This quarter, the target of 80% of all fire calls under 0:08:30 was met, with 85.2% of all fire responses falling under 0:08:30. 

There were 27 fire incidents within city limits. 

• 23 of those incidents had response times under 0:08:30. 
• The average response time for the 27 fire calls was 0:06:41; the median was 0:06:04. 
• Only 3 of the 27 fire incidents included in response time calculations this quarter were structure fires. 100% of the structure fires had response times below 0:08:30 and the average response time was 0:05:21.  

Of the calls with response times over 0:08:30, one was a controlled outdoor fire, one was a vehicle fire, one was an equipment fire, and one was an outdoor electrical fire.

• On 12/29/2019, a passerby called dispatch advising that they saw flames on the bank of the Brazos River. The fire department arrived on location, but had to attempt to locate the fire off-road, which caused a delayed response of 0:14:46. Once the fire was located, it was discovered to be coming from a portable grill that was being operated by a small group of people, and there was no danger posed.
• A delayed response to a passenger vehicle fire occurred on 10/11/2019 as a result of poor directions by the reporting party. The reporting party stated that a vehicle was on fire on the southbound lanes of the Southwest Freeway, which was later corrected to the northbound lanes. This required the responding units to exit the freeway and make a U-turn. Incorrect directions for vehicle fires on the freeway are a common cause of delay.
• On 11/1/2019 a fire on a City of Sugar Land well site was called into dispatch. The crews had difficulty accessing the water well head that was on fire due to a locked gate on a fence. This caused a slight delay in response at 0:09:42.
• At approximately 4 am on 10/15/2019 a downed electrical wire caused a small fire in the backyard of a residence. The response was delayed due to a nighttime response and distance. According to Google maps, it is an 8-minute drive from Station 4 to the incident address, so the 0:09:35 response time was within expectations. 

Below is the categorical breakdown of this quarters emergency responses:

Additionally, since 23 out of 27 (or 85%) of the emergency calls had a response time less than the 08:30 target, the measure met its target and is evaluated as green.

Time elapsed between receipt of an Emergency Fire Call within corporate city limits by the telecommunications operator to the arrival of the first Sugar Land Fire – EMS (SLF -EMS) unit on scene.

SLF-EMS Unit: A fire apparatus designed to be used under emergency conditions to transport personnel and equipment and support the suppression of fires or mitigation of other hazardous situations.

Emergency Fire Calls: Calls within city limits coded NFIRS Incident Types 100-170, which includes, but is not limited to: structure fire, vehicle fire, natural vegetation fire, and cooking fire. 

Results are reported as the percentage of Emergency Fire Calls responded to within the target time of 08:30 (mm:ss).

80% of all responses to Emergency Fire Calls within 08:30 (mm:ss). This target includes a 01:00 dispatch call processing time and 07:30 response time.

A rapid response to emergency calls helps  save lives, prevent unnecessary property loss, and ensures public safety. 

In October of 2018, City of Sugar Land Fire-EMS, alongside Sugar Land Dispatch, began a new system of call prioritization based upon call acuity. This new call prioritization system was based on a recommendation from the Fire-EMS assessment provided from an independent consulting firm in 2017. This new system means that emergency Fire and EMS units are traveling to low acuity calls without lights and sirens. This system is meant to apply the appropriate level of risk required to respond efficiently and effectively to the incident at hand. Therefore, if a unit is on response to a non-emergency call with lights off, and the call gets upgraded to emergency status, lights will be turned on at that given point in the response. Since more calls are being responded to non-emergency with sirens and lights off, we expect to see a slight increase in response times city-wide. 

The effects of this new call prioritization system will continue to be monitored by the department.