Toronto Fire Criticized For Response Times

A Toronto (Ont.) newspaper who battled the city for access to fire department response time statistics has revealed that each step of handling an emergency incident exceeds recognized standards, leading to arrival times of eight minutes after a 911 call is placed. In a story on Tuesday, The Star newspaper said it takes 30 seconds on average to transfer a 911 to the fire department, while the standard is 15 seconds or less. Fire unit notification time averages 100 seconds, while the standard set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is 60 seconds. Turn-out time takes 185 seconds, compared to the standard of 80 seconds. Travel time is the only segment that closely approaches the standard—4½ minutes compared to four minutes for the standard. The newspaper requested the data gathered by an outside consultant just after it was published in 2009, and the city responded with a heavily-redacted document. The newspaper appealed the city’s claim of confidentiality, and eventually a provincial commission ordered the report released. Read more about the report here, and also a rebuttal to some of the newspaper’s conclusions here.