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Palm Coast fire chief: response metrics strong but station and hazmat gaps persist
Summary
Fire department leaders told the City Council they are meeting or exceeding national averages on some outcomes — including return of spontaneous circulation — but are missing response-time targets at one station and lack a county hazardous-materials team; staff said they will seek funding to replace two apparatus and update impact fees.
Fire Chief (name not specified) told the Palm Coast City Council that the fire department is meeting several clinical and containment benchmarks but that capital and regional capability gaps remain. "Year to date, we're containing 86 percent of fires that get beyond the container to the room of origin," the chief said, adding that the national figure is about 55 percent. He also said the department is achieving return of spontaneous circulation in about 37 percent of cardiac-arrest cases year to date, compared with an out-of-hospital average of about 29 percent.
The chief said the department’s goal for a related metric is 30 and that changes already made are improving outcomes, but that response-time targets (seven minutes or less) are not being met citywide because one station — the airport fire station — routinely misses the goal by 20 to 25 percentage points each quarter and “drags us down.” He said the other five stations typically are within about 10 points of the goal and that the variance shifts by shift and station.
On near-term capital needs, the chief said staff will ask council to authorize spending savings to replace Tower 24 and Engine 22. He also said the department is updating the fire impact fee and continuing to strengthen training and an intern program while hiring externally.
Council members asked about regional mutual aid and specialized apparatus. When a councilmember asked whether the county has heavy-rescue apparatus, the chief replied that Flagler County does not have a heavy rescue and that the county has a USAR (urban search-and-rescue) team; what is missing in the system is a hazardous-materials team. The chief said Palm Coast currently relies on a mutual-aid contract with St. Johns County for some responses.
A councilmember expressed concern about the lack of a local hazmat team and asked staff to analyze the risk of continuing to rely on outside partners. The chief said the department has a confined-space team and that local partner training is being completed for several firefighters.
No formal motion or vote was taken during the presentation; council discussion focused on questions and direction for staff to continue analysis and to return with cost and scheduling information on apparatus replacement and capability gaps.
The council opened the meeting for public comment and received none on the fire presentation. The council then moved to other agenda items.
