Item B - Fire/EMS Stds of Cover - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Executive Summary Executive Summary About this Document This document provides an analysis of the resources, deployment strategies, and operational elements of the Eugene Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department and the community risk to which it responds. It establishes response time goals and standards for timely deployment of resources necessary to respond to emergency calls for service in the community. Based on this analysis, the report also offers a number of recommendations and future goals to maintain and improve the department's response coverage, thereby maintaining and improving the safety of the community. By definition, Standards of Response Coverage address the emergency response resources and deployment strategies necessary to deliver a defined level of service. This document does not directly address the effectiveness or quality of fire or emergency medical services. While these are important outcome measures, they are not standards of coverage. However, there is a strong relationship between the two, and operational effectiveness will imprOve with more effective coverage. The department completed its first Standards of Coverage in November 2003. This report is an update and refinement of that initial effort. It is expected that this document will serve as a key element for the fire accreditation process conducted by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. It is a goal of Eugene Fire & EMS to seek such accreditation in the near term. About the Eugene Fire & EMS Department The department began protecting Eugene with fire fighting operations in 1872. Today, the department has 209.25 full-time-equivalent positions, including 173.25 uniformed and 36 civilian personnel. The department provides fire, rescue, emergency medical, fire code enforcement, prevention, and public education services to the city of Eugene (population 143,910; area 41.8 square miles) and, by contract, to five adjacent special districts. The department added ambulance transport services in 1981 and now provides ambulance service to a 438-square-mile area of west/central Lane County, including Eugene. Eugene currently has a Class 2 fire suppression rating (with 1 being the highest on a 1 O-point scale) from the Insurance Services Office, Inc. Analysis of Risk Factors In any service area, a number of factors combine to create levels of risk. These include the geographic area; type and density of development; topography; seasonal factors; water supply; transportation systems; and demographics. Recognition of Eugene's risk factors, incorporating a study of the temporal distribution of incidents, has led to two recent significant deployment changes: 1) the reassignment of an engine company from the existing Valley River Fire Station 3