Fire Dept Staffing Study - June 2012 MRI

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in a load- bearing wall. Lastly, the building is woefully deficient from an energy efficiency perspective. According to the town's FireTracker fire incident reporting system, the fire department's average response time to incidents is 8 minutes. NFPA 1710 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2010 edition recommends that "the fire department's fire suppression resources shall be deployed to provide for the arrival of an engine company within a 240 - second travel time to 90 percent of the incidents..." [Section 5.2.4.1.1]. The standard also recommends that "the fire department's EMS for providing a first responder with AED (automatic external defibrillator) shall be deployed to provide for the arrival of a first responder with AED company within a 240 - second travel time to 90 percent of the incidents..." [Section 5.3.3.2]. Upon further review by the fire department, it became apparent that data that had been captured and provided to MRI to determine response times was seriously flawed. The department is updating its fire incident reporting software and will provide more accurate data to MRI as soon as possible. Upon receipt and analysis of the revised data, MRI will provide a supplemental addendum to this report that specifically focuses on response times. The MRI study team will further evaluate the potential need for a third fire station to be located in South Lexington. Ineffective Capital Equipment Planning and Acquisition Fire department capital equipment planning and acquisition involves the careful consideration of community needs, department capabilities and fiscal responsibility. A fire pumper can easily cost over $500,000 and is expected to serve the community for twenty years or more. Communications systems and information technology systems are technically complex, require extensive testing and evaluation, must meet specific interoperability criteria, and can be obsolete in a few short years if not updated regularly. The Lexington Fire Department recently acquired a new two -way radio communications system that has been fraught with problems. While the town has invested in corrective measures, it is apparent that the system was poorly engineered and was not designed to meet Lexington's needs. The design specifications were not coordinated with the police department to ensure town -wide interoperability. Further upgrades are planned for the coming year to provide redundancy for the entire public safety and public works radio communications system. The most recently purchased fire pumper (Engine 2) has been plagued with maintenance problems and has been out -of- service for an excessive amount of time. Town of Lexington, MX Fire Department Staffing Study Prepared by Municipal Resources, Inc. June 2012 Page 6 I' Municipal Resources