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Hartford Fire Department reports reaccreditation recommendation, steady April response performance
Summary
Fire Chief Barco told the Quality of Life & Public Safety Committee the department was recommended for reaccreditation, installed smoke detectors and car seats, and met its first‑engine response target about 73% of the time in April.
The Hartford Fire Department was recommended for reaccreditation after a peer review visit and reported routine operational statistics for April at the Quality of Life & Public Safety Committee meeting on May 8.
Chief Barco, Hartford Fire Department, told the committee a peer reaccreditation team visited city facilities April 27–30 and recommended Hartford for reaccreditation. "There's only 3 fire departments in the state of Connecticut that's class 1 and, accredited, and Hartford is 1 of them," Barco said. The department expects final peer‑review board action in August or September and will receive written recommendations within seven days of the visit.
The department reported public‑safety outreach and response data for April: 22 smoke detectors installed, 14 car‑seat installations, 16 community meetings attended by the Special Services Unit, and 11 significant building fire events, six of which the department attributed to unattended cooking. Barco said 26 people were displaced by a Prospect Avenue fire; three people were displaced at 905 Park and two at 249 Newington.
On response performance, the department’s target for a first arriving engine is under 6 minutes 20 seconds; the department met that target 72.73% of the time in April, a slight decrease from the prior month. EMS response performance for April was reported at just above 63%. Chief Barco said the department investigates calls with response times longer than the target to determine causes, and that overlapping calls are a common explanation.
Barco also reviewed workforce demographics and programs: the explorer program has 17 participants (12 males and 5 females) with attendance above 90%, and the cadet program currently has two cadets while four are enrolled in the academy. Long‑term priorities noted were vehicle replacement and firehouse renovations.
Council members asked for copies of the presentation; Barco said he would provide the PowerPoint to committee members.
Less urgent operational details and the department’s full incident tables were reported as available online; Barco said the city website and the fire department site include structure fire response and other data for public review.
