Updated: May 10, 2000 - 11 AM
Baltimore Firehouses Closing: Greater Baltimore Committee - Presidents' Roundtable Studies
Recommendations for Medic and Fire Units May, 2000 Source: Greater Baltimore Committee Main Story: Baltimore Mayor Closing Seven Firehouses
UPDATING BALTIMORE'S FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Baltimore City Fire Department has a clear-cut, critical mission - saving lives. As part of the Presidents' Roundtable/Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) review of city government, Mayor Martin O'Malley charged a IO-member team, led by James L. Shea and Joshua C. Matthews, with making recommendations to enable the Fire Department to better perform its mission.
The GBC/Presidents' Roundtable team met with Chief Herman Williams, the leadership and the membership of the Fire Department, including union leaders, to analyze its efficiency and effectiveness. Among other findings, this review discovered that the Department has not altered its operations as the public's needs have changed. Today, two-thirds of emergency responses are medical, not fire-related.
a.. EMS Units Are Overwhelmed - The high levels of violence and drug addiction in Baltimore have increased the demands on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) units to the point where our resources are strained. EMS units are so busy that they usually do not return to their stations after starting their shifts. They are routinely dispatched directly from the field due to the high volume of service calls.
b.. Reduced Demand for Fire Engines and Trucks - The decline in Baltimore's population, improved construction and fire codes, and the effectiveness of fire prevention efforts - like the distribution of smoke detectors by the Fire Department - have resulted in a dramatic decline in structural and residential fires. These fires have dropped by nearly 60 percent in the last five years - from 5,621 in 1994 to 2,367 in 1999. This decline has resulted in a sharp fall in the number of alarm responses.
Response Time
One result of changing public demands on our Fire Department is a large discrepancy in response time between EMS and Fire units. On average, it takes more than twice as long for a medic unit to arrive as a fire unit, when, in many cases, a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death.
Baltimore's citizens should not have to wait almost 9 minutes for medical help. In comparison, Philadelphia's EMS units respond, on average, in 6 minutes 12 seconds. Average Fire Response Time: 4 minutes 16 seconds Average Medic Response Time: 8 minutes 44 seconds
Time In Service
While EMS units are in virtually constant use. Fire units, on average, have much lower demand, remaining in the station for more than 22 hours every day. This misallocation of resources contributes to the difference in response time. It also reflects staffing decisions made when Baltimore was a much larger city, fires were much more frequent, and fire codes and prevention efforts were minimal.
Average Fire Engine Time in Service Per Day: I hour 47 minutes Average Fire Truck Time In Service Per Day: I hour 40 minutes Average EMS Unit In Service Per Day: 14 hours 25 minutes
SHIFTING RESOURCES TO WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED
4 to 6 More EMS Units on the Street
In order to remedy the disparity between EMS and Fire response and resources, the GBC/Presidents' Roundtable team recommends putting 4 to 6 additional EMS units on the street. This will be accomplished by moving to "peak time" scheduling, which will increase EMS deployment from 18 first-line units to as many as 24 units during the hours when demand is greatest.
Currently, 18 EMS first-line units are in use, regardless of demand. There are as many medic units on the street during the slowest hours as there are during the busiest hours. Up to 18 additional EMS units are kept in reserve, depending on maintenance and availability. This is an ineffective use of resources, an unnecessarily lengthens response time. Two new EMS units should be purchased this year to ensure that adequate back-up units are available, and additional units should be purchased over the next several years.
Ending Firehouse Roulette
With little notice, the Fire Department, for several years, has closed between 4 and 8 fire stations every day. This effort to save money, while sidestepping politically difficult decisions, has introduced uncertainty into fire protection planning by constantly changing primary response areas and coverage responsibilities.
Through historical research, statistical analysis and computer modeling, the GBC/Presidents? Roundtable team has identified 7 fire stations where operations and staffing can be consolidated into other stations without negatively impacting fire coverage. The stations are: 6714 Pulaski Hwy. 1312 Guilford Ave. 214 1/2 Patterson Park Ave. 3525 Woodbrook Ave. 1302 E. Chesapeake Ave 43 S. Carey St 1223 N. Montford St.
These stations all cover areas of the city that also are served by other stations. For example: a.. The Patterson Park Ave. station is around the corner from a larger house on Eastern Avenue; b.. The Pulaski Hwy. and Woodbrook Ave. stations serve only half the territory of most stations, because one is very close to the County line and half of its coverage area would be in Baltimore County, and the other is adjacent to Druid Hill Park; and c.. The E. Chesapeake Ave. station is on a peninsula with two other stations and a declining population.
A More Effective, More Efficient Fire Department
These changes should have been made years ago to reflect changing demographics and needs. By shifting approximately 140 firefighters to other duties-40 to EMS and 100 to positions in other houses-the Fire Department will improve service and eliminate budget shortfalls created by overtime expenses. There will be no layoffs or reductions in frontline Fire Department personnel. Better resource utilization will improve medic response time, without impacting fire response time. The city will save $4 to $5 million, largely in overtime.
Additionally, the Baltimore City Fire Department will soon enter into an automatic aid pact with Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties. This agreement will provide better fire protection through regional cooperation, with each department automatically sending trucks to nearby fires, regardless of jurisdiction. Currently, cooperation occurs only if requested after local units have arrived. Boston has used the automatic aid model successfully for several decades.
