This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

LAFD Response Times Delayed by Budget Cuts

The Pacific Palisades Community Council president reports on recent statistics about the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Budget cuts have reduced Los Angeles Fire Department response times, Pacific Palisades Community Council President Janet Turner reported at a council meeting Thursday.

First responders only meet the fire department's five-minute response goal on 60 percent of calls, Turner said. "It was 64 percent, but with the cuts it went down to 60 percent."

A recently malfunctioning dispatch system hasn't helped response times, either, Turner added. She noted that the disappointing statistics have drawn the attention of the mayor and the Los Angeles City Council.

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It seems that the fire department had also stopped releasing information about the nature of the calls and the incidents," Turner reported. "They said it was because they were afraid of federal law that protects [medical] patient privacy."

Turner referenced a recent article by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez that critically addressed the LAFD's lagging response times.

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The PPCC president noted the precious seconds that often determine the difference between life and death for victims of accidents or life-threatening medical conditions. Response times are as much as 3.5 minutes from the time a call comes in to when a fire department unit actually rolls out.

"[Lopez] said 80 percent of the calls are medical and they send out the gas-guzzling big rigs with the large crews," said Turner. "Maybe there's a way to rethink this, and also a way to get people not to call for minor problems."

She suggested that council members pool ideas on how to improve fire department operations.

"I'm really very worried that there's going to be major cuts in police and fire, we should be hearing about that in week or two," Turner said.

Follow Brentwood Patch on Twitter and Facebook. Get daily or weekly news alerts in you inbox by signing up for our email newsletter.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Brentwood