HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem B - Fire/EMS Stds of CoverEUGENE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Work Session: Fire and Emergency Medical Services Standards of Response Coverage
Meeting Date: January 26, 2005 Agenda Item Number: B
Department: Fire and Emergency Medical Services Staff Contact: Ruth Obadal
www. cl. euget~e, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-7114
ISSUE STATEMENT
The Fire and Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department has recently updated its
Standards of Response Coverage, including its risk analysis, deployment objectives, response time
goals, and recommendations. The document is being presented to the council as part of the requirements
for Fire Department Accreditation.
BACKGROUND
The Fire and EMS Department has applied to become an accredited fire department through the
Commission on Fire Accreditation International. One requirement to achieve accreditation is to prepare
a standards of response coverage plan during the self-assessment phase. Standards of response coverage
are those written procedures determining the distribution and concentration of fixed and mobile
resources. This process involves reviewing community expectations, conducting a community risk
analysis, setting response goals in terms of deployment and response times, and establishing a system of
measuring performance.
The department completed its first Standards of Response Coverage in November 2003, and it was
presented to the council by Chief Tallon at that time. This current document is essentially an update and
refinement of that initial work. Much of it is similar to the previous document. One difference is that
there is another year's worth of response data, so it is current as of the most recent full fiscal year.
Another is that the response time goals have been revised slightly. This was done in order to meet an
accreditation requirement regarding response time goals. These goals serve as the current standards of
coverage. Also included are recommendations and goals for improvement in the level of service. These
have not changed from the previous presentation.
RELATED CITY POLICIES
Standards of Response Coverage and Fire Department Accreditation relate directly to two Council
Goals:
· Safe Community - A safe community where people feel secure and respected
· Effective, Accountable Municipal Government - A local government that works openly and
respectfully with and for everyone in the community
L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050126\S050126B.doc
COUNCIL OPTIONS
The council may approve the document, suggest modifications, or take no action.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends approval of the document. Strictly speaking, this is not a requirement
for accreditation, but it is strongly encouraged by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Council approval at this time does not preclude future modifications by the department or the City
Council.
SUGGESTED MOTION
Move to approve the Fire and EMS Department's updated Standards of Response Coverage.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Standards of Response Coverage
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Staff Contact: Ruth Obadal
Telephone: 682-7114
Staff E-Mail: ruth.a.obadal~ci.eugene.or.us
L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050126\S050126B.doc
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 3
SECTION ONE: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 6
Purpose ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Level of Service and Quality of Service ........................................................................................................ 7
SECTION TWO: Community Baselines ........................................................................................................... 8
Overview and Legal Jurisdiction ................................................................................................................... 8
Table 2.1 Primary Service Area Statistics ............................................................................................ 9
Department Resources ................................................................................................................................... 9
Table 2.2 Emergency Response Staffing ........................................................................................... 10
Map 2.1 Eugene Fire Stations .......................................................................................................... 11
SECTION THREE: Risk Assessment ............................................................................................................. 12
Community Risk Assessment Components ................................................................................................. 12
Risk Assessment Matrix ............................................................................................................................... 13
Service Area Factors Unique to Eugene Fire & EMS .................................................................................. 14
Table 3.1 Total Calls for Service by Type of Call ............................................................................. 18
Risk Evaluation - General ........................................................................................................................... 18
Map 3.1 Map of Risk Areas "A" and "B". ....................................................................................... 20
Table 3.2 Buildings by Occupancy Type ........................................................................................... 21
Table 3.3 Dwelling Units in Fire Risk Areas ..................................................................................... 21
Risk Classifications - Specific ..................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 3.1 Total Fire & EMS Incidents by Year ................................................................................. 23
Table 3.4 Total Eugene Fire & EMS Incidents by Year .................................................................... 23
Table 3.5 Frequency of Fire Incidents ............................................................................................... 24
Table 3.6 Frequency of Automatic Fire Alarms ................................................................................ 25
Table 3.7 Frequency of EMS Incidents .............................................................................................. 25
Table 3.8 Frequency of Hazardous Materials Incidents ..................................................................... 26
Table 3.9 Frequency of Rescue Incidents .......................................................................................... 26
Table 3.10 Frequency of Miscellaneous Incidents ............................................................................... 26
Table 3.11 Frequency of Public Assistance Incidents .......................................................................... 26
Table 3.12 Frequency of Mutual and Automatic Aid Incidents ........................................................... 27
Temporal Distribution of Calls .................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 3.2 Temporal Distribution of All Incidents .............................................................................. 28
Figure 3.3 Temporal Distribution of Fire Incidents ............................................................................ 28
Figure 3.4 Temporal Distribution of Medical Incidents ...................................................................... 29
Risk Evaluation - Ambulance Transport ..................................................................................................... 29
Table 3.13 Frequency of EMS Transports ........................................................................................... 30
Map 3.2 ASA g4 Response Zones .................................................................................................... 31
Figures 3.5-3.11 Demand for Ambulance Service by Day of Week and Time of Day in FY04 ............ 32
SECTION FOUR: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks .......................................................................... 36
On-Scene Operations ................................................................................................................................... 36
Apparatus Types ............................................................................................................................ : ............. 38
Critical Tasks (Firefighting) ......................................................................................................................... 40
Table 4.1 Personnel Required for Initial Deployment Tasks ............................................................. 40
Table 4.2 Personnel Required for Initial Support Tasks .................................................................... 41
Critical Tasks (Emergency Medical Services) ............................................................................................. 42
Critical Tasks (Special Operations) ............................................................................................................. 44
Establishment of an Effective Response Force ............................................................................................ 48
Special Risk/Hazard Response ..................................................................................................................... 49
Call Types and Effective Response Force .................................................................................................... 49
Automatic Aid, Move-Up, and Mutual Aid ................................................................................................. 51
SECTION FIVE: Service Level Goals ............................................................................................................ 52
Response Time Goals, All Incidents ............................................................................................................ 52
Response Time Goals, Structure Fires ......................................................................................................... 52
Response Time Goals, Ambulance Transport .............................................................................................. 53
Response Time Goals, Eugene Airport ........................................................................................................ 53
SECTION SIX: Time and On-Scene Performance ..................................................................................... ....55
Time Points and Intervals - The Cascade of Events .................................................................................... 55
Time Methodology Description ................................................................................................................... 57
Response Time Performance Tables ............................................................................................................ 58
Tables 6.1 Emergency Response Times to All Areas .......................................................................... 58
Tables 6.2 Emergency Response Times to Risk Area "A" Calls ........................................................ 59
Tables 6.3 Emergency Response Times to Risk Area "B" Calls ......................................................... 59
Tables 6.4 Ambulance Calls to All Areas ........................................................................................... 60
Tables 6.5 Ambulance Calls to Risk Area "A". .................................................................................. 61
Tables 6.6 Ambulance Calls to Risk Area "B". ................................................................................... 61
Tables 6.7 Ambulance Calls to "Ambulance Service Only" Area ...................................................... 61
Table 6.8 FY04 Ambulance Response Time Report on Response Zones .......................................... 62
Response Time Performance - Structure Fires ............................................................................................ 62
Table 6.9 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY02 ..................................................... 63
Table 6.10 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY03 ..................................................... 64
Table 6.11 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY04 ..................................................... 64
Response Time Performance - Eugene Airport ........................................................................................... 64
Tables 6.12 Response Times for ARFF Incidents .................................................................................. 64
SECTION SEVEN: Distribution of Resources ............................................................................................... 65
Factors That Have Affected Response ......................................................................................................... 67
SECTION EIGHT: Concentration of Resources ............................................................................................. 69
SECTION NINE: Response Reliability .......................................................................................................... 71
Table 9.1 FY02 (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002) ................................................................................. 71
Table 9.2 FY03 (July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003) ................................................................................. 72
Table 9.3 FY04 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004) ................................................................................. 72
SECTION TEN: Historical Perspective .......................................................................................................... 74
Figure 10.1 Calls for Service 1980-2003 .............................................................................................. 75
Table 10.1 Comparison of Staffing, Population, and Calls for Service 1981-2003 ............................. 77
SECTION ELEVEN: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance ..................................................... 78
Fire Suppression and Rescue Operations ..................................................................................................... 78
Emergency Medical Services ....................................................................................................................... 78
Central Lane Communications Center ......................................................................................................... 79
SECTION TWELVE: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement .................................... 81
Appendix A: NFPA 1710 Summary ................................................................................................................ 86
2
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
Executive Summary
to a new station in the growing, partially incorporated Santa Clara area and 2) the addition of
peak-demand ambulances staffed by paramedics who are not cross-trained as firefighters.
In the analysis described in Section Three, risk areas are established in two ways. For all
emergency services except ambulance transport, the service area is divided into Risk Area "A"
(Eugene city limits plus the contiguous and urban River Road Water District) and Risk Area "B"
(rural property in the other four special districts served by Eugene under contract). For
ambulance transport services, the Ambulance Service Area is divided into three response zones
as established in the Lane County Ambulance Service Area Plan in 2004. These areas and zones
were then used to analyze response times.
Emergency Response Times
Response time is typically defined as the time interval between the moment a resource is
dispatched and the time it arrives at the incident. "Perceived response time," sometimes known
as the "customer interval," from the time an incident is reported, is generally longer, because it
also includes the time needed for call processing. While the Eugene Fire & EMS Department
does not have direct control over call processing, this aspect of emergency response is included
in our analysis because it is part of the customer interval.
Public safety industry standards measure response times against a percentile, or a percentage of
the calls in which the response time falls within set parameters. By tradition, City administrative
order, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, a four-minute travel time
standard is recognized. It would not be correct, however, to assume that an area where the four-
minute standard is not being met is inherently unsafe. Very few fire departments across the
country actually achieve that level of coverage, nor does Eugene. Yet there is abundant evidence
to indicate that Eugene's fire, rescue, and emergency medical response system is safe and
effective.
Based on measurement and analysis of response times and community risk, the department has
established response time goals that indicate levels of service that can be expected by members
of our community. These are detailed in Section Five.
Distribution of Resources
The department currently operates from 11 fire stations and deploys from three to six
ambulances depending on daily and weekly demand patterns. Current resource distribution
concerns are:
o The Valley River area has response coverage deficiencies and is an area of considerable risk
due to the level of development and existing population density.
o Far west Eugene has response coverage deficiencies but currently lacks the level of
development and population to justify adding a new station and on-duty response resources.
4
Executive Summary
o Portions of southeast and south central Eugene are located in a wildland/urban interface fire
zone and have poor transportation routes and access limitations related to topography.
o The number of on-duty fire and EMS resources is not keeping pace with community growth
and demand for services. This is apparent in the declining response reliability figures
citywide.
Historical Performance
Since 1980, Eugene's population has risen from just over 100,000 to approximately 143,000
residents today. During this time, the number of calls per year for fire and EMS service has risen
from around 3,000 to more than 17,000. This is due primarily to a steady rise in demand for
medical services. Over the same 20-year period, the number of firefighters on duty has dropped
from 45 to 43, meaning the ratio of firefighters per 1,000 of population has declined from 1.43 to
1.10, or 23 percent.
Recommendations
On the basis of the analysis of coverage currently being provided by Eugene Fire & EMS, the
department makes the following recommendations:
1. RestaffEngine 9 at the Valley River Station. The analysis shows a response time coverage
gap in the area, plus a systemwide drop in reliability and response time performance that can
be attributed to the absence of a staffed fire company in that neighborhood.
2. Continue to staff ambulances according to temporal demand. Take steps to stabilize funding
sources to support ongoing ambulance transport operations. Analyze the potential of
dynamic deployment strategies across the service system.
3. Retain at least the current number of on-duty firefighters (including Eugene 9) in order to
address current need and near-term growth potential.
4. Continue analysis of the ambulance transport system and firefighter staffing levels to
maintain system sustainability without further weakening firefighter deployment capabilities.
5. Continue to evaluate Engine 1 O/Medic 10 combination company utilization and its impact on
fire and EMS first response.
6. Continue to measure the department's goals and performance against our adopted Standards
of Cover and the NFPA 1710 standard.
7. Plan for the infrastructure to support response into the underserved portions of the service
area. In the near term, purchase property for a fire station on Eugene's rapidly developing far
west side.
Section One: Introduction
SECTION ONE: Introduction
Purpose
While the Eugene Fire & EMS Department (EFD) has stated general response time goals in the
past, it had not developed and adopted clearly defined standards of response coverage until 2003.
At that time the department completed and adopted its first standards of cover. The current
document provides an update and further refinement of that first adopted set of response
standards. The department utilized the analysis to more comprehensively address a number of
issues, including the following:
o Deployment options, matching the identified community risk, including the type of
emergency response apparatus and staffing levels to provide an appropriate level of response
for the various services provided by the department.
o Meeting the changing demands for service in various parts of the department's service area
brought about by shifting demographics.
o The need for, and strategic placement of, future fire stations.
The purpose of a "Standards of Coverage for Emergency Response" document is to provide the
following:
A baseline tool for defining emergency response performance standards and goals.
A summary of community risk (life safety, economic, and environmental).
An analysis of critical emergency scene tasks, which should assume maximum utilization of
all personnel under a "worst case" scenario. This analysis should be consistent with the
department's risk analysis, staffing levels, and goals.
A basis for continually measuring performance over time.
Guidelines for short-term and long-term policy decisions dealing with resource procurement
and allocation.
A Standards of Response Coverage document consists of those written procedures that determine
the distribution and concentration of the fixed and mobile resources of a fire and EMS
organization. It is anticipated that this document will serve as a critical element of the
accreditation process of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
Standards of Response Coverage typically consist of three key elements:
Distribution -- the station and resource locations needed to assure rapid response
deployment to minimize and terminate emergencies.
o Concentration -- the spacing of multiple resources arranged so that an initial "effective
response force" can arrive on scene within sufficient time frames to mobilize and likely stop
the escalation of an emergency in a specific risk category.
o Staffing levels -- these consist of the numbers of response-ready personnel and their
assigmnents.
6
Section One: Introduction
The Standards of Response Coverage are developed through the systematic evaluation of the
department's present policies, practices, and historical response data. The results of these
analyses are then used to develop formal statements regarding the level of service the department
can be expected to provide, along with recommendations to make changes in the way services
are delivered for the purpose of improving the level of service to the community.
Level of Service and Quali ,tv of Service
Level of service is defined as the resources needed to meet stated service level objectives. Level
of service is defined only in terms of what is provided and not in terms of effectiveness or of
quality. ~
Quality of service is measured by outcomes, such as fire loss data and lives saved, and
perceptions, such as those documented through community surveys. While these measures are
important as indicators of quality of service, they are not part of standards of cover, and are
therefore not included in this type of document.
Commission on Fire Accreditation International, Fire & Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual.
Section Two: Community Baselines
SECTION TWO: Community Baselines
Overview and Legal Jurisdiction
The City of Eugene is the second-largest city in Oregon, with a population of approximately
143,9102 and an incorporated area of nearly 42 square miles. Located in western Oregon's
southern Willamette Valley, the community was first officially recognized with the
establishment of a post office in 1850. It was formally incorporated in 1862 as Eugene City,
after early settler Eugene Skinner, and then renamed two years later as the City of Eugene.
The current city charter was adopted in 1976 and has been amended numerous times since then.
It can be found on the City's web site at http://www.ci.eugene.or.us.
The City operates under a council/manager form of government. The City Council develops and
adopts legislation and policies to direct the City organization, but employs a professional
administrator (the City Manager) to manage and oversee all City personnel and operations to
carry out the council's direction. The City is organized into six departments: Central Services;
Public Works; Library, Recreation & Cultural Services; Planning & Development; Police; and
Fire & Emergency Medical Services.
The City Council has eight members. Councilors are elected by geographic ward on a
nonpartisan ballot for staggered four-year terms. The Mayor serves as the City's ceremonial
head, political leader and chair of the City Council. The Mayor is elected by the city at large on
a nonpartisan ballot for a four-year term.
Fire protection in Eugene was first organized on April 3, 1872, as the Eugene Hook and Ladder
Company Number 1. The department, Eugene's first, is now known as the Eugene Fire & EMS
Department (EFD) and has been in continuous operation since that time. The department began
providing ambulance transport services in 1981 and continues to provide this service to a large
area of central Lane County. EFD currently enjoys a Class 2 fire suppression rating from the
Insurance Services Office, Inc. (on a scale of 1-10, with 1 representing the highest rating).
The City Manager appoints the Fire Chief, who is responsible for organizing and administering
the department. The department consists of 209.25 full time equivalent (FTE) positions,
including 173.25 uniformed and 36 civilian personnel, and is organized into two functional
divisions -- Field Operations and Administrative Services.
The Fire & EMS Department provides fire, rescue, emergency medical, code enforcement, and
prevention services to the citizens of Eugene and to five neighboring special districts through
long-standing contractual agreements. See table below.
2 PSU Population Research Center 2003 population estimate
Section Two: Community Baselines
Table 2.1 Primary Service Area Statistics
City of Eugene 140,550 9,572,241,558 9,071,729,024
Bailey-Spencer RFPD 479 33,559,550 28,914,440
Eugene Fire District #1 858 80,645,077 76,454,000
River Road Water 7,990 1.9 329,411,894 269,775,230
District
Willakenzie-Eugene 1,126 1.3 43,843,752 36,954,430
RFPD
Zumwalt RFPD 1,282 12.5 83,521,466 65,226,980
TOTALS 152,285 72.2 10,143,223,297 9,549,054,104
Note: Population data from 2000 U.S. Census.
In addition, the Fire & EMS Department provides advanced life support (ALS) ambulance
transport service to Ambulance Service Area (ASA) #4 of Lane County. This ASA includes all
the jurisdictions listed above plus a large rural area to the south, the west, and a smaller area to
the north for a total area of 438 square miles.
Department Resources
The department operates out of 11 fire stations divided into two geographically defined districts:
District One (east) and District Two (west). Staffing minimums are shown below as the
minimum number of personnel assigned to each company or unit per shift. Specialized
equipment that does not have regularly assigned staffing is not shown here but is included in the
Distribution of Resources Section.
A map showing the locations of all Eugene fire stations is provided on the following page.
Section Two: Community Baselines
Table 2.2 Emergency Response Staffing
District One:
Station 1 - "Downtown Station" - 777 Pearl Street Staffing
District Chief 1 1
Engine 1 3
Track 1 3
Station 3 - "University Station" - 1695 Agate Street
IEngine 3 3
Station 5 - "South Hills Station" - 80 E. 33ra Avenue
Engine 5 3
Medic 5 2
Station 6 - "Sheldon Station" - 2435 Willakenzie Road
I Engine 6 3
Station 9 - "Valley River Station" - 697 Goodpasture Island Road
Engine 9 (Decommissioned)
Medic 9 2*
Medic 91 2*
Medic 92 2*
Medic 93 2*
Station 11 - "Santa Clara Station" - 119 Santa Clara Avenue
t Engine 11 3
*As scheduled according to dynamic staffing.
District Two:
Station 2 - "Whiteaker Station" - 1725 W. 2"d Avenue Staffing
District Chief 2 1
Engine 2 3
Track 2 3
Station 7 - "Bethel Station" - 4664 Barger Drive
I Engine 7 3
Station 8 - "Danebo Station" - 500 Berntzen Road
Engine 8 3
Medic 8 2
Station 10 - "Bailey Hill Station" - 2002 Bailey Hill Road
I Engine 10 3
Station 12 - "Airport Station" - 28827 Douglas Drive
I Airport 1 2
l0
Section Two: Community Baselines
Map 2.1 Eugene Fire Stations
Fire Station 12
Airp orr
Fire Station 11
Santa Clara
Fire Station 9
Valley River
Fire Station 7
Bethel
Fire Station
Sheldon
Fire Station B Fire Station 2
Danebo White ak er
· Fire Station 2
Downtown
Fire Station 3
Fire Station 10 U niversity
Bailey Hill
Fire Station 3
South H ills
11
Section Three: Risk Assessment
SECTION THREE: Risk Assessment
Overall community risk management consists of risk assessment and risk control. First, the
department needs to identify the magnitude and scope of the risk of fire, rescue, and medical
emergencies, or other hazards that threaten life, safety, property, or the environment. This
. analysis is based upon both actual and potential losses.
Community Risk Assessment Components
Developing a risk assessment involves six key components. These apply to all fire, rescue, first
response EMS, and miscellaneous calls for services. In addition, a separate risk assessment was
conducted for ambulance transport, since the area served is different, the nature of the service is
by definition "not first response," and the goals for response times are set by an outside agency,
i.e., Lane County.
Fire Flow -- the amount of water required to both control and extinguish a fire
emergency, based on the contents, square footage, construction type, and the use of
combustible materials.
Probability -- the likelihood that a particular event will occur within a given period of
time. An event that occurs daily is highly probable. An event that occurs only once in a
century is very unlikely. Probability is an estimate of how often an event will occur,
based on local historical data.
Consequence -- two primary components: life safety (risk to the lives of occupants and
responders from life-threatening situations that include fire, rescue, hazardous substance,
and emergency medical events) and economic impact (the loss of property, income, or
irreplaceable assets).
Occupancy Risk -- an assessment of the relative risk to life and property resulting from
a fire inherent in a specific occupancy or in generic occupancy classes.
Demand Zones -- geographic areas utilized to analyze risk situations. Eugene uses a
three primary type of zones for analysis purposes:
Response Zones are based on current fire station locations and correspond to the
first-due response area for each of the stations. Fire station placement and
resource assigmnent are determined by response time performance, transportation
network, population, topography, construction and occupancy character, density,
and the relative risk level of a particular neighborhood or area.
Risk Areas are areas identified by the department based on the degree of risk and
the expected level of service to be provided by EFD. The two Risk Areas are
defined further in this section.
12
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Ambulance Response Zones are areas within an Ambulance Service Area,
established by Lane County for the purpose of measuring response time
compliance with the Ambulance Service Area Plan.
Community Profile -- an analysis of the attributes of the community based on the
unique mixture of demographics, socioeconomic factors, occupancy risk, demand zones,
historical trends, and level of service currently being provided.
Through a methodical analysis of the risk dynamics present in the community, a risk assessment
makes it possible to develop logical resource deployment strategies to meet the identified needs.
The goal of the risk assessment process is to determine the probability of an event occurring, as
well as the potential consequences of that event. Decisions regarding resource deployment can
then follow in a logical sequence.
Risk Assessment Matrix
The matrix below shows the elements of consideration in risk assessment. They arc
combinations of the probability of an event occurring and the consequences should that event
occur. This tool divides risk assessment into four quadrants. Each quadrant of the chart
represents different requirements in the community for the commitment of emergency resources.
High Probability High Probability
~.~ Low Consequence High Consequence
~'q Moderate Maximum
~ Risk Risk
<
~1~ Low High/Special
Isolated Risk Risk
~ Low Probability Low Probability
Low Consequence High Consequence
CONSEQUENCES
A community risk assessment may include defining the inherent differences between a single-
family dwelling, a multiple-family dwelling, a large industrial occupancy or commercial campus,
and a high-rise residential or commercial structure, and then assigning each to a different
quadrant of the risk assessment matrix. Fire stations and emergency apparatus may be
distributed uniformly throughout the community to provide prompt initial response to all types of
incidents, or resources may be concentrated in high-consequence areas to enable a large-scale
Section Three: Risk Assessment
response to an unlikely but highly consequential event. Even when resources are distributed
relatively evenly throughout the community, they may be deployed differently to different types
of incidents, based on the response needs of each particular incident type, or in response to
seasonal changes, special situations or events.
Service Area Factors Unique to Eugene Fire & EMS
Eugene Fire & EMS' primary service area for fire and first response EMS calls is contained
within the city limits of Eugene. This area consists of a relatively traditional community
distribution pattern featuring a densely developed downtown business core with well-established
residential neighborhoods surrounding it. There are areas of industrial and commercial
development outside the downtown core as well. This arrangement lends itself reasonably well
to a traditional fire station location network based on predictions of emergency incident response
patterns.
However, a significant exception to this is the urban transition area, including River Road, Santa
Clara and the Hwy. 99 Industrial Corridor. The majority of this area lies within Eugene's Urban
Growth Boundary (UGB), and it is anticipated that all properties in this area will eventually be
annexed to the city of Eugene, although a time line has not been established for this transition to
occur. As a result, the area contains a large number of properties which have been annexed into
the city, interspersed among many properties which have not yet been annexed. In the
meantime, Eugene Fire & EMS is responsible for providing fire protection and EMS first
response to only the annexed properties in this larger area, while service to the un-annexed
properties is provided by rural fire protection districts.
These noncontiguous annexations result in a growth pattern that does not move out predictably
from the existing city limits but is dispersed in a patchwork fashion throughout the urban
transition area. This presents a variety of challenges in seeking to effectively and efficiently
meet the service needs of the entire area.
In addition to properties within the city, Eugene Fire & EMS is the sole provider of fire
protection and EMS first response to four rural fire protection districts -- Bailey-Spencer RFPD,
Eugene RFPD #1, Willakenzie (west) RFPD, and Zumwalt RFPD -- as well as the River Road
Water District. This coverage is provided through intergovernmental contracts with each of
these special districts. With the exception of the River Road Water District, these districts are
neighboring rural areas lying mostly outside the urban growth boundary.
Topography
The topography of the Eugene Fire & EMS service area is widely diverse. The core
metropolitan service area is relatively flat, although several buttes and hillside ridges define
distinct neighborhoods and a portion of the metropolitan boundary. The Willamette River flows
through the center of town, and the McKenzie River forms part of the northern edge of town. As
one moves out in any direction, the terrain becomes more varied and includes rolling to steep
hills as well as broad riparian zones on the periphery.
14
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Eugene contains a significant amount ofwildland/urban interface areas in the south hills and
southwestern portions of the city. These areas consist of mostly upscale residential development
along winding, narrow and steep streets, interspersed within heavily forested areas, all of which
contribute to increased response times. In addition, this situation presents a significant fire
danger during the dry summer and early fall months. Fortunately, the number of calls for fire
response service in these areas remains relatively low.
The rural districts, particularly those to the south and west of Eugene, are less densely populated
and developed. In general they are hilly and forested and often feature long driveways and
narrow access roads.
Transportation System and Networks
The streets, roads, and highways within the service area are the primary means of getting fire,
rescue, and emergency medical resources to incident scenes. The main highways running
through the city are 1-5, I-105, Delta Highway, Highway 99 (which includes 6th and 7th
Avenues), and Highway 126 (which includes 11 th Avenue). In addition, other main arterials
include Belt Line Road, Coburg Road, River Road, Franklin Boulevard, Chambers Street,
Jefferson Street, Amazon Parkway, Willamette Street, Roosevelt Boulevard, 13th, 18th, and 29th
Avenues. While these transportation routes are usually adequate for the volume of traffic they
carry, periods of "rush hour" congestion significantly slow traffic, including emergency
response, along these and other routes.
Within the rural areas served by Eugene Fire & EMS, limited road networks, terrain
contours, bridges unable to bear the weight of standard fire apparatus, as well as long, narrow,
and winding private driveways, further impede response performance efforts. Absent or
inadequate water supply systems in these areas cause additional fire suppression challenges to
responders.
While the City openly encourages "connectivity," and Eugene Fire & EMS provides regular
input supporting projects that will enhance omni-directional emergency response, several factors
that slow or obstruct emergency vehicle response are beyond the department's control. As the
city becomes more developed and densely populated, more people and vehicles are vying for
space on aging streets, leading to more speeding .and aggressive driving. In an effort to keep
neighborhoods safe and "livable," residents are demanding street designs that slow traffic and/or
transfer it to other streets.
Obviously, any design that slows the flow of normal traffic has a similar impact on emergency
response. Eugene Fire & EMS staff members work regularly with City Traffic Engineering and
Transportation staffs to develop compromise solutions and find a balance between safe
neighborhood streets and adequate emergency vehicle access. However, it is inevitable that the
proliferation of new traffic calming devices will result in further increases in emergency
response times.
Additionally, plans for some major connecting streets have been thwarted by political and
environmental concerns. A bridge across the Willamette River connecting the Valley River area
Section Three: Risk Assessment
with the north River Road area has been proposed since 1967. This proposed bridge appears in
the 1986 revision of the area Transportation Plan (TransPlan). However, for a number of
reasons, including resistance on the part of residents in the immediate area and the cost of the
project, a study to pursue the project and identify a specific location has never been conducted.
In the meantime (1976), Eugene Fire Station 9 was constructed in the Valley River area near the
east bank of the Willamette River. This site was selected, in part, in anticipation that a nearby
bridge would be developed in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, without this planned-for
crossing, the station remains blocked by the river to the west, and consequently has a relatively
small first-in area which it can serve in an adequate response time.
In the early 1990s, the City began the implementation of a city-wide traffic signal pre-emption
system, designed to allow a fire, rescue, or EMS vehicle to request and receive a green light as it
approaches a controlled intersection, while on an emergency response. At a considerable
investment by the City, all traffic signals in Eugene's service area are now equipped with this
system, and all Eugene Fire & EMS emergency response vehicles are equipped with the
appropriate signal emitters. While this system enhances the ability to respond to emergencies
faster and with greater safety for everyone sharing the road, its benefit is being reduced by the
development of new traffic calming designs throughout Eugene.
Development and Population Growth
The 2003 population estimate for the City of Eugene is 143,910 (source: Population Research
Center at Portland State University). This reflects an annual average increase of 1.4 percent
between 2000 and 2003. During the 1990s, the annual average growth rate was 2 percent.
In 1970 the population within the city limits was 69 percent of the total population in the Eugene
Urban Growth Boundary. By 2000, this figure had increased to 86 percent. The Eugene portion
of the population within the UGB is projected to reach approximately 200,000 by the year 2015,
which would represent a 1.5 percent average annual increase.
During the 1990s and into 2004, the majority of annexations in the Eugene area have been small-
scale annexations primarily in the River Road and Santa Clara portions of the city's urban
transition area. Annexations in this area have created a pattern of non-contiguous service
delivery. Most of the annexations have been to undeveloped lands that subsequently undergo
development following annexation. In 1990, 5.8 percent of all persons residing in the River
Road/Santa Clara area lived within the city limits of Eugene. By 2000, this percentage had
increased to 26 percent.
Growth within the Eugene UGB has not been uniform over the past decade. Population figures
declined in the West University, Fairmount, and Friendly neighborhoods during the 1990s.
Generally, the greatest growth in the 1990s occurred in the Willakenzie, Bethel, and Santa Clara
areas. The two areas with the highest population increase - Valley River and Chase Garden
areas - also experienced the greatest increase in multi-family unit development during the 1990s.
The Willakenzie, Bethel, and Santa Clara areas are likely to continue to see higher than average
growth patterns as they contain the largest amount of undeveloped residential land remaining
inside the existing Eugene UGB.
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Water Supply
Eugene Fire & EMS maintains more than 4,000 public fire hydrants, nearly all within the city
limits of Eugene. In addition there are several hundred private hydrants checked by department
personnel and maintained by the individual occupancies they supply. The volume and pressure
of both the public and the private hydrants in the system is excellent. During normal fire ground
operations there is typically no problem acquiring and maintaining adequate fire flows.
However, this is not true of those portions of the city which lie at higher elevations, particularly
the South Hills and Hendricks Park areas, where water is supplied from reservoirs. Further,
some areas above these reservoirs are supplied by electric booster pumps, resulting in decreased
pressure being available for firefighting operations in these areas.
For the most part, the rural areas served by Eugene Fire & EMS do not have fire hydrants in
place. For this reason, the department maintains two water tenders (tank trucks) and several
portable pumps to supply water for firefighting purposes in these outlying areas.
Average Area Protected by Initial Response Companies
Eugene Fire & EMS' entire fire and EMS first response area is 72.2 square miles. It is served by
ten engine companies and two ladder companies. (Engine//12 is included here, even though it is
dedicated to response at the Eugene Airport and not available to respond to incidents off airport
property. It does respond to calls for service at the airport.) Therefore the average area covered
by each initial response company is six square miles. Generally speaking, when the area
protected by fire companies exceeds nine square miles, this would result in unacceptably
extended response times.
Types of Calls to Which Eugene Fire & EMS Responds
Response requests are distributed among three main call types - Fire, EMS, and Other - by
sorting based on dispatch activity descriptions. These call types are further divided as follows:
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Table 3.1 Total Calls for Service by Type of Call
FIRE FY02 % Total FY03 %Total FY04 %Total
Structure 111 0.6% 111 0.6% 124 0.7%
Brush 218 1.1% 258 1.5% 255 1.4%
Vehicle 156 0.8% 134 0.8% 132 0.7%
Other 1,572 8.3% 1,452 8.2% 1,365 7.6%
Sub-total 2,057 10.9% 1,955 11.1% 1,876 10.4%
EMS
Emergency 6,396 33.7% 7,856 44.5% 8,010 44.4%
Non-emergency 4,997 26.4% 4,368 24.7% 5,434 30.1%
Sub-total 11,393 60.1% 12,224 69.2% 13,444 74.5%
OTHER
Haz Mat 89 0.5% 73 0.4% 72 0.4%
Public Asst. 1,277 6.7% 1,217 6.9% 1,099 6.1%
Rescue 1,646 8.7% 1,356 7.7% 1,430 7.9%
Other 2,496 13.2% 844 4.8% 133 0.7%
TOTAL 18,958 100.0% 17,669 100.0% 18,054 100.0%
This distribution pattern illustrates a major challenge in providing service to EFD's diverse
service area. As with most fire departments today, the large majority of calls are medical in
nature, and the demand for service is driven less by the characteristics of the fixed real property
involved (land and buildings) than by the people whose distribution does not necessarily
correspond to the distribution of real property. Moreover, human beings are highly mobile; thus
demand for service in a particular area can change depending upon the time of day, day of week,
specific season, special event, or as significant and long-term demographic shifts occur.
Risk Evaluation - General
Many fire departments identify risks according to a graded system which uses defined terms such
as "maximum risk," "high risk," "moderate risk," etc., to classify portions of the area they
protect, and to base response programming on those classifications.
Risk Areas
Eugene Fire & EMS has identified specific risks in certain portions of its service area and
deployed resources matched appropriately to those risks. One is the placement of water rescue
equipment and trained personnel at the station nearest a major launch point along the Willamette
River for use in water rescue incidents. A second is the placement of highly maneuverable four-
wheel-drive brush engines for steep terrain in the wildland interface zones and rural areas, as
well as water tenders for prompt deployment to fires in non~hydranted areas of Eugene's
protection district. A third is the placement of trained personnel and specialized equipment at the
aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) station located on the grounds of the Eugene Airport.
For the most part, however, the various types of structures and occupancies at various risk levels
in EFD's service area do not fall neatly into small geographic areas that would warrant specific
resources needed only in those areas. Instead, the department has evaluated its actual
18
Section Three: Risk Assessment
performance and infrastructure and classified its service area into two distinct response zones
covering its fire protection service area. Within these zones, pre-determined response
assignments vary according to type of call and structure involved, if any. The two zones are:
o Risk Area "A". All territory classified as Risk Area "A" lies within the Eugene city limits or
the River Road Water District (which lies entirely within the Eugene UGB). This area, while
it varies somewhat in density and land use, has a relatively high occurrence of industrial,
commercial, and residential structures.
Risk Area "B". Territory classified as Risk Area "B" includes the mainly rural property
contained within the four rural fire protection districts served by Eugene Fire & EMS, that lie
predominantly outside the UGB. These areas contain primarily agricultural or forest land
and associated structures, with some rural residential development. For the most part, these
areas are not served by mtmicipal water systems, nor are they equipped with a fire hydrant
network.
The map on the following page shows the boundaries of these two risk areas.
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Map 3.1 Map of Risk Areas "A" and "B"
2O
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Buildings in Eugene Fire & EMS Fire Protection Area
For the purpose of this report, data was gathered from the Lane County Regional Land
Information Database, which is maintained by Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). The Fire
Department Inspection database provided additional data. These databases track land use or
inspection category and not buildings per se. Therefore, the following figures represent the
department's best calculation of the number of buildings protected.
Table 3.2 Buildings by Occupancy Type
Buildings by Occupancy Type Risk Area "A" Risk Area "B"
Single-Family Residential 41,209 1,514
Duplex Residential 2,770 9
Multi-Family Residential 2,683 2
Group Residential 184 1
Hotels/motels (incl. residential) 158 0
Places of Assembly 342 8
Offices & Services 2,363 10
Educational Facilities 278 0
Manufacturing 408 1
Retail & Wholesale 1,293 12
Hazardous 349 0
Health Care Facilities 56 1
Storage Facilities 477 0
Totals 52,484 1,558
It should be noted that the figures shown above for residential occupancies represent a best
estimate for actual buildings and do not indicate the number of individual dwelling units
contained therein. Querying the available database for separate mailing addresses to individual
units resulted in the following figures for number of dwelling units:
Table 3.3 Dwelling Units in Fire Risk Areas
Dwelling Units Only
Risk Area "A" 68,520
Risk Area "B" 1,537
Total Dwelling Units 70,057
High-rise structures pose a unique set of challenges in performing firefighting operations. The
associated life risk and high density of occupants, the challenge of marshaling personnel and
equipment aloft, and the development of support systems needed to sustain a high-rise operation,
cause high-rise fires to be managed differently from other firefighting operations.
21
Section Three: Risk Assessment
High-rise structure locations are a consideration in the department's decisions around apparatus
placement, especially the department's ladder truck companies. Eugene's staffed truck
companies are deployed at Fire Station 1 (Downtown) and Fire Station 2 (Whiteaker). Station 1
is located in the downtown core area and close to the university district which together account
for the vast majority of Eugene's high-rise structures. Station 2 is positioned further to the west
in central Eugene. Although truck companies are essential in high-rise operations, they also are
integral to low-rise structure firefighting operations.
Risk Classifications - Specific
A Risk, Hazard, and Value Evaluation (RHAVE) process can be utilized to stratify risk into
more definitive risk categories and determine the values exposed to loss, the probability of an
event occurring, and the consequences that such an event may have on the community. Eugene
Fire & EMS believes primary risk liability falls into five general categories in order of severity:
life risk, community economic risk, environmental risk, historical risk, and pure dollar loss.
Since life risk and community economic risk are of primary importance, nearly all property
associated with those risk categories is included in Eugene Fire & EMS's Risk Area "A"
response zone and, to a lesser extent, the Risk Area "B" zone. Examples are described below:
1. Life Risk: Any location that presents a high risk of life loss, such as high-density
housing (particularly un-sprinklered, high rise and older remodeled structures), foster
care homes, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, housing within close proximity to
hazardous manufacturing or storage, day care centers, and schools.
2. Community Economic Risk: Those facilities that have a high dollar value and, if
destroyed or damaged by fire, could close or relocate, permanently or temporarily placing
a severe economic burden on the community through the loss of jobs and/or tax revenue.
This category also includes critical infrastructure of primary importance to the economic
health and safety of the community, such as utilities, roads, and bridges.
3. Environmental Risk: Any area where a high risk of severe or permanent environmental
damage would likely occur in the event of a fire or hazardous material spill.
4. Historical Risk: Any structure or property of significant historical value to the
community.
5. Pure Dollar Loss: Structures that have a high value but pose a low risk of life loss or
community economic impact and are typically fully insured against loss. Examples
would be large rural residential and farm structures as well as some commercial buildings
primarily housing goods inventory.
Probability Analysis
Figure 3.1 and Table 3.2 below show the total incident frequency for Eugene Fire & EMS from
FY98 to FY03. Table 3.2 also includes the daily average calls for service using a 24-hour shift
22
Section Three: Risk Assessment
day. All data, unless otherwise noted, is ot,tained from computer-aided dispatch (CAD) records.
The FY03 decline is due to a County-mand ated reduction in Eugene's previously assigned
Ambulance Service Area effective May 1, 2002.
Figure 3.1 Total Fire & EMS Incidents by Year
T( Incidents
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
FYO0 FYO FY02 FY03 FY04
Table 3.4 Total Eugene Fire & EMS Incidents by Year
FY00 ~:Y01 Fy02 FY03 FY04
Total 17,876 18,620 18,958 ;17,669 18,054
Daily Avg~ 49 51 52 48 49
Eugene classifies incident types as follows
o Fires
o EMS First Response
o Hazardous Materials Incidents
o Rescues (includes a variety of spe( ialized rescue scenarios)
o Miscellaneous calls
o Public Assists
o Mutual Aid
o Ambulance calls (where first resp(,nse is provided by another agency)
o Medical Transport
In analyzing each type of incident, EFD lo >ked at the frequency of incidents over time, as well
as a temporal analysis of aggregated data, ~:o determine the demand patterns for response services
at various times of the day. Data from FYi)l, FY02, and FY03 were used in this analysis.
An extensive study of the EMS system wa~ conducted by the department in 2001. Data from
that study is also included in this analysis. Note that "Medical Transport" occurs on calls that are
23
Section Three: Risk Assessment
already counted as incidents within other service categories. The medical transport numbers are
included in this report because an increase in transports will adversely affect the amount of time
ambulances are available to respond to other calls for service.
Frequency of Calls
Detailed incident information is maintained on an internally developed database called the
Incident Reporter program. Fire company officers (captains and lieutenants) complete a report
for each incident their crews respond to, and the information is then entered into the database.
One gap in this collection system is that the Incident Reporter database does not include all
dispatch records. Eugene, in cooperation with its metropolitan area partners, has recently
upgraded to a new integrated computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and is in the process of
implementing a dedicated fire and EMS records management system (RMS) that will more
comprehensively track all incidents within the area-wide system. These two changes should
reduce the potential for errors and allow for improved analysis of all call types.
Fire Incidents
Table 3.5 summarizes fire incidents by type, total number of fire responses annually, and the
daily (24-hour) average for each year. These were calculated using the activity descriptions
within the current CAD system rather than the Incident Reporter database in order to ensure that
all calls were included. A limitation of this system is that it utilizes call types as determined by
the dispatcher based on information provided by the caller, and in some cases this may differ
from the actual nature of the call as reported by the company officer in Incident Reporter.
Table 3.5 Frequency of Fire Incidents
Call Type FY02 FY03 FY04
Structure 111 111 124
Auto 156 134 132
Brush 218 258 255
Trash 33 41 44
Misc. 287 301 294
Smoke 222 202 172
Arson 9 16 8
Tota I 1,036 1,063 '1,029
Daily Avg. 3 3 3
Automatic Fire Alarms
Automatic fire alarms are included here because they necessitate an emergency response.
Statistically, however, nearly all automatic fire alarms are false reports. Consequently, many of
these calls result in a "disregard" or cancellation of the responding unit(s) while still en route,
when a responsible party confirms that there is no fire and no response is needed. These calls
generally consist of alarm system activations where the system malfunctioned, was inadvertently
24
Section Three: Risk Assessment
activated, or was being worked on and the notification system failed. If the situation was
determined to be a structure fire or there was another legitimate reason for the alarm, such as
smoke, the call would typically be recorded in one of the other incident categories.
The following table shows the number of automatic fire alarms, including those where no fire or
damage occurred, and those where there was damage of some form (e.g., water from sprinkler
system malfunction, smoke from small fire that had been extinguished by worker prior to our
arrival, overheated or shorted electrical equipment, etc.).
Table 3.6 Frequency of Automatic Fire Alarms
FY02 FY03 FY04
No Damag, 1016 890 899
Damage 5 2 10
Total 1021 892 909
Daily Avg. 3 2 2
EMS Incidents
The majority of EFD's incidents are medical in nature. The department currently responds to
approximately 33 such calls each 24-hour day. Beginning in August 2002, all staffed engine
companies are assigned at least one paramedic, and outfitted with a complete inventory of
advanced life support equipment, providing the city and its protection districts with paramedic
first response capability on all incidents.
Table 3.7 Frequency of EMS Incidents
FY02 FY03 FY04
Total 11,393 12,224 13,444
Daily Avg. 31 33 37
Hazardous Materials Incidents
Eugene Fire & EMS serves as one of the State's 14 regional Hazardous Materials Response
Teams, covering all of Oregon Region 2 which represents an area slightly larger than Lane
County. Hazardous materials calls, like all infrequent call types, are not evenly distributed over
time. We have experienced irregular increases and decreases from year to year in the past.
In addition, the region is currently experiencing a recession. When there is a downturn in the
economy, there is a correspondingly lower demand for industrial chemicals, and there also tends
to be a smaller amount of chemicals being transported by rail and highway. This may, in turn,
result in a lower incidence of hazardous materials incidents in the area.
25
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Table 3.8 Frequency of Hazardous Materials Incidents
FY02 FY03 FY04
Total 89 73 72
Daily Avg. 0.24 0.20 0.20
Rescue Incidents
Examples of rescue calls include auto accidents, other accidents, water rescue, and technical
(high angle, collapse, or cave-in) rescue.
Table 3.9 Frequency of Rescue Incidents
FY02 FY03 FY04
Total 1,646 1,356 1,430
Daily Avg. 5 4 4
Miscellaneous Calls
Examples of miscellaneous calls include downed power lines, medical standbys, noxious odor
investigations, and suspicious conditions. They do not fit neatly into other categories, yet they
represent important and ongoing services being provided to the community.
Table 3.10 Frequency of Miscellaneous Incidents
FY02 FY03 FY04
Tota I 2,496 844 133
Daily Avg. 7 2 0.4
Public Assistance Calls
In addition to medical, fire, and rescue calls, Eugene Fire & EMS responds to requests for
various types of public assistance. These include calls such as lifting assistance for patients in
private residences or foster care facilities, leaking fire hydrants, and assisting local law
enforcement agencies.
Table 3.11 Frequency of Public Assistance Incidents
FY02 FY03 FY04
Total 1,377 1,217 1,099
Daily Avg. 3.5 3.3 3.0
26
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Mutual and Automatic Aid Incidents
Eugene Fire & EMS maintains a broad network of mutual and automatic aid agreements with
surrounding jurisdictions. Mutual aid defines services provided to another area at the specific
request of the jurisdiction having authority, and is granted whenever doing so will not leave areas
of primary responsibility with an inadequate level of remaining protection. Automatic aid refers
to agreements that provide a pre-determined level of cross-jurisdictional support, usually in
boundary areas, without the need for a specific request. The following table shows the number
of times each fiscal year, and the daily average that Eugene Fire & EMS responded for mutual or
automatic aid to other jurisdictions.
Table 3.12 Frequency of Mutual and Automatic Aid Incidents
Call Type FY02 FY03 FY04
Tota I 80 125 117
Daily Avg. 0.22 0.34 0.32
Temporal Distribution of Calls
Calls for service are not distributed uniformly throughout a 24-hour period. The following
graphs use a visual aid known as the "radius graph" to display the temporal distribution of calls
for service, using the same classification outline found in the frequency analysis. The figure
below shows the volume for all responses made by the department in FY04 by time of day using
a 24-hour clock.
27
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Figure 3.2 Temporal Distribution of All Incidents
FY04 - All Incidents
0:00
23:0~ ~1:00
21:~.,X ~
20:0~..~ x~O0
:00
19:00/4~~ .~ 5:00
~77:00
~10:009~:008:°°
13:01 I1:00
12:00
The following figures show the temporal distribution of fire incidents and then medical incidents,
respectively.
Figure 3.3 Temporal Distribution of Fire Incidents
FY04 Fire Incidents
0:00
23:00.~50-t----_~1:00
22:o~ '\ I /'~A:oo
~,:o~ x ~//~:oo
~e:oo~~ / I t~ 78:oo
-:°h~ ~ G~°:°°
12:00
28
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Figure 3.4 Temporal Distribution of Medical Incidents
FY04 Medical Incidents
0:00
23:0~~1:00
i /
20:0~4:00
19:00~5:00
18:00~ z~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~6:00
17:00~7:00
yo:0o
~4~ ~~o:00
~ 3:0~ ~ :00
~2:00
Risk Evaluation - Ambulance Transport
Eugene Fire & EMS operates an ambulance transport service which has been in continuous
service since 1981. The department is the authorized advanced life support ambulance provider
for the West Central Ambulance Service Area (ASA//4) of Lane County. This type of
designation is made by counties for all ASAs in Oregon, under the authority of the Oregon State
Health Division. Eugene's ASA represents a significantly larger geographical protection zone
than does the City's fire and first response EMS service area.
After completing an EMS Redesign Project in FY01, Eugene developed a multi-phased plan to
address the challenges to the continued operation of the service, as identified by the study. Phase
1 consisted of modifying Eugene's ambulance deployment model in August 2002. Instead of
operating four statically deployed 24-hour dual-role (firefighter/paramedic) medic units, the
system now features three 24-hour dual-role units and the addition of dynamically deployed
ambulances staffed by single-role (non-firefighter) medics during peak demand periods.
Demand charts similar to those in Figure 3.5 were used to determine the needed initial staffing
level. These demographic measures continue to be used to evaluate the efficacy of the current
staffing model and to suggest needed modifications.
In Phase 2 of the plan, the City assumed direct responsibility for administering all aspects of the
ambulance billing and subscription membership programs for the user fee supported transport
system. This change took effect July 1, 2003.
Eugene also operates a non-emergency, pre-scheduled service that routinely transports patients
for dialysis, cancer treatments, and other routine appointments for which they are too sick to
travel by taxi or private vehicle. The department's EMS Office schedules these transports,
29
Section Three: Risk Assessment
performs the necessary pre-authorization work, and calls the pertinent information in to the
Central Lane 9-1-1 Communications Center, at least 30 minutes prior to the time of service. The
communications center then selects the appropriate available medic unit, with available dual-role
ambulances being dispatched last to this type of call. These pre-scheduled calls are included in
the frequency of calls in the table below.
The following table shows the numbers of calls when patients were actually transported.
Table 3.13 Frequency of EMS Transports
Call Type FY02 FY03 FY04
Transports 8,565 9,231 9,429
Prescheduled 1,329 470 236
Total 9,894 9,701 9,665
Da i ly Avg. 27 27 26
The table shows a significant decrease in the number of pre-scheduled transports between FY02
and FY03. This can be attributed to several factors. In FY03, Springfield Fire & Life Safety
began providing this service in Springfield, which Eugene Fire & EMS had, by agreement,
previously done. Second, one specific patient who had been a frequent user within this service
category (multiple times per week) was no longer in the area. Third, dispatch activities for pre-
scheduled transports began to be handled by 9-1-1 dispatchers, rather than the EMS office staff,
and some of these transports are now coded as regular transports.
A decrease in total EMS transports occurred in FY03, due to the change in the ASA boundaries
in May 2002, when Lane Rural Fire/Rescue began service to a newly created ASA (#8) which
had previously been a part of Eugene's ASA #4.
ASA Response Zones
The Lane County Health & Human Services Department developed an Ambulance Service Plan
which has been adopted by the Board of County Commissioners. This plan calls for each
ambulance service provider in the county to report quarterly on its ambulance response times for
emergency calls. Response time goals are set for various zones, based on population density,
proximity to urban areas, terrain, transportation networks, and expected travel time to the area.
Zones 1, 2, 3, and 4 in each ASA correspond roughly to the State of Oregon's urban, suburban,
rural, and frontier designations. ASA #4 contains only three zones, since it has no frontier
territory and there are no portions of the ASA that are expected to have a greater-than-45-minute
response time.
o Zone 1 includes all territory within the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). It is
considered urban.
o Zone 2 includes territory outside the UGB and to the west as far a line approximately at Fern
Ridge Reservoir. It is considered rural.
30
Section Three: Risk Assessment
o Zone 3 includes all territory in the ASA to the west of the line indicated above. It could be
considered remote rural, but not actually frontier.
Map 3.2 ASA #4 Response Zones
ZONE 1
ZONE 3
ZONE 2
Demand for Ambulance Service
Since Eugene's Ambulance Service Area is different from its fire protection service area and
there are relatively fewer units to handle the total medical transport workload, a separate analysis
was conducted on this issue. Because medical responses comprise a large majority of the total
31
Section Three: Risk Assessment
service demands placed on Eugene Fire & EMS, and there are relatively fewer staffed resourCes
to handle ambulance transport to a larger service area, it is particularly useful to examine demand
patterns so that resources can be deployed as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Ambulance calls are displayed using demand charts that outline calls by time of day and day of
week compared to daily staffing levels. Since not all ambulances are staffed on the traditional
24-hour shift, it is important to compare actual staffing levels to calls received. A combination
of 8-hour and 16-hour shifts staffed by single-role medics are used to provide coverage during
the peak demand periods during the day, while allowing the organization to appropriately reduce
staffing during the night when demand is lower.
The peak demand is determined by calculating the 90th percentile of all medical calls, and
allowing one hour as an average assumption for the amount of time typically necessar[ for an
ambulance crew to handle the call and become available for response again. The 100t percentile
figure is not used because our long experience has demonstrated that many calls for service do
not require transport and will therefore not require a full hour of time to complete and become
available. Points above the 90th perCentile line represent times when the department will most
likely rely on the department's fourth 24-hour, dual-role ambulance, staffed on a last-out basis by
an existing fire engine crew as part of our designated "combination crew" configuration, or else
process a mutual aid request to a neighboring transport provider within the greater metropolitan
area.
By implementing the new dynamic staffing model, the department has been able to better meet
demand while utilizing fewer total resources. The demand patterns are regularly updated and
reviewed. As changes occur, staffing and scheduling practices will be modified to meet the
changing demand in the most appropriate effective manner.
Figures 3.5-3.11 Demand for Ambulance Service by Day of Week and Time of Day in
FY04
Figure 3.5
FY04 - Sundays
6
4 . 90%
2 -- Staffed
0
I 3 5 7 911131517192123
32
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Figure 3.6
FY04 - Mondays
Figure 3.7
FY04 - Tuesdays
, 90%
_- Staffed
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Figure 3.8
FY04 - Wed n esd ays
, 90%
--=-- Staffed
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
33
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Figure 3.9
FY04 - Thumdays
90%
Staffed
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Figure 3.10
FY04 - Fridays
6
4 = 90%
2 -- Staffed
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Figure 3.11
FY04 - Saturdays
6
4 --e- 90%
2 = Staffed
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Note: Demand is calculated as all calls to which Eugene ambulances responded in FY04.
34
Section Three: Risk Assessment
Summary
It is apparent that a 'typical' daily event in EFD's service area is an EMS event, occurring in the
response zone classified as Risk Area "A", between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The
department's staffed response resources must be adequately distributed and redistributed to
handle the high-frequency, moderate-to-low-risk events occurring throughout the day, while also
maintaining a sufficient concentrated level to adequately meet the requirements of relatively rare
incidents in maximum-risk occupancies.
35
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
SECTION FOUR: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
On-scene operations, critical tasking, and an effective emergency response force are the elements
of a standards-of-coverage study that aids in determining appropriate staffing levels, the number
of companies needed, optimal deployment strategies, and the priority duties to be performed on
the fire ground or emergency incident scene. A fire department must be able to determine what
tasks need to be completed in order to have a positive influence on the outcome of the situation,
and the number of personnel and apparatus required to complete those tasks in an effective
manner.
On-Scene Operations
The variables of fire growth dynamics, along with property and life risks, combine to determine
the fire ground tasks that must be accomplished, and to a certain extent the order in which they
must be accomplished, to preserve life and mitigate loss. These tasks are interrelated but can be
separated into two basic types: fire control and life safety.
Fire control tasks are those related to applying a fire suppression product, most generally water,
on the fire, and removing the products of combustion from an enclosed environment. Life safety
tasks are those related to finding trapped, disoriented or incapacitated victims and safely
removing them from the structure or shielding them from the hazard.
Fire control tasks are generally accomplished by using one of two methods:
o Hand-held hose lines are mobile and produce water flows of up to 250 gallons per minute
(gpm). These are generally used during interior or offensive firefighting activities.
o Master streams are generally used from stationary positions, and produce a flow of up to
1,000 gpm. They are used primarily during exterior or defensive firefighting activities.
The decision to use either hand lines or master streams depends upon the stage of the fire, the
threat to life safety and adjoining property, and the specific strategy and tactics employed by the
fire incident commander when sufficient firefighting resources have reached the scene. If the
fire is in a pre-flashover stage (a phenomenon causing the spontaneous ignition of all
combustibles in a room), firefighters can make an offensive fire attack into a building by using
hand lines to attack the fire and shield trapped victims until they can be safely removed from the
structure.
If a fire is in its post-flashover stage and has extended beyond the capacity or mobility of hand-
held hoses, or if the structural damage and the threat of collapse present a significant risk to the
safety of firefighters on scene, the structure will be declared lost. In this situation, master
streams are positioned to extinguish the fire and keep it from advancing to surrounding
exposures. First-arriving firefighters may use a transitional "defensive to offensive" strategy
(discussed below) to limit or remove an environment suspected of presenting an immediate
36
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
danger to life or health (IDLH) of trapped victims while awaiting the arrival of additional
resources.
Life safety tasks assigned are based upon the number of occupants, their location, their status
(e.g., awake, unconscious), and their ability to take effective self-preserving action. For
example, ambulatory adults need less assistance than non-ambulatory adults or children. The
very young and old generally require more assistance which requires greater resource utilization.
The key to any fire department's success at a fire includes a rapid response and efficient'fire
scene deployment, as well as adequate staffing and coordinated teamwork. These key elements
are relevant regardless of whether the fire ground tasks are all fire-flow-related or a combination
of fire flow and life safety.
Because of its greater potential for saving lives and limiting property damage, the Eugene Fire &
EMS Department utilizes aggressive offensive attacks whenever possible. The first objective is
to put a hose line between any fire victims and the fire, and to rescue those victims by removing
them from proximity to the hazard. The second objective is to contain the fire to the building of
origin, floor of origin, or room of origin in that priority order, and to mitigate the IDLH
atmosphere.
Before on-scene procedures can be established, the initial Incident Commander must select an
appropriate initial strategy - Offensive, Defensive, or Transitional.
o Offensive Strategy - This strategy involves an aggressive interior fire attack operation. The
top priority with this strategy is to rescue trapped victims. Because the department attempts
to limit the potential for fire to spread beyond the room of origin and to limit fire-related
deaths and injuries, the aggressive offensive attack is utilized wherever possible, taking into
account the safety of personnel, the availability of on-scene resources, and the size and scope
of the emergency situation. The objective of an offensive attack is to stop the fire and
confine it to the area of origin as quickly as possible.
The offensive attack may also apply to wildland fire where firefighting crews directly attack
the head, or front of an advancing fire. Although this can be an effective tactic, this mode of
attack also poses an increased element of danger that warrants a higher degree of vigilance
by the incident commander and all crew members.
o Transitional Strategy - A transitional strategy consists of an initial exterior attack
positioned to quickly transition (redeploy) into a coordinated interior attack. This transition
can be either a defensive exterior to offensive interior attack, or an offensive exterior to an
offensive interior attack. In either case, the objective is to knock down as much fire as
possible from the exterior and then move to the interior to effect total extinguishment. The
transitional attack is intended to slow the spread of fire until entry can be made to offensively
engage the fire.
The transitional attack is an effective tactic to employ when the OSHA Two-In/Two-Out rule
cannot be met initially. Two-In/Two-Out refers to the OSHA requirement that two
37
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
firefighters be on scene, equipped and in position for immediate entry, before at least two
additional firefighters are allowed to entry into an IDLH environment. The objective of a
transitional attack is to buy time for potential victims, and to provide a safer environment for
an interior offensive attack.
Defensive Strategy - This strategy generally consists of an exterior attack designed to
confine a fire to the structure of origin. No attempts are made to rescue civilian fire victims
from the interior of a structure because, by virtue of the fire's extent, victims not already
evacuated are presumed to be beyond rescue. A "fully involved" structure is one that is at
high risk for collapse, and even modem firefighting protective equipment is not sufficient to
allow rescuers to safely enter such a super-heated environment.
In the case of a large structure, a defensive attack can also be an interior attack that saves a
substantial portion of the structure from the fire by taking advantage of the building's design.
The objective of a defensive attack is to protect an uninvolved area or building, or other
exposures.
A defensive attack may also apply to wildland fires when crews are deployed well ahead of a
fire and attempt to change the fire's course, remove unburned fuels from the fire's path, or
decide which neighborhoods can be saved and maintain safe escape routes for the use of
fleeing residents.
Apparatus Types
Fire Engines - The department currently staffs nine NFPA-designated 'triple combination'
pumpers. These are apparatus equipped with a fire pump, hose complement, and water tank.
Eugene's fire engines are also designated as wildland Type I engines and are given a Class-A
designation by the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
The units are always staffed with at least three firefighters: one captain or lieutenant, who
functions as the lead worker in charge of the company; one engineer (apparatus operator); and at
least one firefighter. As part of this three-person complement, Eugene's engines are always
staffed with at least one paramedic, allowing each company to operate as both a fire suppression
and first response advanced life support (ALS) unit. Under current department policy, some of
these resources may be staffed without a paramedic and operated as basic or intermediate life
support units on a day-to-day basis, due to staffing limitations.
The role of the engine company during fire suppression efforts is to pump water through a
variety of fire hose and associated appliances onto the fire in order to lower the temperature of
the fuel below its ignition temperature.
Ladder Trucks - The department currently staffs two types of ladder truck companies. The first
type is a 105' straight ladder (no bucket), carried on a tractor-trailer tillered aerial apparatus
chassis. The second type is a 100' elevating platform carded on a single chassis with all-steer
capability, meaning all wheels can be tumed for optimum maneuverability. The department also
38
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
utilizes a reserve ladder truck with a 95' elevating platform carded on a straight chassis without
all-steer capability.
The role of the truck company during fire suppression efforts it to provide forcible entry; vertical
and positive pressure ventilation, which aids in fire suppression efforts conducted by the engine
companies; search and rescue; salvage and overhaul; elevated work above ground level on
ladders; and/or elevated master streams for defensive firefighting operations.
Brush Engines - The department deploys three Type III brush engines in Eugene's hillside
locations - University, South Hills and Bailey Hill - which are staffed by the engine company
crews at those locations based upon call type. These units have a limited but very important
application and receive less use than front-line engines.
The role of the Brush Engine is to access and fight fire in the wildland and urban/rural interface
zone. Brush engines are smaller units than Type 1 engine companies, are equipped with all-
wheel drive, have a higher ground clearance, and carry hose loads more suited to wildland
firefighting.
Water Tenders - The department deploys two 3,000-gallon water tank trucks which are utilized
in Eugene's non-hydranted response and contract areas. These resources may be deployed on
structure fires or to natural cover rites. Eugene's two water tenders are deployed at Fire Station
2 (Whiteaker) and Fire Station 8 (Danebo), and are staffed by the engine company crews at those
locations based on call type. Like the brush engines, water tenders have a limited but very
important application and receive less use than front-line engines.
The role of the water tender is to deliver large quantities of water in Eugene's non-hydranted
response areas and districts.
Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) Units -The department deploys two ARFF apparatus
with one of the two staffed round-the-clock. ARFF companies are specialty units staffed by
specially trained firefighters and are designed for the unique application of aircraft rescue and
fire fighting. These units have a limited application and use but are staffed 24/7 and deliver fire,
rescue, and emergency medical first response at the Eugene Airport.
The role of the ARFF company is to remain at the Airport and be available for aircraft, rescue,
and fire fighting as per Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 139.
Medic Units (Ambulances) - The department currently deploys three 24-hour dual-role
(firefighter/paramedic) Type III ambulances staffed with at least one Paramedic and one EMT-
Intermediate. In addition, the department staffs a flexible number of dynamically deployed,
single-role (non-firefighter EMT/paramedic) Type III ambulances staffed with at least one
Paramedic and one EMT-Intermediate during periods of regular peak activity. All of Eugene's
medic units carry a full complement of advanced life support equipment, and are licensed and
designated by the State of Oregon as ALS ambulances.
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
The primary role of the medic unit in Eugene's system is the treatment and transport of the sick
and injured within our county-designated ambulance service area. Personnel assigned to staff
dual-role medic units are also qualified and able to function as firefighters, which helps augment
Eugene's overall firefighting force.
Critical Tasks (Firefi~htin~)
Critical tasks are tasks that must be conducted in a timely manner by firefighters at structure fires
in order to control the fire prior to flashover or to extinguish the fire in a timely manner. A fire
department is responsible for assuring that responding companies are capable of performing all
of the described tasks in a prompt and proficient manner.
Critical tasks are described below. The allocations assume that emergency crews are committed
to those assigned tasks (worst-case scenario), and would not be available for re-assignment until
after the balance of the alarm, or response package, arrives on scene.
Initial Deployment
The initial fireground actions begin with the arrival of the first company and continue,
sequentially or in parallel, as tasks are completed and additional resources arrive. Initial
deployment includes the following:
Table 4.1 Personnel Required for Initial Deployment Tasks
TASK RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HIGHRISE NON-HYD.
Size-Up/Command 1 1 1 I
Pump Ops/Water Supply 1 2 2 - 3 2 - 3
Offensive Fire Attack 2 - 4 2 - 4 6 4
Accountability 1 1 - 2 2 - 3 1
SUB-TOTAL: Initial Attack 5 - 7 6 - 9 11 -13 8 - 9
Personnel
Initial Support
Initial support functions occur slightly after the initial attack functions. Typically the first
arriving ladder truck company and additional arriving engine companies or dual-role medic units
perform these tasks. Initial support functions are identified in the following table.
40
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Table 4.2 Personnel Required for Initial Support Tasks
TASK RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL HIGHRISE NON-HYD.
Truck Ops: Forcible Entry, 3 6 9 3
Search, Ventilation
Rapid Intervention Teams 3 3 - 6 3 - 6 3
Salvage & Overhaul 3 3 - 6 3 - 6 3
Back-up Hose Lines 2 2 - 4 2 - 4 2
Incident Safety Officer 1 1 1 - 2 1
*Air/Light 1 - 2 1 - 2 2 - 3 1 - 2
**Rehab 1 - 2 2 2 2
SUB-TOTAL: Initial 14 - 16 18 - 27 22 - 32 15 - 16
Support
TOTAL PERSONNEL 19 - 23 24 - 36 33 - 45 23 - 25
TOTAL FIREFIGHTERS 17 - 19 21 - 32 29 - 40 20 - 21
* Function is performed by Logistics staff members.
** Function may be performed by Logistics staff members or single-role medics.
Secondary Support
It should be noted that secondary support functions are not all conducted concurrently, and in
some cases more than one task can be accomplished by the same personnel, reducing the overall
number of required personnel. Examples of this include thc same truck company of three
personnel performing forcible entry, then ventilation, salvage, and overhaul. On the other hand,
there may be instances where a second crew needs to relieve thc first fire attack crew prior to the
task being completed.
Secondary support functions include:
o Salvage (functions which prevent further property damage from occurring)
o Overhaul (functions which ensure that the fire is completely extinguished)
o Firefighter rehabilitation
o Breathing air supply, equipment maintenance, and on-scene lighting support activities
Secondary support functions may be performed by:
o Fire suppression companies reassigned after initial deployment task completion
o Dual-Role Medic Unit personnel
o Additional fire suppression companies called to the scene specifically for this purpose
o Logistics personnel who have been called to the scene to provide air re-supply, lighting
and rehab
o Single-role emergency medical personnel
41
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
As many as 40 firefighters, augmented by civilian staff members, may be needed to accomplish
the critical tasks necessary to control structure fires, according to type, in a safe, efficient, and
effective manner, using the EFD's current staffing configuration. The exact number needed will
vary from incident to incident.
The fire scene is unpredictable in many ways. While it is possible to anticipate what critical
tasks must be accomplished in order to extinguish the fire, it is not always possible to predict
how many firefighters it will take to accomplish those tasks. The number of personnel and the
amount of equipment necessary to accomplish the critical tasks listed will vary due to the
following factors:
c> Response time
o Building construction
o Number of floors the fire is located above ground level
o Number of occupants
o Exposures
o Physical and emotional condition of occupants
Extent of fire upon arrival (flashover)
c> Built-in fire protection
o Area of fire involvement
o Firefighter or civilian injuries
Apparatus or equipment failure
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department has used its experience, knowledge, and historical
information to determine what constitutes an effective response force. These staffing projections
are accurate for the majority of the working fires within Eugene's response area. The need for
more personnel may arise on any fire scene at any time. Fire conditions dictate the response
needed for any given fire, even if that response exceeds the requirements listed in this document.
The department relies on the experience and professional judgment of its company and chief
officers to request additional resources early in an incident whenever their expertise suggests that
those resources might be required. These resources can be readily obtained through on-duty
staffing, automatic and mutual aid, or the callback of off-duty Eugene personnel.
Critical Tasks (Emergency Medical Services)
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department provides both EMS first response and ambulance transport
services to a large portion of central Lane County, and responds to over 10,000 emergency
medical calls for service per year. Because the majority of the department's call load involves
emergency medical service delivery, every Eugene engine company is equipped as an advanced
life support (ALS) first response unit, and staffed with at least one firefighter/paramedic. In
addition, all Eugene medic units are ALS transport equipped and staffed with a minimum of one
paramedic and one intermediate emergency medical technician (EMT-I) driver.
In order to preserve the more limited ambulance capacity within the EMS system here, Eugene
engine and truck companies are dispatched on a first-out basis to perform non-emergency patient
42
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
evaluations. These calls are most frequently defined as nonspecific medical evaluations, and are
indicated when the caller reports no priority symptoms in response to questioning by a trained
dispatcher.
Upon arrival, the first response fire suppression crew rapidly assesses the patient, determines the
level of intervention needed, if any, and connects the patient with the appropriate level of
assistance. Most frequently these calls result in a patient evaluation conducted by the
suppression crew.
Options for patient intervention include providing medical evaluation and advice to a patient
who does not require transport to a medical facility. In some cases, after a field evaluation has
determined that no medical intervention is required, the patient is left in the care of a relative or
other appropriate responsible party who will either monitor the situation or transport the patient
to a medical facility by private vehicle.
In certain situations, the responding crews can access the local CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance -
Helping Out On The Streets) program. This non-emergency service is provided by the City in
partnership with the White Bird Clinic. It consists of a non-emergency transport unit (without
stretcher) staffed by civilian emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and designed to handle
mental crisis intervention, intoxicated subjects, and some eligible social service needs. First
response fire crews also have the option of requesting an ALS transport unit if needed and no
other options are available, or if CAHOOTS is already committed to another call. Because of the
limited CAHOOTS system capacity, this situation occurs frequently.
This type of tiered response has been implemented because engine and truck companies in our
system are staffed with trained paramedics, and these companies are more numerous and have
greater workload capacity than ALS medic units in the system. This practice lowers the volume
of medic unit responses and resolves a substantial number of situations that can most often be
handled in another way. The department has also investigated a variety of alternative means of
facilitating transport when conditions fall outside of the emergency medical system parameters.
For requested non-emergent transports from a medical facility -- including certified nursing
facilities, doctors' offices, medical clinics, assisted living facilities, foster care homes - or a
doctor's or home health care nurse's request for transport from any location - a medic unit is
dispatched to the location on a non-emergency basis. The department works with local providers
to pre-schedule as many of these as possible, to further distribute the work load evenly across the
system.
EMS calls for service often require treatment for more than one patient. These calls include
vehicle accidents, chemical exposures, construction or industrial accidents, fires, and any other
event that occurs with several people in close proximity. Patient conditions can range from
minor cuts and bruises to life-threatening illnesses or injuries.
In addition to providing additional EMS system capacity, our first-response fire companies also
serve to augment our two-person ambulance crews at all emergency medical incidents. This is
done to expedite life-saving treatment when required, and to ensure that there are enough trained
responders on scene to handle the incident safely and effectively.
43
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Below is a table that illustrates the many tasks which must be accomplished simultaneously
during three life-threatening medical scenarios that occur frequently in our area. While some of
these tasks can be done by the same person in rapid sequence, it illustrates the fact that it can
take 5-8 people to treat and prepare for transport even one critical patient.
Critical Tasks Cardiac Arrest Stroke/Overdose Multi-System Trauma
12~Lead EKG Monitor 1 personnel 1 1
Cardiac Defibrillation 1 n/a n/a
Airway mgt./Intubation 1 1 1
CPR 1 n/a n/a
Blood Test/Collection 1 1 1
IV / Pharmacology 1 1 1
Splint./Bandage/Immob. n/a n/a 1
Pt. Lifting/Packaging 2 - 4 2 - 4 2 - 4
Medical Info Collection 1 1 1
The Central Lane 9-1-1 Dispatch Center is responsible for answering and screening calls for
service from the public, establishing the correct initial response, and initiating the response
notification referred to as "tone-out." The first arriving fire officer on scene may amend the
response package once conditions have been assessed. The department's Standard Operating
Procedures are used to request adequate personnel.
Critical Tasks {Special Operations}
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department currently maintains three separate Special Operations
Teams as well as the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) unit which provides protection at
the Eugene Airport:
o HAZ MA T TEAM- The Oregon State Region 2 Hazardous Materials Team is comprised of
18 team members and operates out of Fire Station 6 (Sheldon). Region 2 covers all of Lane
County.
o SPECIAL RESCUE TEAM- This team also has 18 members and operates out of Fire Station
2 (Whiteaker). Eugene's Technical Rescue Team operates within a web of mutual aid
agreements with other State regional Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams.
o WATER RESCUE TEAM- Water Rescue Is comprised of 24 team members and operates out
of Fire Station 1 (Downtown). Eugene's Water Rescue Team operates cooperatively with the
Springfield Fire & Life Safety Water Rescue Team and the Lane County Sheriff's Office
Search and Rescue Team. LCSO has statutory authority for managing all water rescue
related operations, so command is generally turned over to them upon their arrival.
o Airport ARFF Services - 24 Eugene Fire & EMS personnel are specially trained and certified
to provide aircraft rescue and fire fighting services at the Eugene Airport. These personnel
operate out of Station 12 (Airport).
44
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department utilizes a two-tiered approach to incidents requiring special
operations capabilities.
Each line company has personnel trained to the "Operations" or similar level in hazardous
materials response, technical rescue, and water rescue, along with limited equipment for these
functions. Of additional benefit to the community is the fact that many technical and specialist
personnel are also available as part of regular fire companies on a daily basis. These companies
respond when dispatched as they would to other emergencies. Upon arrival, they assess whether
they can mitigate the emergency with their own resources or if the special tools and expertise of
the specialty teams are required.
Specialty teams may be dispatched on the initial alarm, or may be requested by first arriving
companies based on their size-up of the incident.
In addition to the three specialty teams and ARFF unit, the Eugene Fire & EMS Department is
routinely called upon to provide special standby coverage for events such as the 4th of July
Freedom Festival, Butte to Butte race, Lane County Fair, Eugene Celebration, University of
Oregon sporting events, and known or anticipated civil disturbance protests and activity. Many
of these events involve special services and contingency planning from local agencies.
Hazardous Materials
The HazMat Team is assigned to Fire Station 6 (Sheldon). The team responds out of this
location primarily because there is available space, it is located near the center of Lane County,
and it has good response avenues to three freeways which are primary transportation corridors
for chemical delivery. The team operates as one of 14 State of Oregon regional HazMat
Emergency Response Teams and, as such, is approximately 50% revenue-backed by the State.
Hazardous materials response and mitigation services are provided on a special call basis, to
control and mitigate accidental chemical releases. As a regional team, these services are
provided to all of Lane County on a primary response basis, and to the rest of the State on a
mutual aid response basis to support one of the other regional teams.
As noted above, the team consists of 18 personnel deployed on the three shifts. Personnel are
state-certified to the Specialist level, which requires four weeks of training. There are no
proposed budget cuts for this team in the foreseeable future.
When an incident presents a hazardous materials spill, release, or exposure requiring skills and
equipment beyond the scope of those trained to the HazMat Operations level, Eugene's
Hazardous Materials Team is requested.
While en route, the team communicates by radio and cellular telephone with the on-scene
Incident Commander and various state agencies to begin designing specific operational priorities
specific to the incident. Upon arrival, the HazMat Team is designated as the HazMat Branch or
Group under the Incident Command System (ICS) organizational structure. The Team Leader or
Supervisor confers with the Incident Commander to further assess:
45
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Relevant safety issues and additional resource needs
Hot / Warm / Cold Zone designation
Evacuation/isolation requirements
Product identification / determination
Life safety and environmental damage and exposure concems
Release / spill mechanism and current status
Risk / benefit analysis
Determination of strategy and tactics
Required notifications
Following this initial briefing with the Incident Commander, the HazMat Team initiates
interventions:
Reconnaissance
Develop mitigation plan
Defensive and/or offensive operations (confine vs. contain)
Debriefing, documentation, demobilization
General Hazardous Materials Team assignments are as follows:
o Team Leader
o Resource Officer
o Entry Team (2)
o Back-Up Team (2)
o Safety / Medical Team
A minimum of one company is necessary to handle personnel and victim decontamination
responsibilities. Additional companies may be used in support roles as needed. These may
include:
Incident Command and Command Staff
Decontamination support
Fire suppression standby
Ventilation
Scene / perimeter control
Medical support
Technical Rescue
The Technical Rescue Team is assigned to Station 2 (Whiteaker), located at 1725 W. 2nd
Avenue. Technical Rescue responds out of this location primarily because Station 2 is one of
two stations with a staffed ladder track company, and the technical rescue skill set is very useful
in regular track company operations. Technical rescue services are provided within the city
limits, and in some cases, specially called for by one of our medic units operating outside the city
and in need of the services for personnel safety. Industry and government are required to have a
46
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
designated confined space rescue team in order to obtain certain confined space entry permits.
The department's Technical Rescue Team provides this service.
As noted above, the team consists of 18 personnel deployed on the three shifts. Personnel are
certified in four different disciplines: high-angle rope rescue, structural collapse, below-grade
trench rescue, and confined space rescue.
Upon arrival, the Technical Rescue Team is designated as the Rescue Branch or Group under the
Incident Command System (ICS) organizational structure. The Team Leader or Supervisor
confers with the Incident Commander to further assess:
o Risk/benefit analysis
Additional resource needs
o Strategy and tactical priorities
o Scene security and control
o Incident documentation
o Air monitoring (confined space)
o Electrical vault or power line concerns
o Fire suppression standby (if applicable)
o Required notifications
Water Rescue Team
The Water Rescue Team is assigned to Station 1 (Downtown), located in City Hall at 777 Pearl
Street. Water Rescue responds out of this location because of its close proximity to the
Willamette River and the team's primary launch ramp located in Skinner Butte Park. Water
rescue services are provided for all ponds and waterways within the city limits, and on the
Willamette River a short distance outside the city. The Willamette River accounts for most of
the team's calls for service. Other boat launch site options include:
o Aspen Street and West D Street (Springfield, upstream and just north of Eugene's
jurisdiction)
o Alton Baker Park
o Belt Line Bridge
o East Hillcrest Drive
As stated above, the team consists of 24 personnel deployed among the three shifts, and provides
surface boat-based rescue only. In 2001, the team dropped its dive (SCUBA) capabilities due to
budgetary constraints and what was determined to be a high risk/low benefit relationship
associated with this service. Personnel are certified in swirl water rescue, and a majority of the
team members are also certified divers.
Upon arrival, the Water Rescue Team is designated as the Water Rescue Branch or Group under
the Incident Command System (ICS) organizational structure. The Team Leader or Supervisor
confers with the Incident Commander to further assess:
47
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Locate witnesses
Establish "Last Seen Point"
Risk/benefit analysis
Secure and control the scene
Determine boat launch / no-launch
Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)
In addition to the three special teams, there is a special service that provides aircraft rescue and
fire fighting services to the Eugene Airport. ARFF services are assigned to the Airport Station,
Station 12, located at 28827 Douglas Drive, and the program is staffed entirely by on-duty
personnel who have been trained in this work. Station 12 has the lowest staffing level within the
department at two personnel - one Captain and one Engineer. The additional personnel are
assigned to other stations, usually Station 7, 8, or 9, which are the primary supporting units in an
aircraft emergency response.
In addition to aircraft rescue and fire fighting services, ARFF firefighters respond on the airport
property to structural fires, fire alarms, hazardous chemical spills and releases, and as the first
tier in an emergency medical response.
The ARFF service is staffed from a pool of 24 certified fire suppression personnel of which nine
are assigned to each of the three shifts. In addition, one additional line Captain oversees the
program and is designated ARFF Program Director.
Establishment of an Effective Response Force
Once critical tasks have been identified and defined, an effective emergency response force can
be established. This force is defined as the number of personnel and amount of equipment that
must reach an incident in a specific response zone within the maximum response time goal. An
effective response force must be trained and equipped to handle a variety of fire, rescue, special
hazard, and emergency medical incidents, shortly after they are reported. In order to accomplish
this, companies and units must be located close enough to the incident to arrive within the
maximum prescribed response time for the full assignment of fire companies according to the
risk level of the structure, situation, or event.
The risk of fire, medical emergency, or other emergency event can never be held to zero. Thus,
the objective of any standards of coverage study is to identify the balance among distribution,
concentration, and response reliability that will keep hazard risk at an acceptable level, while
maximizing the preservation of life, property, and the environment.
A minimum effective initial response force has been determined, based on fire flow capabilities,
critical fireground tasking, rapid emergency medical intervention, and adequate and capable
special rescue and hazard mitigation functions (see response packages under Call Types and
Effective Response Force below).
48
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
In areas without fire hydrants, the standard response assiloarnent is supplemented with water
tenders (tank trucks) to meet the additional anticipated needs for water supply. Likewise, for
specialty functions such as wildland fire response, aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF), or
special rescue considerations, response packages are modified or augmented to include special
equipment and/or trained personnel.
Special Risk/Hazard Response
For a special risk or hazard area, the initial standard response (Risk Area "A") package may be
amended by responding company or chief officers based upon special conditions, reports, or use
of the structure, facility, or area. Amending or augmenting the response package may include
the dispatch of department resources deemed appropriate for the mitigation of the reported
incident.
Where incident notification clearly indicates that the incident involves hazardous materials
beyond the management capabilities of the initial response company, the department's
Hazardous Materials Team may be ordered during response.
Where incident notification clearly indicates the need for technical rescue services, the
department's Technical Rescue Team may be ordered during response. In addition, the
department's truck companies carry a smaller complement of technical rescue equipment, and a
number of TRT team members routinely staff Eugene's truck companies.
Call Types and Effective Response Force
Now that critical tasks have been determined and an effective response force for the Eugene Fire
& EMS Department has been defined, a review of dispatch call types and their commensurate
response packages (numbers of and types of units deployed on the initial response) will be
presented:
Public Service
o 1 Engine Company or 1 Truck Company
Non-Emergency Medical Check Patient
o 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company or 1 Medic Unit
NOTE: If a fire company and medic unit are equal distance from a call, the fire company (first
response EMS) is dispatched to maintain the availability of the ambulance.
Emergency Medical
o 1 Engine Company or 1 Truck Company, 1 Medic Unit
Motor Vehicle Accident
o 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company, 1 Medic Unit
General Rescue
o 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company, 1 Chief Officer, 1 Medic Unit
49
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Water Rescue
o On-duty Water Rescue Team, 2 Engine Companies, 1 Medic Unit, 1 Chief Officer
Structural Collapse Rescue
o On-duty Technical Rescue Team, 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company, 1 Medic Unit,
1 Chief Officer
Confined Space Rescue
c> On-duty Technical Rescue Team, 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company, 1 Medic Unit,
1 Chief Officer
High Angle Rescue
o On-duty Technical Rescue Team, 1 Engine Company, 1 Truck Company, 1 Medic Unit,
1 Chief Officer
Fire Alarm Activation
o 1 Engine Company or 1 Truck Company
NOTE: Ifa truck company is the closest fire company it responds Code-3 and 1 engine company
responds Code-1.
Fire Alarm Activation - High Rise
o 2 Engine Companies, 1 Truck Company, 1 Chief Officer
Fire - Non Structural
o 1 Engine Company
Fire - Single-Family Dwelling
o 3 Engine Companies, 1 Truck Company, 1 Chief Officer, 1 Medic Unit
Fire - Commercial/Industrial/Multi-Family Dwelling
o 3 Engine Companies, 2 Truck Companies, 2 Chief Officers, 1 Medic Unit
Fire - High Rise
o 4 Engine Companies, 2 Truck Companies, 2 Chief Officers, 2 Medic Units
NOTE: Automatic 2nd alarm assignment is activated if smoke is showing on arrival.
Fire - Natural Cover Fire (October 1st through June 14th)
o 1 Engine Company
Fire - Natural Cover Fire (June 15th through September 30th)
o 2 Engine Companies, or 1 Engine Company and 1 Brush Engine or 1 Water Tender, 1
Chief Officer
50
Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks
Automatic Aid~ Move-Up~ and Mutual Aid
Within the existing interagency system, there are two basic types of aid agreements. These aid
agreements are used to augment existing resources through the provision of automatic aid and
mutual aid.
Automatic Aid
Automatic aid is a formal agreement between two agencies where one or both parties are
dispatched and respond automatically into a portion of the other party's jurisdiction. Under an
automatic aid agreement, no request is required for assistance within the boundaries of the
agreed-upon area. Automatic aid agreements currently exist with the Springfield Fire & Life
Safety Department (to the east) for fire suppression and ambulance response; Santa Clara Fire
Protection District (to the north); Lane County Fire District #1 (to the west) for fire suppression
and water tender support; and Lane Rural Fire/Rescue (to the northwest) for fire suppression and
ambulance response.
Move-Up
As a subsection of the same automatic aid agreement, Eugene and Springfield share an automatic
move procedure for those instances when only one medic unit remains available in both
jurisdictions. This move-up is provided for in SOP 2-9-4, "Move-Up," which delineates the
standby zone that the remaining unit must respond to and remain in until dispatched to a call, or
other units become available. This move-up agreement applies only to medic units. Fire unit
standby is provided for in an associated policy and is enacted on an as-needed basis.
Mutual Aid
Mutual aid is a formal agreement between two or more agencies to respond into each other's
jurisdiction, upon request, when the requesting agency's resources have been depleted or are
projected to be depleted. Under most mutual aid agreements, the requesting party receives
resources only if the providing agency can meet the request without depleting its own resources
below an acceptable level. Under Lane County Code, a mutual aid agreement between
ambulance service providers has this additional provision: "By mutual aid agreement, an
ambulance service provider may respond to another provider's ASA (Ambulance Service Area).
This Plan does not apply to an ambulance that is passing through an ASA." [Lane County Code
18.020]
Eugene also has mutual aid agreements for fire protection with all Lane County fire departments
and districts. These agreements are established through the Lane County Fire Defense Board.
Likewise, Eugene, like all Oregon fire service jurisdictions, has a much larger mutual aid
agreement through the Oregon State Governor's Office, and managed by the Oregon State Fire
Marshal's Office, under the Oregon State Emergency Conflagration Act. When invoked, this act
provides resources from around the state, and even into other states. The cost of response is
reimbursed by the State of Oregon.
51
Section Five: Service Level Goals
SECTION FIVE: Service Level Goals
NFPA Standard 17103 outlines staffing, deployment, and response time standards for career fire
departments. While Eugene Fire & EMS has not adopted the response times in NFPA 1710 as a
local standard, it will regularly measure its response time performance against those times.
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department has adopted the response time standards stated in this
section. These standards are based on the risk analysis of the service area, the critical task
analysis conducted by the department, the historical performance of the department, and, in the
case of ambulance response time standards, the Lane County Code. We consider these to be
local standards--a reasonable response to the level of risk in the community. They provide
measures of the current levels of service the department provides to its service area. In addition,
we have identified areas for improvement and have set future service level improvement goals
that are presented in Section 12.
Response Time Goals, All Incidents
With the adoption of this document, response time goals for the Eugene Fire & EMS Department
are the following for all emergency responses.
o Call processing: 2 minutes or less for 80% of all calls.
o Turnout: 2 minutes or less for 80% of all calls.
o Travel time for first arriving unit in Risk Area A: 5 minutes or less for 80% of all calls.
c> Travel time for first arriving unit in Risk Area B: 9 minutes or less for 80% of all calls.
Response Time Goals~ Structure Fires
In addition to the times specified for first arriving unit to all calls given above, the department
has established the following goals for response to structure fires.
c~ Travel time for all units needed for effective initial response to arrive on scene in Risk
Area A: 10 minutes or less for 80% of calls.
o Travel time for all units needed for effective initial response to arrive on scene in Risk
Area B: 14 minutes or less for 80% of calls.
For those structure fires requiring 15 or more personnel, the goals are:
o Travel time for 15th person on scene in Risk Area A: 11 minutes or less for 80% of calls.
3 The National Fire Protection Association develops and publishes fire and life safety consensus standards, some of
which address fare department organization, procedures, and activities.
52
Section Five: Service Level Goals
o Travel time for 15th person on scene in Risk Area B: No time specified.
The number of structure fires in Risk Area B that require the full 15 personnel is so small--
ranging from zero to three in a year--and the distance traveled varies so greatly, it is not feasible
to establish a specific time goal to assemble these resources on the scene.
Response Time Goals~ Ambulance Transport
The department has adopted the following goals regarding its ambulance transport service.
These times apply to emergency response only. The zones are the geographic zones assigned by
Lane County in its Ambulance Service Area Plan.
o Call processing: 2 minutes or less for 80% of all emergency calls for ambulance
transport.
o Tumout time: 2 minutes or less for 80% of all emergency calls for ambulance transport.
o Response time (includes turnout time and travel time): Less than 10 minutes for 85% of
all emergency calls in Zone 1.
c> Response time (includes turnout time and travel time): Less than 20 minutes for 85% of
all emergency calls in Zone 2.
o Response time (includes turnout time and travel time): 45 minutes or less for 85% of all
emergency calls in Zone 3.
Response Time Goals. Eu~,ene Airoort
The department has adopted the following goal for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)
response at the Eugene Airport. (Other types of calls at the airport - not aircraft-related - are
included in the relevant sections.) The ARFF response goal is based on Federal Aviation
Regulation Part 139.319(i)(2), which is the regulatory authority for this service. Since the
notification of an aircraft emergency generally comes directly from the tower, call processing
time is not included here. While the regulation does not specify a percentage of calls that must
meet these performance goals, the department has adopted 80% as the goal percentage.
o Travel time, including turnout time, to thc incident or standby location: 3 minutes or less
Context of Response Time Goals
Questions may be raised regarding any response time performance goals set. One position is that
thc goals are not stringent enough because they are not the same as those listed in NFPA 1710.
What these goals do represent is a reasonable expectation of the level of service our community
is asking for and expecting with the investment of public funds dedicated to this service area.
53
Section Five: Service Level Goals
Eugene Fire & EMS has conducted this community risk assessment and deployment study in
order to develop Standards of Cover that recognize local authority, available resources, risk, and
community expectations. It is the community, through its elected officials, that dictates its own
standards of cover. By its economic decisions with respect to taxation and budgeting, the
community purchases a level of"fire and life safety insurance" that is consistent with its
perceived needs, risks, and available resources. While these decisions may be influenced by
such factors as insurance ratings prepared by the ISO, the level of protection available in any
community is a local decision that should be made only after rigorous study of local needs and
resources.
54
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
SECTION SlX: Time and On-Scene Performance
The rapid and effective performance of highly coordinated assigned tasks is the hallmark of a
successful emergency response force. Time and on-scene performance expectations are the
target indicators established for measuring the operational elements (individuals, crews, and
work units) that comprise Eugene Fire & EMS response-ready resources.
Task performance standards and time requirements have been established by the department, and
are evaluated annually through company and work unit evaluations. These performance
standards reflect a number of essential competencies established by the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American Heart
Association (AHA), the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the
Oregon Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OR-OSHA); and others.
Time Points and Intervals - The Cascade of Events
Over the years, response time data has been analyzed by the fire service industry using a variety
of methods. In order to standardize the terminology used by departments around the United
States and Canada, the Center for Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) has developed the
following set of definitions to be used for describing the individually recognized components of
response time. These elements can be appropriately viewed as an interrelated cascading
sequence of events, consisting of a series of points in time separated by intervals. Eugene Fire &
EMS has adopted the following definitions, which are consistent with the CFAI.
Event Initiation - the point at which events occur that may ultimately result in an activation of
the emergency response system. Precipitating events can occur seconds, minutes, hours, or even
days before a point of awareness is reached. It is rarely possible to quantify the point at which
event initiation occurs.
Emergency Event Awareness - the point at which an individual or technological sentinel (e.g.,
smoke or heat detector) becomes aware that conditions exist which require an activation of the
emergency response system.
Alarm - the point at which awareness triggers an effort to notify the emergency response
system. An example of this time is the transmittal of a local or central alarm to a designated
public safety answering point (PSAP).
Notification - the point at which an alarm is received by the PSAP. This transmittal may take
the form of an electronic or mechanical notification process to the point at which a call is
received and answered within the PSAP.
Call Processing Time - the interval between the first ring of the 9-1-1 telephone at the dispatch
center and the time the dispatcher activates station, company, and/or individual alerting devices.
This interval can also be broken down into two additional sub-intervals: "call-taker interval,"
which is the time from the first ring of the 9-1-1 telephone until the call-taker subsequently
55
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
transfers the call information to the dispatcher, and "dispatcher interval, "which is the interval
from the time when the call-taker transfers the call to the dispatcher until the dispatcher activates
all applicable alerting devices for responders.
Turnout Time - the interval between the activation of station and/or company alerting devices
(plus the delivery of specific dispatch information to emergency personnel), and the time when
the responding crew(s) notifies the dispatch center that the company is en route. During the
turnout interval, crews immediately cease all other activities, don appropriate protective clothing,
determine the location of the call, and board and start the appropriate response vehicle. The en
route notification to dispatch is typically made when all personnel are aboard the apparatus, and
the vehicle is traveling toward the call location. The established benchmark for an acceptable
turnout interval is 60 seconds.
En Route - the point at which the responding unit signals the dispatch center that they are
responding to the call for service or traveling toward the hospital or other appropriate receiving
facility. On calls in which a patient is transported, there are two en route times (to the call and
then to the medical receiving facility).
Travel Time - the interval that begins at the termination of the en route notification and ends
when the responding unit notifies the dispatcher that it has arrived on scene.
Arrival (On-scene) Time - the point at which the first responding unit arrives on scene or the
transport unit arrives at the receiving facility. Arrival is determined by actual physical arrival in
front of the address or at the address of the emergency as displayed by the CAD.
On-Scene Interval - the interval which begins at the arrival time on scene and ends with one of
the following situations: the official termination of the incident, the point when an ambulance is
en route to transport the patient to a receiving facility, or when one or more units have completed
the response assignment and are made available to respond to other requests for service. This
time interval can be lengthy and may include a variety of fire ground and emergency incident
activities. Other factors to consider are access problems associated with campuses, malls,
complexes, high-rise buildings, rural locations, and other incidents where a significant amount of
area or terrain must be traversed in order to reach the patient or specific location of the incident.
Transport Time - the second travel time interval for a medical transport call, which begins at
the termination of on-scene time and ends upon arrival at the hospital or other designated
medical receiving facility.
Drop Time - on a medical transport call, the interval which begins upon arrival at the receiving
facility and ends when the ambulance crew has alerted the Central Lane Communications Center
(CLCC) that the unit is restocked, cleaned, and ready to respond to another call for service.
Termination of Incident - the point at which the designated incident commander notifies the
CLCC that the assignment has been completed and the units assigned are either out of service, or
are available to respond to other requests for service.
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Task Time - the total time interval from notification time through termination of the incident. It
reflects the period of time response resources are committed and unavailable for other service
requests.
Response Time -- includes the elements of responding to an incident that are directly under the
control of the Fire & EMS Department (i.e., Tumout Time plus Travel Time)
Customer Time - Eugene Fire & EMS has developed this interval measure as an indicator of
the calling party's perception of the emergency response system. It includes those factors that
reflect the performance of the entire response system, whether or not the department directly
controls those elements. This interval adds the call processing interval to the response time
interval.
Time Methodology Description
There are two basic components to a performance standard. The first is the measurable task,
e.g., response time. The second part is the level of performance. This is normally stated in terms
of an average or a percentage (fractile) of the amount of such tasks that fall at or below the
desired level, e.g., 80%.
Using this evaluation methodology, an organization can clearly articulate its performance
standards and goals in a manner that is easily understood. For example, the statement, "The fire
apparatus will leave the station within 60 seconds of alarm activation, at least 75% of the time,"
is a performance goal that can clearly be understood by everyone.
Performance can be measured in a number of ways, including average (mean), fractile, and
median (center value). While average times have some utility, they are not wholly useful
measures of performance unless coupled with some measures which describe the "shape" of the
performance curve, such as variances or standard deviation. Two fire departments can report the
same "average" response time, yet the two communities can receive vastly different services.
For example, City A, with a 4-minute average response time, could have response times falling
somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes. City B, with the same 4-minute average response time,
could have a few calls with a response time of less than one minute and some calls with a
response time of 10 minutes or longer. Thus, the use of"averages" has the effect of concealing,
rather than clearly demonstrating, true response performance for an agency.
The following definitions will help complete the analysis picture:
Average - Also known as the mean, it is calculated by adding all of the times and dividing by
the total number of incidents.
80th and 85% Percentiles - These are the interval times in 80% and 85% of all incidents
respectively.
While no single measure tells the entire story, Eugene Fire & EMS has chosen to use fractile
measures in its performance standards because they represent the large majority of tasks
57
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
completed in specific timeframes and give a good indication of the level of service our
community can expect to receive.
Exception Reporting
Several factors that are beyond the department's direct control may adversely affect emergency
response times. When calculating response time performance, Eugene removes calls that appear,
after review, to be exceptions or outliers within the data curve. Examples can include:
o Adverse weather conditions (e.g., snow, ice, floods).
o Calls initiated as "Code 3" but unit slowed to "Code 1" while en route.
o Unexpected delays (trains, construction, extreme traffic conditions).
o Calls clearly miscoded by dispatch where this results in spurious data.
Response Time Performance Tables
Response times for FY02 through FY04 are listed below. The times shown include only Code
3, or emergency response calls. The first set of tables reflects response times for first arriving
apparatus to all areas. Risk Area "A" calls are those within the city limits and River Road Water
District. Risk Area "B" includes calls within the remaining contracted fire districts - Bailey-
Spencer, Willakenzie, Zumwalt and Eugene Fire District #1.
Response times are shown for three consecutive years - Fiscal Year 2002 through 2004. A
number of key deployment changes were made between 2002 and 2003, and changes in system
performance between these two years reflect the impact of those changes.
(NOTE: In the following tables, turnout time plus travel time does not necessarily equal
response time because, typically, each mean is derived from a different group of calls. In other
words, the calls within a certain percentile for turnout time may not be the exact same group of
calls that were within the same percentile for travel time.)
Tables 6.1 Emergency Response Times to All Areas
FY02 (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002)
ProCessing Turnout 1;ravel ' Response
AVerage 0:00:55 0:01:14 0:03:29 0:04:44
80th % 0:01:10 0:01:43 0:04:43 0:06:02
58
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
FY03 (July 1, 2002 - Jun 30, 2003)
Proce~ng Turn~ut Travel
Average 0:00:55 0:01:13 0:03:38 0:04:53
80th % 0:01:11 0:01:42 0:04:51 0:06:09
FY04 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)
proce~n~ Turnout' Travel Re~o~se
Average 0:00:54 0:01:13 0:03:46 0:04:58
80th % 0:01:10 0:01:41 0:04:57 0:06:14
Tables 6.2 Emergency Response Times to Risk Area "A" Calls
FY02 (Jul' 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002
~proc~ssin~~ Turnb~ut ,~ Tm'Vel;' Re~
Average 0:00:54 0:01:14 0:03:26 0:04:41
80th % 0:01:09 0:01:43 0:04:39 0:05:58
Fy03 (Jul! 1, 2002 - jUne 30, 2003)
Pro,~e~n~l' T~oUt: Re~onse
Average 0:00:55 0:01:13 0:03:37 0:04:50
80th % 0:01:11 0:01:42 0:04:47 0:06:06
FY04 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)
pro~ssin; TUrPOUt, TraVel,, R,~
Average 0:00:54 0:01:13 0:03:41 0:04:54
80th % 0:01:09 0:01:41 0:04:52 0:06:09
Tables 6.3 Emergency Response Times to Risk Area "B" Calls
FY02 (July 1, 2001 -June 30, 2002)
i, Pr0Ce~n~ Turnout Travel: Re~
Average 0:01:15 0:01:09 0:05:46 0:06:51
80th % 0:01:44 0:01:43 0:07:33 0:08:50
FY03 (July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003)
Proce~n~ !TurnOUt Travel ReSpOnse
Average '0:01:1'1 0:01:11 0:05:36 0:07:23
80th % 0:01:42 0:01:36 0:08:18 0:09:45
FY04 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)
[ ProceMin~ Turnout TraVel 'Response
Average 0:01:21 0:01:10 0:06:13 0:07:11
80th % 0:01:51 0:01:40 0:08:35 0:09:50
59
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Ambulance Response Times
The ambulance response time tables also include on-scene time, transport time, drop time, and
overall task time. While there are not specifically established goals for these intervals, they are
shown here as a measure of the timely completion of tasks associated with these calls, as well as
the time it takes these units to return to available status. These additional intervals were not
available for the three zones established in 2004.
Tables 6.4 Ambulance Calls to All Areas
FY02 Ambulance Times - All Emer§~,. ncy. Calls
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:29 0:07:15 0:08:36 0:14:39 0:12:41 0:21:34 0:39:18
90th % 0:02:23 0:14:05 0:15:38 0:20:37 0:23:32 0:34:49 1:12:07
80th °/o 0:01:55 0:10:11 0:11:42 0:17:18 0:17:18 0:29:58 1:01:44
FY03 Ambulance Times - All Emer§, ncy~ Calls
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:20 0:07:00 0:08:18 0:15:41 0:11:47 0:22:01 0:41:23
90th % 0:02:16 0:12:21 0:13:47 0:22:40 0:19:42 0:35:09 1:12:07
80th O/o 0:01:51 0:09:14 0:10:39 0:18:38 0:15:50 0:30:20 1:02:45
FY04 Ambulance Times - All Emer :ency Calls
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:22 0:06:57 0:07:37 0:14:32 0:10:41 0:20:12 0:42:03
90th % 0:02:17 0:12:47 0:13:53 0:22:35 0:18:59 0:34:12 1:12:10
80t~ % 0:01:50 0:09:25 0:10:13 0:18:45 0:15:03 0:29:12 1:03:23
Tables for FY02 and FY03 refer to Risk Areas "A" and "B". These are the same areas used to
measure response coverage for other types of emergency response and which were used prior to
the adoption of the response zone system by Lane County in 2004. At that time, there was also a
third risk area referred to as "ambulance service only," since it included all the territory in ASA
#4 that was not also included in the Eugene Fire & EMS fire protection area. The only service
EFD provides there is ambulance transport; EMS first response and fire protection are provided
by other jurisdictions. These risk areas are no longer in use for the analysis of ambulance
service; we now use Zones 1, 2, and 3. They are shown here to provide historical perspective.
6O
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Tables 6.5 Ambulance Calls to Risk Area "A"
FY02 Ambulance Times - Risk Area "A"
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:19 0:05:37 0:06:56 0:14:31 0:10:14 0:21:35 0:36:28
90m % 0:02:16 0:09:28 0:10:56 0:20:00 0:16:13 0:34:34 1:04:42
80th % 0:01:51 0:07:35 0:09:04 0:16:54 0:13:49 0:29:46 0:56:57
FY03 Ambulance Times - Risk Area "A"
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:19 0:06:08 0:07:25 0:15:22 0:10:27 0:21:57 0:40:05
90th % 0:02:14 0:09:58 0:11:23 0:22:12 0:16:37 0:35:05 1:08:15
80th O/o 0:01:49 0:08:11 0:09:35 0:18:26 0:14:01 0:30:10 1:00:13
Tables 6.6 Ambulance Calls to Risk Area "B"
FY02 Ambulance Times - Risk Area "B"
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:20 0:08:06 0:09:28 0:15:42 0:14:07 0:22:16 0:40:52
90th % 0:02:15 0:12:43 0:14:32 0:26:10 0:19:40 0:35:40 1:10:54
80th % 0:01:48 0:10:28 0:11:48 0:21:02 0:17:44 0:32:06 1:02:05
FY03 Ambulance Times - Risk Area "B"
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:20 0:08:28 0:9:55 0:23:44 0:15:04 0:21:30 0:44:27
90th % 0:02:11 0:12:42 0:14:29 0:24:24 0:20:23 0:34:04 1:15:32
80th % 0:01:51 0:10:48 0:12:27 0:20:30 0:18:55 0:30:04 1:07:31
Tables 6.7 Ambulance Calls to "Ambulance Service Only" Area
FY02 Ambulance Times - "Ambulance Service Only" Area
Turnout TraVel Response Scene Transport Drop , Task
Average 0:01:29 0:12:34 0:14:02 0:14:43 0:20:16 0:21:26 0:48:04
90th % 0:02:30 0:20:23 0:22:06 0:21:55 0:30:03 0:34:58 1:25:45
80t~ % 0:02:02 0:16:56 0:18:33 0:18:14 0:26:36 0:30:27 1:16:43
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
FY03 Ambulance Times - "Ambulance Service Only" Area
Turnout Travel Response Scene Transport Drop Task
Average 0:01:27 0:12:00 0:13:25 0:17:30 0:19:36 0:22:30 0:49:28
90th % 0:02:31 0:20:22 0:21:58 0:24:37 0:29:29 0:35:44 1:27:28
80th % 0:02:00 0:16:52 0:18:33 0:19:50 0:25:58 0:31:27 1:17:05
We have provided data on ambulance response times for FY04 in the three response zones, even
though the zone reporting system was not in place until July 2004. This is to give an idea of
what our response performance was, had this system been in place at that time.
Table 6.8 FY04 Ambulance Response Time Report on Response Zones
Response Time Goal Total Number of Number of Calls Percentage of Calls
Calls Within Goal Time Within Goal Time
Zone 1 - Less than 10 minutes 6376 5375 84.3%
Zone 2 - Less than 20 minutes 196 179 91.3%
Zone 3 - 45 minutes or less 332 332 100.0%
*Response time goal compliance is 85%.
Response Time Performance - Structure Fires
NFPA Standard 1710 outlines response time standards for career fire departments. For response
to a structure fire, the standard is based upon the time it takes to assemble a fire suppression
force of either 14 personnel, or 15 for fires where an aerial ladder device is required. In
conservatively developing this measure for Eugene, the time for 15 personnel to arrive on scene
was calculated, even though at a majority of fire incidents in Eugene an aerial ladder is not used
and the applicable goal would actually be 14. As a result, it can be reasonably inferred that the
time to assemble a full first-alarm assignment of personnel will sometimes be less than what is
indicated in the table.
The 15 personnel standard is based on the presumed need for fire suppression capability to
perform the following functions and the number of personnel required to complete each in a
timely manner.
- Incident Command (1)
- Water supply (1)
Water flow application (2 hand lines with 2 personnel on each)
Hand line support (1 for each of the 2 hand lines)
Search and rescue (2)
Ventilation (2)
Initial rapid intervention crew (2)
Aerial device operation (1)
The following tables show EFD's actual response performance for structure fires during FY02,
FY03, and FY04. The data for these three years allow for a comparison of response time
62
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
performance both before and after the reassignment of Engine 9 (Valley River) to Engine 11
(Santa Clara), which occurred July 1, 2002.
We have included response times for all structure fires and have indicated the travel time for the
last-arriving unit of the initial dispatch. This is generally the period of time it takes to assemble
an effective initial response force. Nearly half of all structure fires did not require the full 15-
personnel response. A response of less than 15 personnel would usually occur when first
arriving crews determine during their initial size-up that the fire does not require the full first
alarm response resources and cancel, or return, some of the responding crews. More detail about
on-scene operations is provided in Section Four. In addition, we have measured the travel time
for the 15th person to arrive at only those structure fire incidents where 15 or more personnel
were needed.
The longer response times reported for FY03 as compared to FY02 can be attributed to the
following factors:
1. The addition of the Santa Clara area to the department's primary fire response area. EFD
has assumed direct responsibility for a new geographical area, but has not added fire
response resources. As a result, the existing resource base is spread more thinly, and
units are more frequently responding to incidents outside their first-in areas. This issue is
discussed in more detail in Section Seven.
2. A significant increase in time spent at the City's Emergency Services Center drill field
conducting essential training and development activities. The recent increase in this type
of work has resulted from the higher-than-usual number of retirements precipitated by
recent changes to the Public Employees' Retirement System. While companies remain
available to respond to calls for service during these activities, they may be out of optimal
position for response when an incident occurs.
Table 6.9 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY02
Risk Area "A" and "B" I Call Processin[I Turnout
80th Percentile I 1:40 1:26
Risk Area "A" Travel Timeste0th Percentile First Arriving Unit t Last Arriving Unit ] Arrival of 15th Pers°n3:58 8:38 8:52
Risk Area "B" Travel Times First Arrivin[i Unit I Last Arriving Unit Arrival of 15th Person
80th Percentile 7:15 I 14:00 13:07
63
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Table 6.10 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY03
gOth Percentile 1:43 1:22
Irusk Area ''A'' Trave' TimesgOth Percentile First Arriving Unit14:03 Last Arriving Unit I Arrival °f 15th Pers°n[9:27 10:02
I [ Un' l o:~ 'as~^~r'v'~ un'~ I ~ ~:o~ ^~r'va' °"~ ~ers°nI ~ ~:0~
Table 6.11 Response Time Performance for Structure Fires FY04
Risk Area "A" and "B" Call Processing I Turnout I
80th Percentile 1:32 1:25
Risk Area "A" Travel Times80th Percentile First Arriving Unit14:28 Last Arriving Unit18:52 Arrival of 15th Person 10:13
Risk Area "B" Travel Times180th Percentile First Arriving Unit I Last Arriving Unit15:41 8:58 Arrival of 15th PNA rson
Response Time Performance - Eugene Airport
Response time performance for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) is shown in thc tables
below. Since notification of the pending emergency generally comes from thc air traffic control
tower, call processing times are not included.
Tables 6.12 Response Times for ARFF Incidents
FY02 (July 1, 2001 -June 30, 2002)
TurnoUt Travel Re,onse
Average 0:01:01 0:00:37 0:01:31
80th % 0:01:38 0:02:16 0:03:26
FY03 (July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003)
Turnout Travel Respon~
Average 0:00:32 0:01:09 0:01:35
80th % 0:01:04 0:02:10 0:02:29
FY04 (July 1, 2003 -June 30, 2004)
Turnout TraVel ResPonse
Average 0:00:44 0:00:48 0:01:07
80th % 0:00:55 0:01:33 0:01:38
64
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
SECTION SEVEN: Distribution of Resources
The term "distribution" describes the resource locations needed to minimize and terminate
emergencies by assuring a sufficiently rapid first due response deployment. Distribution is
measured by the percentage of the jurisdiction covered by first-in, or primary, response
companies within the adopted response time goals.
This view of Eugene's response system looks at fire & EMS resource deployment in terms of a
static placement of resources and their theoretical response potential. By taking this theoretical
view of the system it is possible to determine whether or not response standards can be met from
existing infrastructure and with current staffing levels, when all companies and traits are in
quarters and available for emergency response.
Eugene Fire & EMS uses a variety of factors to determine optimal site locations for its fire
stations. These factors include pertinent national standards, including NFPA, the Insurance
Services Office (ISO), and the American Heart Association with regard to cardiac arrest,
covering both response time (how fast) and deployment standards (how many and what type of
resources on scene). In addition, a sophisticated Site Locator Study, using geospatial analysis,
was conducted by the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). EFD has also made numerous
time-and-distance studies to measure actual distances and travel times across the service area.
Eugene's current fire station positioning provides for an efficient distribution of the available
emergency response resources. In developing this infrastructure, the goal was to balance the
elements that comprise a favorable fire station site configuration and three additional areas of
consideration that EFD applies when selecting station locations. These areas of consideration
are:
o Placement - Geographic spacing between fire stations that considers natural and human-
made obstacles or barriers, and provides for coverage efficiency balanced with depth of
coverage through limited response zone overlap.
o Response Routes - Proximity and access to multi-directional transportation corridors,
sized appropriately for fire apparatus and referred to as run streets.
o Property Acquisition - Availability, lot size, and the cost of suitable sites within the
parameters of factors #1 and #2 above.
Currently, the department operates out of 11 fire stations divided into two geographically defined
districts: District One (east), and District Two (west). Staffing minimums are represented below
as the minimum number of personnel assigned to each company or unit per shift.
District One (east):
Station 1 - "Downtown Station" - 777 Pearl Street
District Chief 1 (1)
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Engine 1 (3)
Track 1 (3)
Water Rescue 1 (Water Rescue Team)
Station 3 - "University Station" - 1695 Agate Street
Engine 3 (3)
Brush 3 (staffed by E3 crew as needed)
Station 5 - "South Hills Station" - 80 E. 33ra Avenue
Engine 5 (3)
Brash 5 (staffed by E5 crew as needed)
Medic 5 (2)
Medic 15 (reserve)
Station 6 - "Sheldon Station" - 2435 Willakenzie Road
Engine 6 (3)
Haz. Mat. 2 (Oregon Regional Haz Mat Team)
Station 9 - "Valley River Station" - 697 Goodpasture Island Road
Engine 9 (Decommissioned)
Medic 9 (2)
Medic 19 (Reserve)
Medic 91 (2, as needed with dynamic staffing)
Medic 92 (2, ' ..... )
Medic 93 (2," " " )
Medic 90 (Reserve)
Station 11 - "Santa Clara Station" - 119 Santa Clara Avenue
Engine 11 (3)
District Two (west):
Station 2 - "Whiteaker Station" - 1725 W. 2na Avenue
District Chief 2 (1)
Engine 2 (3)
Track 2 (3)
Water Tender 2 (staffed by E2 crew as needed)
Track 22 (Reserve)
TRT (Technical Rescue Team)
Station 7 - "Bethel Station" - 4664 Barger Drive
Engine 7 (3)
Station 8 - "Danebo Station" - 500 Berntzen Road
Engine 8 (3)
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
Water Tender 8 (staffed by E8 crew as needed)
Medic 8 (2)
Medic 18 (Reserve)
Station 10 - "Bailey Hill Station" - 2002 Bailey Hill Road
Engine 10 (3)
Brush 10 (Staffed by El0 crew as needed)
Medic 10 (Staffed by El0 crew as needed)
Station 12 - "Airport Station" - 28827 Douglas Drive
Airport 1 (2)
Airport 2 (staffed by 2na arriving qualified fire company)
Disaster Trailer (deployed by airport workers as needed)
Logistics, 1715 W. 2na Avenue
Engine 21 (Reserve Telesqurt)
Engine 22 (Reserve Telesqurt)
Engine 23 (Reserve Telesqurt)
ALL Truck (staffed by Logistics staff as needed)
Rehab Trailer
Chief's Van (Reserve)
Factors That Have Affected Response
Redeployment Phase 1 - In 1995 the voters of Eugene passed a $19.1-million Fire Redeployment
general obligation bond request. That measure replaced three older fire station facilities with
two new, more strategically located fire stations. The new buildings more efficiently serve the
community, due to expanding development patterns, population shifts, and changes to the area's
transportation system.
Included in the redeployment bond request was a provision to construct a new emergency
services campus, containing a combined public safety training and fire administration building,
logistics facility, and fire drill field at the center of Eugene's urban services area. The
development of this site and the addition of the new facilities there provided an opportunity to
deliver centralized services to on-duty fire suppression companies and EMS units without
requiring them to travel to remote locations for training.
Redeployment Phase 2 - In 2002, the voters of Eugene passed a general obligation bond to
provide for a new Downtown Fire Station and a live fire training building. This replacement
facility is currently under construction and should be ready for occupancy in the spring of 2005.
The opening of a new Downtown Fire Station will improve response times into several densely
populated and active neighborhoods including West University, College Hill, Jefferson, Friendly,
Downtown, and Mid-town.
In addition, the area south of Station 5 (South Hills), which currently has poor secondary
coverage, will be better served. Concurrent with, but separate from, the Downtown Station bond
67
Section Six: Time and On-Scene Performance
measure is the construction of a new Fire Station 11 in the Santa Clara area. This new station,
which should be in service in the late spring of 2005, will replace the temporary facility currently
staffed by personnel assigned to Engine 11.
E9 Reassignment to Santa Clara - In 2002, Engine 9, from the Valley River Station, was
reassigned to Station 11 in Santa Clara and designated Engine 11. This move was prompted by
the addition of a new response area to Eugene Fire & EMS without the provision of any
additional response resources. Although the infrastructure is in place to activate a new Engine 9
and fill the existing response gap, Eugene Fire & EMS is not currently budgeted to add this staff
resource. Because of this situation, there is currently a service shortfall in Eugene's resource
distribution and depth of coverage.
Section Eight: Concentration of Resources
SECTION EIGHT: Concentration of Resources
Concentration refers to the spacing of multiple resource~ within close enough proximity to allow
an initial effective response force to be assembled on scene within prescribed timeframes. An
initial effective response force is one that has been deemed capable of stopping the escalation of
a fire emergency, stabilizing a medical scene, effecting a rescue, and successfully handling an
incident.
Consideration of unit concentration must take into account the substantial reliance of all of the
region's fire service organizations on closest forces agreements and automatic aid. This refers to
mixed jurisdictional response packages that may comprise 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or greater alarm
assignments.
Analysis of the concentration of units during the FY04 fiscal year (shown in Table 6.9 in Section
Six) led to the following conclusions measured against the NFPA 1710 and OSHA standards for
response to structure fires. Responses to the entire fire protection area (Risk Categories A and
B) were included, because OSHA applies to all structure fire response, and NFPA 1710 does not
distinguish between different risk areas for this purpose.
c~ Turnout time at the 90th percentile was 1:48, which is over the one-minute turnout time
standard by 48 seconds.
o 1st unit travel time at the 90th percentile was 5:29, which is over the four-minute travel time
standard by 1:29.
o 1st engine travel time at the 90th percentile was 5:43.
O 2nd engine is the usual method of meeting the OSHA Two-In/Two-Out rule. Travel time for
nd th
the 2 engine at the 90 percentile was 7:15.
o The department met the deployment standard of 15 firefighters on scene on 37 structure fires,
but the travel time to do so was 12:07 at the 90th percentile, exceeding the 8-minute standard
time by 4:07.
To deploy 15 firefighters on scene requires our basic structural fire response package comprised
of the following:
TYPE OF COMPANIES/UNITS NUMBER OF COMPANIES/UNITS NUMBER OF FIREFIGHTERS
Engines 3 9
Truck 1 3
Dual-Role Medic Unit 1 2
Chief Officer 1 1
NOTE: This response is for a single-family dwelling fire. For multi-unit dwellings, commercial,
industrial, or high-rise fires, larger response assignments comprise the 1 st alarm response.
The data shows that EFD's current concentration of resources is falling short of the NFPA 1710
standard, while the OSHA Two-In/Two-Out Rule is being met. This is because the OSHA rule
is based on the number of firefighters who must be on scene before an entry is made,
independent of deployment-based response times. If this trend is not reversed, the department
69
Section Eight: Concentration of Resources
will slide further out of compliance with the NFPA standard, and the service level provided to
the community will be reduced.
As was previously discussed, demand for emergency services varies significantly depending on
the time of day. The Eugene Fire & EMS Department has attempted to improve in the area of
medic unit response by modifying its deployment of units according to measurable peak demand
periods.
Peak activity ambulance deployment improves resource distribution through the practice of
dynamic up-staffing during peak periods and down-staffing during statistically low call volume
periods. Peak activity ambulances also improve resource concentration by providing extra
resources within the system that are deployed into population concentrations such as the
downtown core area during business hours. This is especially useful during hours when heavy
traffic impedes responding apparatus.
As the population of the community increases and response reliability decreases, adding units to
existing fire stations is a method of increasing the concentration of resources that must be
seriously considered. At the same time, additional units add to safety as well as increase overall
coverage, service delivery, and response reliability, while decreasing response time.
The safety of the public and firefighters must remain a priority when apportioning additional
resources and planning for the future. With the ever-increasing challenges posed by rising costs
and revenues that have not in recent years kept pace with the department's cost curve, fire
managers are faced with constructing response plans that stretch response resources and
personnel. The balance is to achieve efficiency while still meeting the safety standards such as
the OSHA-mandated Two-In/Two-Out rule and NFPA 1710.
In addition, there is the concept of deploying additional response resources during periods of
peak activity to increase concentration of resources and response reliability, while decreasing
response time. What makes this deployment model attractive is the matching of additional
resources during periods of increased call volume, when needed, which also coincides with
traditional periods of on-duty training and periods of high traffic congestion which slows
response. At the same time the cost for staffing a peak activity unit is significantly less than
staffing a statically deployed 24/7 response company or unit. This is the theory behind the
deployment of single-role medic units within Eugene's system, but one that could also be applied
to fire suppression response. In fact, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue has been successfully
deploying such a unit for the past few years.
Finally, the Eugene Fire & EMS Department's ability to concentrate resources is receiving some
assistance from jurisdictions outside of our borders. As examples, automatic aid agreements that
provide for mixed jurisdictional response packages on and around borders exist with the
Springfield Fire & Life Safety Department to the east; Lane County Fire Protection District #1 to
the south and west; and the Lane Rural Fire/Rescue District to the northwest. An automatic
backfill agreement is also in place with the Santa Clara Rural Fire Protection District to the
north.
70
Section Nine: Response Reliability
SECTION NINE: Response Reliabili ,ty
Response reliability is the probability that the resources assigned to a territory will be available
to respond from within that territory when an emergency occurs in that area. Response reliability
would be 100% if every company were available in its station when a fire or emergency call is
received. In reality, there are times when a call is received when the first-due company is out of
area or unavailable. This requires that a later-due company, in the pre-determined response
order, be assigned. If the later-due company is too far away, the call cannot be handled within
the desired travel time.
As the number of emergency calls per day, training demands, and other routine activities
increase, so does the probability that the first-due company will be out of area or unavailable
when a call is received (decreased reliability).
Constraints in the existing CAD limit the ability of the Eugene Fire & EMS Department to easily
isolate and analyze which calls could not be handled by the assigned first-due company. To
present the total picture, we have analyzed the number of calls that were not handled by the first-
due company.
Data covering FY02 through FY04 are included to compare reliability rates after deployment
changes were made in August 2002 (which was the second month of FY03). These changes
included the closing of a dual-role medic unit at the Bailey Hill Station and replacing it with a
combination crew that can serve on either the engine or the medic unit, reassigning the Valley
River Station engine to a new Santa Clara station, and the addition of dynamically deployed
medic units staffed during peak hours. These new single-role medic units are not included in the
analysis below, as they have no predetermined first-in area. To the extent that they are
dispatched, the department's overall response reliability is actually greater than the following
figures indicate.
Table 9.1 FY02 (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002)
First Due 1st due company 1st due company Response
Station Incidents dispatched not dispatched Reliabilit~
EGF 1 1701 1605 96 94.36%
EGF2 1072 1020 52 95.15 %
EGF3 516 481 35 93.22%
EGF5 896 837 59 93.42%
EGF6 1009 872 137 86.42%
EGF7 736 650 86 88.32%
EGF8 800 744 56 93.00%
EGF9 623 585 38 93.90%
EGF10 1086 943 143 86.83%
EGF 11 0 NA NA NA
EGF12 52 49 3 94.23%
TOTAL 8491 7786 705 91.70%
71
Section Nine: Response Reliability
Table 9.2 FY03 (July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003)
First Due 1st due 1st due company Response
Station Incidents compan), dispatched not dispatched Reliability
EGF1 1769 1619 150 91.52%
EGF2 1015 951 64 93.69%
EGF3 524 461 63 87.98%
EGF5 994 909 85 91.45%
EGF6 1016 893 123 87.89%
EGF7 779 683 96 87.68%
EGF8 862 802 60 93.04%
EGF9 575 325 250 56.52%
EGF10 783 715 68 91.32%
EGF11 560 432 128 77.14%
EGF 12 31 31 0 100.00%
TOTAL 8908 7821 1087 87.80%
Tabh 9.3 FY04 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)
First Due 1st due company 1st due company Respon
Station Incidents dispatched not dispatched Reliability
EGF-1 1568 1392 176 88.78%
EGF-2 980 917 63 93.57%
EGF-3 535 483 52 90.28%
EGF-5 976 897 79 91.91%
EGF-6 891 751 140 84.29%
EGF-7 785 650 135 82.80%
EGF-8 777 712 65 91.63%
EGF-9 607 331 276 54.53%
EGF-10 795 695 100 87.42%
EGF-11 647 533 114 82.38%
EGF-12 45 44 1 97.78%
Total (Eugene) 8606 7405 1201 85.94%
These tables show that during fiscal year 2002, Eugene Fire & EMS had an average response
reliability of 91.70%, with a low of 86.42% (Sheldon Station) and a high of 95.15% (Whiteaker
Station). In FY03, the average dropped to 87.80% with a low of 56.52% (Valley River Station)
and a high of 93.69% (Whiteaker Station). Valley River Station's reliability decreased because it
is currently only staffed by a medic unit. Excluding Valley River Station, the overall average is
89.96% for FY03. Data for FY04 shows a similar pattern to that of FY02.
At first glance it seems counterintuitive that reliability at Sheldon Station would increase in
FY03 because it is covering more of Valley River Station's area. At the time the Valley River
engine was reassigned to Santa Clara, the department began an automatic move-up policy any
time the Sheldon engine was out of quarters. This has increased reliability at Sheldon Station but
72
Section Nine: Response Reliability
has decreased reliability overall. Thus the reassignment of the Valley River engine to the Santa
Clara Station is a system-wide concern rather than only a localized one.
While the response reliability figures above support the need to re-staff the Valley River engine,
they are not an entirely accurate measurement of the overall reliability of the system. This is true
not only because the system includes dynamically deployed response resources, but also because
units responding outside their normal first-response area are covering for units temporarily
assigned elsewhere (training, etc.). Actual response times are a far superior measure of the
effectiveness of the entire system.
The primary purpose of measuring response reliability is to show where call volume is
significant enough to indicate a need for a greater concentration of resources or possibly the need
for a peak activity unit.
73
Section Ten: Historical Perspective
SECTION TEN: Historical Perspective
The evaluation of historical performance is accomplished by looking at data describing actual
responses, and answering questions based on that data.
Question #1. Is the Eugene Fire and EMS Department meeting its historic response time goals?
If not, why not?
For a number of reasons the department does not meet the response time goals that were set
years ago. First, the goals were originally established as desirable service targets. However,
they did not use actual historical performance to determine what was realistically achievable
within the available resource base.
LCOG conducted a comprehensive Fire Station Location Study for the organization in 1990, and
then updated in 1993 and 1998. This information was useful in identifying areas that were
underserved, based on response times and travel distances from existing fire stations in Eugene.
The findings of these studies and the associated analysis eventually led to the Fire Redeployment
Project of the 1990s. That project, in turn, resulted in the closing of three old stations, the
construction of two new stations, and the redeployment of existing emergency response
resources to provide improved coverage throughout the service area.
However, it was assumed, for purposes of the study, that any area in which more than 50% of the
calls were reached in 4 minutes or less had adequate coverage. Today we have a clearer
definition of standards of coverage.
Second, our service area has experienced greatly increasing traffic volume and congestion, which
slows emergency response, particularly on certain days and at certain times. In addition, a
significant number of traffic calming projects have been installed on Eugene streets. These, too,
serve to slow all traffic, including emergency responders. This aspect is discussed in greater
detail in Section Three.
Finally, and most significantly, the number of calls for service has risen dramatically while the
total number of personnel and companies has remained relatively static for more than 20 years.
In FY81 the department had 152 paid shift personnel plus volunteers; today it has 156
firefighting FTE. In FY81, it took 45 personnel to staff a 24-hour shift; today we do so with 43
fire fighting personnel plus up to four single-role paramedics. (The current number varies
depending on the time of day and number of single-role medics on duty.) In that same time
period, the number of calls for service has risen nearly five-fold, from 2,822 in 1981 to 13,350 in
2002 (not including calls for ambulance only). These changes are shown in Figure 10.1 and
Table 10.1.
Our ability to maintain an adequate level of service over this period is a result of former excess
capacity, which is now exhausted, the changes made during the Fire Redeployment Project, and
improvements in technology such as traffic signal pre-emption. In addition, we have increased
74
Section Ten: Historical Perspective
the practice of moving companies into secondary response areas to cover for crews that are
working incidents or are involved in other department business, which has provided better
coverage in those areas.
Figure 10.1 Calls for Service 1980-2003
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
-= Total
8,000 ~ Medical
-- Other
Fire
6,000
4,000
2,000
Question #2. For the area served by Eugene Fire and EMS, are concentrations effective and
cost-efficient?
Concentrations are cost-efficient, in that there are no areas with unnecessarily redundant
coverage. However, there are areas where coverage is less effective than it could and should be.
These have been identified in this report and include three general areas:
1. Fire Station 9, in the Valley River area, is staffed with one or more ambulances, but there
is not currently an engine company at that station, which results in a lower level of
coverage of this area than was provided previously.
2. The South Hills area presents some inherent response time challenges with its steep
terrain and winding street patterns with limited connectivity. This is a particular concern
due to the high fire danger in the wildland/urban interface during the dry summer months.
75
Section Ten: Historical Perspective
3. The West Eugene area continues to develop and generate more calls for service. Calls
there have longer response times due to the greater distance from the nearest stations into
that portion of the city.
While these areas present localized challenges, it should be noted that changes in the service area
and increases in volume of calls, no matter where they occur, have a systemic effect on the entire
response network. That is, as companies are busy in one first-in area, resources are often
brought in from another first-in area to cover a wider area. The resulting impact is an overall
worsening of response time performance throughout the service area as resources are spread
more thinly.
Question//3. Have there been significant changes in the risk and demand that might indicate a
need to increase or otherwise modify staffing?
In general we can say that the risk has shifted and demand has increased over the past two
decades, while staffing has remained nearly constant. As shown in Figure 9.1 above, the risk and
demand have changed significantly over the past 20 years. This trend has continued right up to
the present time.
The greatest change has been the large increase in the number of EMS calls, while the number of
fire calls has remained relatively static. This indicates a need for increased resource deployment
for medical calls. When calls for only ambulances are included, the number of EMS calls has
decreased slightly since 2002 due to the introduction of a new Ambulance Service Area (ASA)
served by Lane Rural Fire/Rescue. The department has responded by modifying its ambulance
staffing patterns to align them with demand.
The demand of calls defined as "other" has increased as well. This includes all types of calls
other than fires and medical responses and can largely be attributed to the overall increase in
population served. The department has absorbed this increase by using existing resources more
efficiently. In other words, the same number of fire fighters are responding to more calls for
service.
The fire risk has not increased significantly over the past 20 years, but neither has it decreased.
This indicates that fire suppression resources, both personnel and apparatus, should not be
further depleted. While the predominant risk has shifted to EMS, the continuing fire risk is a
compelling reason to maintain the number of on-duty fire suppression personnel. In fact, with
the addition of Santa Clara neighborhood to the service area, the overall risk of all types has
increased, yet no additional resources have been added to cover this risk.
The following table shows the changes in population, total call x~olume for firefighting
companies (excluding ambulances on ambulance-only calls), and firefighters per thousand
population in Eugene over the past 22 years.
76
Section Ten: Historical Perspective
Table 10.1 Comparison of Staff'mg, Population, and Calls for Service 1981-2003
1981 106,100 2,822 152 1.4326 45
2003 143,910 13,392 156 1.0840 43
% Change 35.64% 374.55% ' 2.83% -24.33% -4.44%
* Thc number of total calls differs from that found in Section Four, because this table is calculated from thc department's Fire
Incident Reporting System, which includes only those calls responded to by fire apparatus. Therefore ambulance calls to areas
not part of our EMS first response service and those calls which do not require a response by one of our fire companies arc not
accounted for here.
Thc measure of fircfightcrs per 1,000 population served is ot~cn stated as a reasonable
comparison of fire departments and their relative staffing levels. However, the methods used to
calculate this ratio can vary considerably, so department-to-department comparisons may not bc
particularly accurate or useful. In addition, this measure does not consider other important
variables such as area served and community risk. What is useful, however, is calculating this
ratio for a single community and its fire department over a period of time to show changes in
relative staffing strength.
These numbers further illustrate the difficulty of maintaining an effective level of service by
spreading existing resources more and more thinly. The need for increased staffing is clear if the
department is to improve response times or even to prevent further deterioration of response time
performance. Specific recommendations for additional staffing are detailed in Section Twelve.
77
Section Eleven: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance
SECTION ELEVEN: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance
By its very nature, the organized response to emergencies is performed in a stressful and
inherently unpredictable environment. Critical decisions must often be made quickly, without
the benefit of a methodical risk-benefit analysis. Given this, it is expected that errors will
sometimes occur. Eugene Fire & EMS consistently seeks to use its performance measures as
opportunities to learn how we can improve our service and to adjust our policies and procedures
accordingly.
Eugene Fire & EMS conducts a comprehensive array of performance measurement and quality
assurance programs at the individual, work unit, division and department levels. These begin
with our recruitment and selection procedures, and expand into all functions of the organization.
They include regular, structured training, evaluation, analysis and special performance reviews
conducted in an ongoing manner.
Fire Suppression and Rescue Operations
An integral component of quality assurance is the use of post-incident evaluations by the
department. These are focused reviews following all major incidents, and for any incident
involving fatalities or a serious injury, a unique operational situation, or a multi-agency response.
They involve all responding personnel as well as the leaders from each affected organization.
Less serious, routine incidents and events are also sometimes evaluated at the district or
company level. Post-incident evaluations consider the following criteria:
1. System strengths or weaknesses
2. Factors driving decisions
3. Standard Operating Procedures
4. Apparatus and equipment effectiveness
5. Education and/or training needs
6. Building construction factors
7. Unusual circumstances
8. Human factors that contributed to the problem
Emergency Medical Services
A Quality Assurance program has been in place for a number of years for the analysis of the
emergency medical services provided by the department. It is the policy of Eugene Fire & EMS
to regularly participate in activities that lead to the development and maintenance of pre-
established levels of high quality patient care and customer service, as well as activities that seek
to improve the overall level of care. Key components of the program include:
78
Section Eleven: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance
1. Peer review
2. Chart review
3. Direct observation
4. Physician advisor
Central Lane Communications Center
A number of quality measures are conducted to review the operations of the 9-1-1 Center,
Central Lane Communications.
Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)
Currently, the 9-1-1 center uses a card-based protocol called the Medical Priority Dispatch
System (MPDS). This system was originally developed by Dr. Jeff Clawson of Salt Lake City,
Utah, and is now used worldwide. The department put MPDS in service last year, in order to
gain valuable experience in its administration prior to the implementation of the new AIRS/CAD
system.
MPDS includes an integrated quality assurance (QA) system and data program. These programs
allow for the measurement of a broad range of QA issues, such as adherence to specific EMD
instructions. This QA package forms the data basis for much of our ongoing program.
Communications Training and Evaluation Program (CTEP)
The Eugene 9-1-1 Center has used CTEP since 1993. All communications center personnel are
overseen by a CTEP coach as part of their 280-hour training period. All personnel are required
to reach and maintain a minimum rating for a 40-hour period before finishing the final 40 hours
of CTEP training, known as "certification week." During CTEP training, trainers rate the
trainees' work performance against a set of standards. Daily Observation Reports are completed,
as well as "weeklies" and an End-of-Phase Report is completed by the responsible shift
supervisor. At the end of"phase" training the trainee takes a test and is required to attain a
passing score of 70%.
Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST)
DPSST is mandated by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to set standards for all call
takers, the entry level position in the 9-1-1 Center. Prior to beginning work in the center, they
attend a Basic Call Taker Academy (BCTA). The BCTA requires 80 hours of classroom
instruction. This is followed by a 40-hour DPSST-required EMD class with EMD certified
instructors. At the conclusion, trainees are required to pass a test with a minimum score of 75%.
Once the BCTA/EMD academy is completed, the newly hired personnel continue with an
Advanced Telecommunicator's Academy (ATA) for an additional 160-200 hours. This training
is geared to provide essential job knowledge that will be required once they move to the center
for formal training. At the conclusion of the ATA, trainees are again administered a test and
must attain a 70% passing score. Once in the center, personnel begin the CTEP training.
Section Eleven: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance
Fire Dispatch Contracts - Performance Standards
Beginning in 1998, the Lane County Fire Defense Board requested the adoption of a set of
standards for all 9-1-1 Center personnel relating to fire and EMS dispatching services. These
standards were formally adopted March 15, 2000, and include four performance measures:
1. Call answer to call entry time: The time the phone is answered to the time when the call is
entered into CAD.
2. Receive to dispatch time: The time when a call is entered into CAD, to the time the call is
toned out for dispatch.
3. Accuracy in providing EMD: How often call takers precisely follow EMD instructions when
on the phone with a caller.
4. Accuracy in dispatching protocol: How often dispatchers follow exact policy or procedure.
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Section Twelve: Furore Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement
SECTION TWELVE: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service
Improvement
As the City of Eugene's Fire & EMS Department seeks to provide a consistently high quality
of public safety services in the future, it must successfully contend with the many challenges
presented by a growing community with high expectations and shifting demographics.
While the organization's net General Fund and enterprise fund revenues continue to
decrease, prevailing social and economic conditions in the state and region are combining to
increase the overall demand for the very services those monies are designated to provide.
It is clear that the department's service obligations are quickly outstripping the available
resource base. Recent changes to Eugene's Ambulance Service Area (ASA) have had an
adverse impact on the potential for economic efficiencies within our ASA, particularly that
portion that lies outside our fire protection service area. Because Eugene receives authority
for operating its ambulance service from Lane County government, the recent trend of a
diminishing geographical protection area is outside of our direct control and could continue
to the further detriment of the entire system. Current reimbursement reductions by the
federal government and some major third-party payers have placed further strains on an
already volatile marketplace.
Continuing annexation activity, required for new development, is extending the "A" risk area
in the northern and western portions of the community, which also increases the service
demands on the organization. This situation is already evident in north/central Eugene where
the department was required to reassign an existing fire crew from Valley River to Santa
Clara in order to provide coverage to a larger area and population base. This modification
has created a measurable service gap in terms of reliability and response modeling across the
system.
Ongoing community growth is placing new burdens on the city's established Urban Growth
Boundary. As a result, there is less land available for development and the central city is
beginning to experience increasing density of development and infill. This often necessitates
high-rise construction, which creates unique stresses on a fire and EMS agency, as it takes
additional time and resources to marshal sufficient firefighting and emergency medical forces
on the upper floors of taller structures.
In tum, this type of urban development brings with it a corresponding increase in congestion.
More vehicles sharing an aging street network, the proliferation of enhanced traffic control
systems/techniques, and the construction of narrower streets all serve to reduce the overall
response and reliability capabilities of emergency response resources. This means that it will
take longer for outlying fire and EMS crews to respond back into the core of the city.
Consequently, downtown and inner city crews must have an enhanced ability to provide
hazard mitigation, reducing their dependence on additional resources from the city's
periphery.
Section Twelve: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement
All these trends and environmental influences have been reviewed and evaluated by the
department as an integral part of this analysis. In response, the organization has developed a
series of key organizational objectives and strategic recommendations designed to effectively
address the issues identified.
Objective 1
Address the identified first response gap (Valley River), and the response reliability decrease
(citywide) across Risk Area "A."
Recommendation:
1. Re-staff Engine 9 at the Valley River Fire Station. The reassignment of the 24-
hour first response fire engine crew into the Santa Clara area of Eugene has produced
a demonstrated increase in response times into the heart of the Valley River
neighborhood. Correspondingly, the reliability measures across the entire Risk Area
"A" zone have decreased because of the addition of a larger geographic area and
population base, without a corresponding increase in response resources.
Ob,iective 2
Build on the efficiencies created by Eugene's EMS Redesign Project, Phase 1 delivery model
and analyze the potential benefits of dynamic deployment strategies across the service
system.
Recommendations:
1. Investigate the use of "peak activity" units, both fire and EMS, as utilized by other
public safety agencies in the state and region. More and mom fire and EMS agencies
are incorporating thc use of dynamically deployed resources, to add capacity at thc
busiest times, while covering routine work assignments. This concept may bc of
value in Eugene to provide a mom cost-effective tool to mcct incremental increases in
demand.
2. Maintain the gains already realized through the implementation of EMS Redesign
Phase 1, by continuing to staff and deploy the single-role medic work force according
to current temporal demand patterns.
Objective 3
Work to stabilize and secure the funding sources needed to support the continuous provision
of ambulance services throughout ASA #4.
Recommendations:
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Section Twelve: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement
1. Effectively meet more of the total ambulance transport demand within ASA I/4.
Under thc current deployment of ambulance resources within the greater metropolitan
area, large portions of Eugene's established ambulance service area lie closer to
transport units operated by neighboring jurisdictions. The resulting cross-
jurisdictional responses create service inefficiencies and represent significant revenue
loss for Eugene. The implementation of paramedic first response capabilities on
every Eugene fire engine has meant the need for the closest ambulance to respond is
now limited to a small percentage of truly life-threatening emergencies. The City
must work with all service partners to refine the current policy, thereby preserving
needed ambulance resources within their own jurisdictions a greater percentage of the
time, as well as preserving revenue.
2. Complete the EMS Redesign Project. Phase 3 of the plan called for the department
to consolidate the improvements made by the first two phases, and then to develop
and implement additional process efficiencies and new cost recovery modalities. This
work includes updating ambulance ordinance language and the planned refurbishment
of the existing membership subscription program. Implementing some of the
anticipated changes will require the support of the greater City organization.
3. Seek a legislative remedy to federal CMS issue. The reimbursement reduction
schedule implemented last year by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) has placed a significant financial burden on many health care
providers in the country. The City should consider joining with other governmental
agencies to lobby the federal government to revise the latest payment schedule to
more accurately reflect true service costs by region.
4. Increase the General Fund (GF) support for the costs associated with providing
quality first response paramedic functions to the community. The EMS Fund was
originally created to support the operation of an ambulance transport service
incorporated into the department's service package in 1981. Over time, the fund has
been asked to assume a variety of costs that are not directly linked to ambulance
service. Because the department is charged with providing first response EMS, with
or without an ambulance component, and in light of the threats currently facing the
service and fund, it is reasonable to suggest that the City increase the department's
GF allocation to cover the costs of providing all first response EMS services.
5. Reduce service costs. The department continues to look for sustainable methods that
can be employed to systematically lower the unit costs of providing ambulance
transport services. To this end, we are evaluating different equipment, technology,
and partnership opportunities. In order to take advantage of these, it may be
necessary for the City to assist the department in procuring and developing these to
optimize their payback potential.
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Section Twelve: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement
Objective 4
Ensure an adequate level of firefighting capacity is maintained, and augmented, to meet
current and future need.
Recommendations:
1. Retain at least the current number of on-duty firefighters (including Engine 9
when restaffed) in order to meet the current need and anticipated near-term growth.
2. Establish a standard that defines an adequate level of firefighting capacity in
Eugene. Work with the City's policy makers and Executive Managers to ensure that
Eugene maintains a fire fighting force adequately matched to the identified risks,
hazards, and demands of the community. Continue to evaluate the Engine 1 O/Medic
10 combination company utilization and its impact on fire and EMS first response.
3. Use this document to begin a comprehensive environmental analysis of the
projected demands that will be placed on the organization by continued growth,
greater density, shifting demographics, and other risks in the future. Apply the
principles of the Oregon Deployment Process, and NFPA 1710 in creating a logical
strategic response.
Ob.iective 5
Plan for the acquisition and development of the infrastructure necessary to support Fire &
EMS service provision in the underserved portions of Eugene.
Recommendations:
1. Update the current site locater study, focusing on the far west side of Eugene. The
previous study was performed by LCOG almost ten years ago. The area in question
has grown and developed. The specific sites available have changed, as has the
transportation plan for Eugene's west side.
2. Using an updated site locater study, identify an optimal building site and work to
develop a financing plan for the procurement of property to site the future Fire
Station 4 (Willow Creek). This facility is currently expected to be a neighborhood
station similar in size and scope than the facility being constructed in Santa Clara
(Station 11).
3. Analyze the growth potential in the north, northwest and southeastern areas of
Eugene. Use this information to determine if operational shortfalls are likely to occur
in these locations within the next 10 years.
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Section Twelve: Future Needs, Recommendations, and Service Improvement
Service Improvement Goals
'Using the information compiled for this document, this section is intended to provide
information related to the specific goals that have been developed as a part of the annual
evaluation of Eugene Fire & EMS' Standards of Coverage Deployment Plan.
As the department's goals are further refined or revised, the following information will be
provided for every goal listed:
National, regional, or local standard used to establish the goal.
A brief report or statement confirming that the goal is applicable to Eugene Fire & EMS,
considering the department's current resources, risk analysis, and ability to add
infrastructure, staffing, and/or equipment.
Estimated cost to implement goal if increased resources are required.
Desired time line for implementation of goal.
Method to measure stated goal and/or objective.
We recognize that NFPA 1710 has established a deployment standard with specific response
times and staffing for all types of calls. We will continue to measure our performance against
these response time goals as well as our own adopted response time goals. However, the level of
staffing of fire and other emergency apparatus remains a local decision in order to allow
jurisdictions appropriate flexibility to deal with their environment, as long as legal mandates and
safety concerns are met. It is the responsibility of the authority having jurisdiction to assess the
risk in the service community and to provide the needed resources to control that risk safely and
effectively.
Our goals for FY2005 are the following:
o Improve overall first-in response times in both risk areas - "A" and "B.".
o Improve structure fire response in both risk areas -- "A" and "B."
o Improve ambulance response times in all three ambulance response zones - 1, 2, and 3.
To achieve these goals, we will take the following actions:
o Continue to deploy ambulances according to area and temporal demand, modifying
schedules and assignments as necessary.
o Continue to move up companies to fill in at other stations when "home" companies are
responding to calls or engaged in non-emergency activity out of quarters.
o Develop and implement other interim deployment strategies while pursuing additional
resources to improve response time performance.
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Appendix A
Appendix A: NFPA 1710 Summary
NFPA Standard 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppres-ion
Operations, Emergenc), Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career
· Fire Departments
This standard, adopted by the National Fire Protection Association in 2001, though not binding
on specific jurisdictions, attempts to establish a national standard for fire and rescue response.
While the Eugene Fire & EMS Department has not formally adopted this standard, it is important
to address our deployment and response time performance in light of this standard.
NFPA 1710 includes the following standards for fire response and deployment:
Response Staffing Time
Turnout Time N/A 60 seconds
Arrival of Initial Arriving Four (4)* 4 min. or less 90% of the
Company time
Arrival of Initial Full Fourteen (14); fifteen (15) if 8 min. or less 90% of the
Alarm Assignment Aerial Ladder is Deployed time
Capability
* Personnel are not required to arrive on the same apparatus.
The standard actually indicates a goal of a 4-minute response time for the initial arriving
company and/or an 8-minute response time for a full alarm assignment. In order to meet this
standard, only one of the times would need to be met on any given fire incident.
NFPA 1710 Initial Full Alarm Prescribed Assignments and Functions:
1. Establishment of Incident Command outside of the hazard area for overall coordination
of the first alarm assigmnent.
2. Establishment of an uninterrupted water supply providing a minimum of 400 gpm for 30
minutes.
3. Establishment of an effective water flow application rate of 300 gpm from two hand
lines, each of which shall have a minimum of 100 gpm flow. Attack and backup lines
shall be operated by a minimum of two personnel each to effectively and safely maintain
the line.
4. Provision of one support person for each attack and backup line deployed to provide
hydrant hookup and to assist in line lays, utility control, and forcible entry.
5. A minimum of one victim search and rescue team. Each search and rescue team shall
consist of a minimum of two personnel.
Appendix A
6. A minimum of one ventilation team. Each ventilation team shall consist of a minimum of
two personnel.
7. If an aerial device is used in operations, one person shall function as an aerial operator
who shall maintain primary control of the aerial device at all times.
8. Establishment of a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) that shall consist of a minimum of two
properly equipped and trained personnel.
The five basic EMS system functions covered in NFPA 1710 include the following. The
standard indicates that the department shall be involved in providing any or all of these
functions.
1. Initial response to provide medical treatment at the location of the emergency (first
responder with AED capability or higher)
2. BLS response
3. ALS response
4. Patient transport in an ambulance designed to provide for uninterrupted patient care at the
ALS or BLS level while en route to a medical facility
5. Assurance of response and medical care through a quality management program
Staffing for EMS is specified as the minimum numbers of personnel necessary to the level of
EMS provided. Personnel deployed to ALS emergency responses shall include a minimum of
two members trained at the EMT-Paramedic level and two members trained at the EMT-Basic
level. (It does not include EMT-Intermediate, since not all states offer this level of certification.)
Service delivery deployment is specified as follows:
Response Staffing Time
Turnout Time N/A 60 seconds
Arrival of unit with first Two (2) 4 min. or less 90% of the
responder or higher level time
capability
Arrival of ALS unit Two (2) 8 min. or less 90% of the
time
The standard further states that the department is to evaluate its level of service and response
time objectives on an annual basis. In addition, the department is to provide the authority having
jurisdiction with a written report, based on these annual evaluations, every four years.
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