Consultant Tackles Fire Dept. CAD, Civilianization

As part of a wider review of the city’s response to emergency medical incidents, a private consultant has recommended that the Los Angeles fire and police computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems be merged into single system, and that 198 fire department positions be civilianized, including firefighter dispatchers in the communications center. The consultants also recommended variable staffing based on prior analysis of time-of-day and location data for EMS incidents. The consulting company, PA Consulting Group, has been looking at ways to improve the deployment of fire department resources, and in this review focused on EMS operations. In their 85-page report, the consultants mentioned the department culture hasn’t changed over the past 30 years as fire hazards have decreased and medical incidents have increased. The department is too dependent upon sworn personnel, “even where a civilian with the required technical skills would be more effective.” Perhaps most significantly, the department is “almost entirely a reactive organization,” without a strategic direction or plan. As for the fire department’s comm center, “Dispatch call taking operations should be civilianized and conditioned to a 40 hour week but radio dispatcher positions should still be held by sworn (firefighter) personnel,” the consultants said. Converting the 62 positions could save the department about $4.8 million a year, the report said.

A chart showed the current firefighter calltakers make $99,734 a year in salary, but benefits and pension costs raise that to $187,969 a year. Civilians would be paid $61,322 a year (based on LAPD dispatcher salaries), with other benefits raising the compensation to $99,242 a year.

The consultants said the fire department’s CAD system is reputed to be 30 years-old, but its hardware and software have been updated over the years. LAFD’s reluctance to use the police department’s CAD software can be overcome, the consultants said. Eventually, the report states, the police and fire comm centers should be co-located.

Download (pdf) the full report here.