According to a national firefighting group, if you have a medical or fire emergency at your home, the response time should be no longer than 4 minutes. The Los Angeles City Fire Department says for them, about half the time, it's double that... or more.
Since 1960, Los Angeles has grown in population by 1.5 million people, while the LAFD says its ranks shrank, losing a half dozen fire stations across L.A. in that same time.
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As a result, "We cannot arrive at your home in the recommended 4 minutes," LAFD Battalion Chief Eric Roberts said.
This is just one of several revelations in a written report from LAFD Chief Kristen Crowley, which Chief Roberts hand-delivered to L.A.'s Public Safety Committee.
Roberts said that of the city's approximately 468 square miles of land area, most of it falls in a medium fire hazard zone. Unfortunately, the department is only equipped to reach residents in those zones within the 4-minute timeframe 4 out of 10 times; "6 out of 10 times, we're just not hitting the mark."
"The reason for that is that our fire stations were built decades and decades ago... and those station locations are simply inadequate," Roberts said.
The report says Los Angeles needs 62 new fire stations within the next six years, if not sooner. The department also says its fighting force remains at levels set before the invention of the cell phone, despite the fact that LAFD says call volume has quadrupled since then.
Without the changes outlined in the report, city firefighter paramedic Rich Ramirez said, "Your districts are dangerously in jeopardy every day," citing understaffing as a primary culprit.
"The national average is 1.5 to 1.8 firefighters per 1,000 people," said Ramirez. "Yet the LAFD has just 0.9 firefighters for every 1,000 people, half of the national average."
The report suggests the department needs at least a 7% funding boost in the upcoming fiscal year. That would provide enough money for 400 new hires.
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