Changing Fire Company Locations: Five Implementation Case Studies

摘要

Case studies are provided of five implementation strategies developed to mitigate problems affecting the manner in which fire companies are located and dispatched in five test cities -- Wilmington, Del., Trenton and Jersey City, N.J., Yonkers, N.Y., and Denver, Colo. The general problems addressed in the tests were (1) how many engine companies should the city have and where should they be located; (2) how many ladder companies should the city have and where should they be located; (3) how many firehouses should the city have, where should they be located, how many companies should be located in each, and in what sequence should new ones be built; and (4) how many fire companies should be sent to an incoming alarm, and should this number vary by time of day. Mathematical models used to evaluate alternative policies for each city are summarized, along with comparative alarm and travel time data for the five citywide fire departments. Finally, what happened in each of the five cities as a result of the development studies is described, and conclusions are drawn regarding implementation issues. The five analyses were performed in similar fashion; all addressed pivotal deployment issues and all used the same or similar models to study the issues. The same kinds of data were collected in each case, and the results were organized and published in a uniform manner. However, despite the similarities, the events in each city since publication of the results and recommendations have been strikingly different. In some cases, the recommendations have been or will be fully implemented; in others, the findings have been swept aside by political issues. In one city, while no changes have been made in the deployment of firefighting resources, a strong and permanent analytic unit with a number of successful analyses already to its credit has been created.