than average rate of EMS calls (per 10,000 population) than do other cities while fire incidents were the second lowest per capita of the 13 communities in the comparison group_ The already high and increasing number of EMS calls is the primary reason to add EMS resources_ To reduce EMS demand per capita similar to other cities, it would be helpful to educate the public. Per capita spending for fire and EMS services was slightly higher than the average of comparison cities while the fire loss slightly under the average. On average, Demand Zones 7 and 8 experienced the highest number of structure fires and the highest average loss_ Zones 7 and 8 are located on the city's east and west central areas, respectively. Demand Zones I and 10, which are in the city's south central region, experienced the lowest number of structure fires and dollar loss_ A description of each demand zone and the historical losses are provided in the report. A key consideration for station location and resource deployment are the locations and workloads of the fire and EMS units_ Stations without EMS units have substantially lower workloads than do stations with an EMS unit. The higher workloads for the cross-staffed engine/ medic units is increasing their unit hour utilization (UHU) rate, which is increasing the response time for other EMS calls. Several of the combined engine/ medic units have surpassed 3,000 calls per year and other units will reach this plateau by 2010. Call volumes and workloads of the engines where medic units are not stationed are very low and the seven ladder companies are reasonable; they are expected to remain so through 2020. FIRE, RESCUE, AND EMS OPERA nONS As noted earlier the SPDFSS is unique because the same crews staff both fire and EMS units. TriData is not aware of any other metro-size cities that use the same approach. Since the current approach was implemented there have been recommendations and attempts to staff fire and EMS units independently, including a trial program at Station 19_ The trial was plagued by poor implementation, therefore the results were unfavorable. TriData, a Division of System Planning Corporation 8 March 2007