Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of January 22, 2019
Title
LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE SERVICES AND
MCCORMICK AMBULANCE QUARTERLY
UPDATE AND ANNUAL REVIEW
(Emergency Management Coordinator Brandy Villanueva)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the fourth quarter update for the period of October 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018, and the 2018 annual review of Los Angeles County Fire Department and McCormick Ambulance services.
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Executive Summary:
This is the fourth quarter and annual review of the fire and ambulance transport services provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and McCormick Ambulance. Staff continues to monitor the trends associated with the services provided to ensure that excellent customer service is provided to the community.
Background:
Los Angeles County Fire Department provides fire services and McCormick Ambulance provides emergency transport services for the City of Hermosa Beach. These providers began delivering services on December 30, 2017 and have successfully completed the first year of their respective contracts with the City.
Analysis:
During the fourth quarter of 2018, October 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018, Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to 414 incidents with an average response time of 5:01 minutes. Los Angeles County Fire Department defines the Average Response Time as the time that the first-arriving units, which excludes the Lifeguard units, are en route and arrive at each incident and includes emergency and non-emergency calls. Dispatch and turnout time are not included in the Los Angeles County Fire Department average response time.
Hermosa Beach Fire Department responded to 511 incidents during the fourth quarter of 2017. The average response time for the Hermosa Beach Fire Department was 6:34 and was defined as the time the call was dispatched to the time that the first unit arrived on scene, which includes turnout time. Los Angeles County Fire Department received 97 less calls for service in the fourth quarter of 2018 then Hermosa Beach Fire received in the fourth quarter of 2017.
In 2018, Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to 1645 total incidents with an average response time of 5.04 minutes. Hermosa Beach Fire Department responded to 2,311 calls in 2017 with an average response time of 6:16 minutes. Los Angeles County Fire Department received 666 less calls for service during 2018 compared to the Hermosa Beach Fire Department in 2017. Each quarter, there has been a decrease in the number of calls for service with the largest decrease in the third quarter resulting in 277 less calls in 2018 than 2017. Staff will continue to monitor the calls for service with Los Angeles County Fire in 2019. Attachment 1 provides the incident type and average response times for all responses in 2018.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department continues to provide automatic aid to neighboring jurisdictions. Attachment 2 indicates that surrounding jurisdictions (labeled as Area G Cities) have responded into Hermosa Beach to provide automatic aid twice during the quarter while Los Angeles County Fire Department (labeled as the Fire District) has responded 57 times into Area G cities to provide automatic aid during the quarter.
Throughout 2018, the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded 232 times into Area G Cities to provide automatic aid while Area G Cities responded into Hermosa Beach for a total of 10 incidents.
Special Events:
Los Angeles County Fire Department assisted with the pre-planning and/or participated in a variety of events during the fourth quarter of 2018 - Santa Sleigh ride, Beach Cities toy drive, tree lighting ceremony and New Year’s Eve celebration. Fire continues to partner with City staff and event producers to ensure fire life and safety measures are properly implemented and followed during community events. Attachment 3 depicts some of the interactions Los Angeles County Fire Station 100 has had with the community.
Fire Station Construction:
City staff and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel continue to meet monthly to prepare for the fire station remodel, which is scheduled to begin March of 2019. Monthly meetings are held at 2 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. The construction project will entail a complete interior remodel of the single-story station. The station will include five dormitories, two ADA accessible restrooms, an office and kitchen along with utility upgrades, and installation of seismic retrofit measures.
Fire Prevention:
In the fourth quarter of the year, Station 100 conducted 351 inspections as part of the 2018 Annual Business Fire Inspection program. In total, Station 100 conducted 978 inspections throughout 2018. Inspections are categorized as Pass, Reinspection and Vacant. The table below represents the fourth quarter outcomes of the inspections. Attachment 4 illustrates the 2018 Annual Business Inspection program outcomes.
Film Permit:
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Community Resources and Los Angeles County Fire Department have processed and approved 14 film permits.
Community Resources and the Los Angeles County Fire Department processed 54 film permits in 2018 as compared to the 56 film permits that were processed by Community Resources and Hermosa Beach Fire Department in 2017. Attachment 5 shows the dates and locations of the 2018 film permits.
McCormick Ambulance:
McCormick Ambulance conducted 212 transports during the fourth quarter of 2018. In total, McCormick Ambulance completed 873 transports and were cancelled 457 times during 2018.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant policies are listed below:
Governance Element:
1.6 Long-term considerations. Prioritize decisions that provide long-term community benefit and discourage decisions that provide short-term community benefit but reduce long-term opportunities.
Public Safety Element
5.1 High level of response. Achieve optimal utilization of allocated public safety resources and provide desired levels of response and protection within the community.
5.4 Adequate emergency access. Require new development to be designed to provide adequate emergency access and to maintain current levels of emergency services.
Fiscal Impact:
Funding for fire and ambulance services is included in the annual City budget.
Attachments:
1. 2018 Los Angeles County Fire Incidents and McCormick Transports
2. 2018 Automatic Aid Annual Review
3. 2018 Community Engagement Photos
4. 2018 Annual Business Inspections
5. 2018 Film Permits
Respectfully Submitted by: Brandy Villanueva, Emergency Services Coordinator
Concur: Scott Hale, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Assistant Fire Chief of Division I
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager