Consultants: Escondido needs EMS division chief, additional ambulance and engine to reduce travel times

A multi-part operations review presented to the Escondido City Council recommended adding an EMS division chief, an additional rescue ambulance and at least one more engine company to relieve system stress and improve response times across the city.

Fire Chief John Tanger introduced the study results delivered by Kurt Latapau, CEO of consulting firm AP Triton, who said the reviews are intended to align emergency medical and fire services with evolving community risk and demand. "A comprehensive evaluation of your emergency medical services, your fire service delivery, and your EMS cost recovery is extremely important to stay current with demands and with the times that are changing," Latapau told the council.

The study combined three products: an EMS program analysis, an ambulance transport fee study and a community risk assessment/standards of cover. Key findings included leadership capacity stretched across operations and training, an underfunded and underdeveloped apparatus and fleet replacement plan, aging station infrastructure that needs modernization, and engine and ambulance unit-hour utilization rates above desirable thresholds.

AP Triton quantified utilization pressure: engine unit-hour utilization generally exceeded the 10% availability benchmark, with multiple companies well above that level, reducing availability in their primary response areas and lengthening secondary-response travel times. Ambulance utilization also exceeded typical tolerance (about 30%); one rescue ambulance recorded roughly 40% utilization for 2023, the consultant said.

Latapau and the chief recommended the city fund new administrative positions (division chief for EMS, training battalion chief, full-time administrative assistant), implement a sustained apparatus replacement program (the city has three engines on order), and strategically add operational staffing, including an additional engine at Station 1 while a new station is built. The consultant also recommended researching a station location south of Stations 1 and 2 to address heat-map coverage gaps.

The consultant highlighted steps already underway: the city increased ambulance transport fees effective Jan. 1, 2025; Northcom's dispatch platform with automatic vehicle location (AVL) is now in use and may improve effective travel times; and capital funding has been budgeted for station maintenance and modernization. "One of the positives... is your computer aided dispatch utilizing automatic vehicle location technology, dispatching the closest resource first," Latapau said, noting that AVL may shorten effective travel times once the system has operational data.

Council members asked about coverage in the San Pasqual Valley and other east-side areas, the difference between ALS and BLS staffing models, and the recommended effective response force (ERF) standard. Consultants explained ERF relates to personnel on-scene for medium/high-risk incidents: the NFPA travel-time goal for personnel to reach an ERF is eight minutes; the NFPA travel-time guideline for a single unit travel component is four minutes. The study found only limited portions of the city can meet those response-time objectives with current resources.

Budget and implementation notes in the presentation included new positions already approved in the FY budget, three new engines ordered, and planned policy implementation (Lexipol standard policy system). Latapau emphasized continued reporting and recommended monthly, quarterly and annual performance reports to track progress against utilization and response-time goals.

Why this matters: The study ties response capacity directly to community risk, economic resilience and insurance ratings; the report framed fire services as protecting life, property and local economic vitality. Council members thanked the department and consultants and asked staff to return with implementation status and updates as new AVL data become available.