County Boss` Response Time Claim Misstated

June 19--In a column last week in The Capital, Anne Arundel County (MD) Executive Laura Neuman said the 9-1-1 response time under her administration had been cut "in half."

When asked about the statement this week, fire officials were unable to provide data to substantiate Neuman's claim.

The department has seen more than a 50 percent reduction in call processing times, the amount of time between when dispatchers receive a 9-1-1 call and when units are dispatched, Fire Chief Michael Cox said in a news release.

While Neuman's claim refers to 9-1-1 response times, the news release focuses on call processing times. The fire department's release attributes the confusion in response times to terminology used within the department.

The department refers to "call response time" as the time it takes to answer, process and dispatch calls -- which should not be confused with "equipment response time," the release stated.

Fire officials say a new call processing protocol, more ambulances in the field and better utilization of department resources has resulted in a "significant" decrease in overall response times.

Response times are generally referred to as the time between when a 9-1-1 call is received and units arrive on scene, fire department spokesman Lt. Russ Davies said.

Cox was unable to provide specific numbers on Wednesday. The fire department is analyzing call data since the changes went into effect and could have completed data in the coming days or weeks, fire officials said.

Neuman did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2012, the most recent year that the department was able to provide data, response times for ambulances hovered around 11 and 12 minutes 90 percent of the time -- minutes above the nine minute national standard, Cox said.

The fire chief said the department has shaved more than two minutes from the overall response time by adopting a new protocol when dispatching -- fewer questions are asked before responders begin going to the scene.

The national standard for 9-1-1 call processing is around 90 seconds 99 percent of the time, or 60 seconds 90 percent of the time. The department processes calls in an average of 50 seconds, Cox said.

The fire department answers about 80,000 calls a year -- around 80 percent of which are medical. Some 60 percent of calls received are for non-life threatening injures or medical conditions, Cox said.

Davies conceded response times may be extended for calls farther away from the county's fire stations.

"When you're dealing with response times, there's certain factors we can't necessarily fix," Davies said. "Travel time is not something you can rapidly change."

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