Deployment Analysis Deployment Analysis Under Under

Public ScrutinyPublic Scrutiny

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs

FireFire DepartmentDepartment

© 2002 City of Colorado Springs

Background

• Since 1960, Colorado Springs has increased 433% in population and 1027% in land area.

• Growth has created inequities in service.

• Today, 18 fire stations serve a developed area of 120 sq.mi. and 374,000 people.

Background continued

• CSFD has taken on additional missions over the years including BLS and ALS medical response, hazardous materials, and special rescue.

• Medical incidents make up 70% of the workload.

Status in 1997

• 17 engines and 4 trucks

• Older stations close together

• Newer stations far apart

• Budget constraints

• Poor truck coverage on north side

• Funding for additional truck company for 1997 denied

Public Controversy 1997-1999

• Proposal made to close an older fire station to fund a truck company in a growth area

• Political battle ensued with residents in area of proposed station

• Residents challenged accuracy of CSFD deployment analysis

• City contracted with TriData Corp. in 1998 to conduct study of CSFD

Outcomes

• Spring, 1998– City council approved funding for

new truck company.– City council approved funding for

a comprehensive study of the fire department.

– City council passed interim standards of coverage

Interim Standards of Coverage

• First unit response within 8-minutes for 90% of the emergency incidents.

• Effective fire fighting force response within 12-minutes for 90% of structure fires. (Force of 2 engines & 1 aerial ladder truck)

• These standards apply to each of the 9 Planning Evaluation Zones (PEZs) in the city

Planning Evaluation Zones

1 - Central Business Dist.

2 - Westside/Cedar Heights

3 - Northwest

4 - North Central

5 - Southeast

6 - Southwest

7 - North

8 - East Central

9 - East (of Powers)

Further Outcomes

• January, 1999 -- TriData Corporation completed fire department study with recommendation not to close any fire stations

• April, 1999 -- Citizens approved bonds for capital improvements, including construction of 18th fire station.

• August, 1999 -- City council adopted interim standards of coverage as permanent standards

Fire Stations & Equipment

Standards of Coverage:• Establish the

appropriate number of stations

• Distribution of stations throughout community

• Establish levels and location of fire equipment

Limitations of Drive-Time Analysis

• Assumes units available for calls

• Does not include dispatch and turnout time

• Does not provide adequate estimate of travel time distribution, only typical travel time

CSFD Simulation System

HistoricalIncident Data

City GrowthProjections

WLTrace WLGen

ERES

WorkloadStreams

Simulation Results

Workload Streams

• Files containing emergency incidents– Date, time of alarm– Incident type– Location

• Representative of actual occurrences– Time of day of incidents– Mix of incidents (fires, medicals, etc.)– Location

Workload Analysis

Workload 1Workload 2Workload 3

…Workload N

Coverage

Coverage Estimates for Deployment

Point Estimates by PEZ & CityInterval Estimates by PEZ & CityCoverage MapsEquipment ResponsesEquipment Utilization

ERES

• Uses input workload stream for basic incident information

• Simulates CSFD operations (and AMR operations) on input workload

• Produces – coverage statistics by PEZ and city-wide– unit use statistics for CSFD (and AMR)– coverage maps based on FDZ

ERES Is Configurable

• Number and location of stations

• Equipment assigned to a station

• Hours of operations for special units

• Overhead (training, maintenance, administrative time) for each unit

• Dispatching policy for incidents

ERES Station Equipment Options

ERES Dispatching Options

ERES Products

• A variety of coverage statistics by PEZ and city-wide for CSFD alone or with AMR

• Responses for each unit

• % utilization of each unit by hour of day

• Coverage maps based on FDZ

ERES Coverage Display

Equipment Responses

Equipment Utilization

Coverage Display

Deployment Analysis

HistoricalCoverage

City Standards

Areas ofConcern

ProposedEnhancements

ERESSimulatedCoverage

Forecasting Method

City-Wide 8-Minute Coverage

8082

8486

889092

9496

98100

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Actual

Model

Projected 2010 Service Levels(with current 18 fire stations)

40

50

60

70

80

90

100C

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No

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N. C

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8-MinuteStandard

12-MinuteStandard

Projected 2010 Service Levels(with 21 fire stations)

40

50

60

70

80

90

100C

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No

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N. C

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8-MinuteStandard

12-MinuteStandard

Uses of the Model

• Projecting future needs based on growth and workload trends

• Projecting impact of new development

• Timing and location of new stations or units