Dispatch lag slows Los Angeles Fire
Department call response
Operators on average take far longer than the national standard to
send rescuers, a Los Angeles Times analysis text-decoration:none;text-underline:none”> LAFD data controversy
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When
Javier Ortiz collapsed in his backyard in Echo Park, rescuers were stationed in
a firehouse just a half-mile away.
By the time rescuers arrived, more than six minutes had passed since the Fire
Department picked up the call, records show.
Ortiz later died, and it is impossible to say whether a faster response would
have saved him. But his case illustrates a significant weakness at one of the
nation’s largest fire agencies: Dispatchers lose precious seconds in hundreds
of thousands of calls for medical aid each year.
A Times analysis of more than 1 million dispatches from the department’s
database found that the Fire Department falls far short of the standard that
rescue units be alerted within one minute on 90% of 911 calls. And average call
processing time has increased, most notably for medical calls, which account
for the overwhelming majority of responses.
Five years ago firefighters were dispatched to medical calls within a minute
38% of time, the analysis found. By 2011, that number dropped to only 15%.
The Times also found that in the more than 250,000 medical dispatches last
year, the department took 75% longer, on average, than the national standard.
Seconds are critical in medical emergencies. That is particularly true in cases
of City Hall
leaders were stunned in March when that for
years it published statistics showing crews arrived at medical emergencies more
quickly than they actually did. Revised department figures showed slower
response times, well short of national standards and the department’s stated goals.
But even those numbers were challenged this week by an expert brought in by
Mayor the
corrected figures were unreliable and required more scrutiny. Those issues
related only to how many minutes and seconds it takes rescuers to arrive on a
scene after they receive an alarm from the dispatch center.
But The Times’ analysis found another significant shortcoming in what experts
say is an equally important performance indicator: The time it takes
dispatchers to send firefighters to emergencies.
In addition to falling short of the national standard, the department took a
minute longer on average than other departments studied in 2010 for the
National Fire Protection Assn., which sets standards for dispatches and
response times.
That study examined more than 100,000 medical calls in jurisdictions including
Fairfax County, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., andFlorida’s Orange County,
which includes much of Disney World. It found dispatches on average took 44
seconds.
By comparison, the Fire Department last year averaged about 1 minute and 45
seconds per call, according to The Times analysis.
“Every minute wasted with the dispatcher ripples throughout the entire
scene,” said Dr. Mickey Eisenberg, medical director of the Emergency
Medical Services Division for King County, Wash., who has studied the
importance of a fast response.
Fire Department officials declined to answer questions about what might be
causing the delays. Firefighters who take calls at the dispatch center must ask
multiple questions designed to elicit the nature of the emergency and to
determine what type of units should respond. The answers are entered into a
computer.
Generally, the dispatcher must enter an answer to every question before sending
an alert to rescuers, according to current and former Fire Department dispatch
center workers. Thoroughness is a priority and dispatchers are graded on how
faithfully they follow the scripted inquiries, they said.
In many instances, soon after taking a call “we know what we need to
send,” said veteran firefighter and dispatcher Bob Ashley. But he said he
has to ask several questions before dispatching emergency units.
Whether the required questioning contributes to delayed dispatches is not
clear, although some other agencies say they alert rescuers as soon as callers
mention certain key words, such as “
Los Angeles Times Web producer Sarah Ardalani
contributed to this report.
