City Council puts pressure on LAFD Chief Cummings to improve response times

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If you were to witness an accident on the street or return from work to find a fire raging through your home, chances are you'd call 911. Even with Los Angeles' notoriously jam-packed streets, we've come to expect a certain speediness from local emergency response teams.

But a recent Los Angeles Times story on the Los Angeles Fire Department reveals the city's fire response times are shockingly lower than the national average — more than twice the average in some L-A neighborhoods.

LAFD Chief Brian Cummings addressed LA city council leaders this morning, citing red tape and a dwindling operational budget as reasons for the fire department's dismal emergency response times.

City leaders asked LAFD to construct a proposal detailing ways to improve these response times nearly six months ago. The plan itself is finished. But, Chief Cummings noted that approving the plan doesn't mean it will automatically go into effect.

"The simple answer is money," He admitted. "If you give us money, we'll have more technology, we'll have more civilian support staff, we'll have more resources in the field. You gave us a budget. We're giving you the most effective fire department we can within that budget."

An LAFD investigative task force found that the department's dispatch software, along with poorly trained employees, contributed to the city's long response times. The department's current dispatch system is over 30 years old. A new system, called FIRE STAT LA, is in development stages — but implementing that new system would cost the city half a million dollars.

Speaking from a prepared statement, councilman Mitchell Englander placed blame not on money, but on the department's tendency to sidestep important issues.

"LAFD's historic unwilling to acknowledge and fix the deployment data issue is just another example of kicking the can down the road," Englander said. "Bad data isn't a new issue for LAFD."

Councilman Eric Garcetti acknowledged LAFD's budget restrictions, promising the city would work to find more money for the department. In order for such research to take place, Garcetti emphasized the importance of sharing response time improvements with city leaders, saying, "We need good data, that is clear. We need good management, that's a given. But we also need a good plan."

But a good plan, according to Garcetti, can only come about if Chief Cummings and his fellow administrators demonstrate interest in department reform: "I do expect management who will fight for this department and then put it on us to make those decisions," he said. "We are here to make this a safe city today, and we're gonna need to see that leadership."

Council President Herb Wesson gave LAFD 45 days to officially submit the restoration plan for review. Only then can the city begin reevaluating the fire department's requests for budget increases.