Why Haven’t Response Times Been Sought?

A letter in Monday’s VOP spoke of the impact recent changes in the Kenosha Fire Department have had on its members and their morale.  As a past administrator of the fire department, I am also interested in the impact these changes are having on the department’s ability to respond to and mitigate incidents.

Prior to my retirement, we were asked to consider the closing of the fire station in the Municipal Building as a way to curtail overtime.  At the time, our team felt doing so would degrade our fire response capabilities, not only to the immediate area serviced by the fire station, but to the entire east side of Kenosha.  This is not to say that we were correct in our assessment.  New people bring new ideas to any organization and they deserve an opportunity to exercise their own judgment.

What surprises me more than the changes that took place is that neither the Public Safety and Welfare Committee nor the Police and Fire Commission have asked for reports on the effect of the changes.  Did they affect response times?  If so, by how much?  Are they better or worse?  What areas of the city are most affected?

Several years ago, the National Fire Protection Association published standards for response time for fire departments.  This standard (NFPA 1710) is not a mandate, however, it is a useful tool in gauging a department’s response capabilities.  With regard to structure fires it says that a department should get their first unit on the scene within five minutes, 90 percent of the time and that all of the units initially sent to these fires should get there within nine minutes, 90 percent of the time.  Similar standards are defined for EMS response.  Before the recent changes were made in Kenosha, the department was very close to meeting this standard.

The level of fire protection a community receives is not a decision of the fire department.  It is a decision made by elected officials through the budget process and their direct oversight of the department.  Three months into a major change in deployment is a reasonable time to call for a report.  IF response times are better than before, kudos to the chief for a great plan.  If they are worse, it is the elected officials who must decide if the savings are realized by the redeployment are worth the degradation in service.

John Celebre, Assistant Fire Chief (retired)

Taken in its entirety from Saturday, January 5, 2005 issue of the Kenosha News’ Voice of the People