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PHOENIX FIREFIGHTERS' RESPONSE TIME RISING
OFFICIALS HOPE VOTERS FUND GROWTH IN SERVICES

( The Arizona Republic ) By Judi Villa and Elvia Diaz, The Arizona Republic; 02-25-2001

Every year it takes Phoenix firefighters longer to get to an emergency.

The average response time has crept up over the past decade from 3 minutes 40 seconds in 1990 to 4 minutes 44 seconds last year. It is expected to inch up an additional 4 seconds this year, giving Phoenix the dubious distinction of having the slowest responding firefighters in the Valley.

And while several seconds or even a minute may not seem like much, every tick of the clock counts to a man who has stopped breathing, a child who has been pulled from a swimming pool or a homeowner who is watching the house burn.

"At some point in there, a matter of seconds is the difference between having a severe limp or leading a normal life," Phoenix Deputy Fire Chief Bob Khan said. "It's very difficult for us to minimize how important that response (time) is because we're the people that do the CPR on the individual. We see their families. We become pretty intensely involved in those people."

Just last month, Phoenix firefighters had to decide whether to help a woman deliver a baby or rush to a suspected arson fire. They chose to deliver the baby first, Khan said. It took other firefighters 10 minutes to get to the burning home and by then the damage rendered the building unlivable.

"Anything over a 6-minute response certainly jeopardizes a person's health or even their life," said Phoenix Fire Capt. Warren Bryan, who has worked in Ahwatukee for 14 years. "It makes us want to hurry. We are hurrying as safely as we can."

Mesa firefighters have the fastest average response time in the Valley at 3 minutes 35 seconds. The average response time in Glendale is 4 minutes 17 seconds, and in Chandler, it's 4 minutes.

Ahwatukee and the far north Valley have some of the slowest response times in Phoenix - an average of about 5 1/2 minutes -- primarily because of explosive growth. Ahwatukee, with its 80,000-plus residents, has only two fire stations, two engines and two rescue trucks, one of which was added in December. The area should get its first ladder tender truck, on a temporary basis, in April.

"It's a great concern," said Councilman Greg Stanton, who represents the Ahwatukee area. "New fire stations are absolutely necessary."

Fire officials believe that if no new stations are built to cope with growth and residents' demands, their response could be stretched to dangerous lengths. A person's brain starts dying after about 5 minutes without oxygen. Every minute after that can mean more neurological damage if the person is revived. If a house is burning, the fire will square itself every minute. A room on fire can heat to 1,400 degrees in 3 minutes 41 seconds and by 4 minutes 33 seconds, a rescue of someone inside may not be possible, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

"Have people died? Not yet. Is there more property damage? Sure," Khan said. "If that becomes the rule rather than the exception, then it's only a matter of time before that catches up with you."

Phoenix's population climbed to an estimated 1.3 million in 2000 from 955,700 in 1988. Still, it has been 13 years since Phoenix voters approved spending money for new fire stations and other improvements.

Fire officials estimate the city needs at least 17 new stations in addition to the 46 it now has to cover a 478-square-mile city. Ideally, a fire station should cover a 1.5-mile radius, Khan said.

A proposed capital improvement program, which would not raise taxes, contemplates the construction of 10 additional stations, most of them on the edges of the city, where response times are highest. If the capital improvement program is approved by voters on March 13, the city plans to build two fire stations and buy land for a third in the far north Valley. Three new stations would go in the Ahwatukee area.

The $61.5 million for fire improvements also would pay for new technology, land for future stations and the expansion of existing ones.

Bryan said there are a lot of places within his station's area that firefighters cannot even reach in 5 or 6 minutes. And if a paramedic, who has delivered a patient to the hospital, has to be picked up or if a truck needs to be restocked or is out on another call, other firefighters have to drive farther to cover for them.

Last week, Bryan said his crew had to respond from 50th Street and Warner Road to Central Avenue -- a 14-minute drive -- to help a woman who had punched a needle from her sewing machine into her finger.

And several times a day, fire crews from neighboring Tempe and Chandler are called into Phoenix to answer some of their calls.

"It leaves big holes and gaps in the system when we have to do that," Bryan said.

And while residents should know that the Fire Department still is able to respond and help them, Bryan said, "there's no way we can provide the same level (of service) as before because of the growth."

For now, Khan said the department "leap frogs" engines to cover holes, relies on an automatic vehicle locating system to dispatch the closest unit, regardless of city limits, and utilizes video training to minimize firefighters' out-of-service time.

"You've only got so much protection to apply," he said, "so you can stretch it, pull it, twist it, but at some point, you're going to have some parts that just aren't protected."