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Carmel council hears limits of local 911 system and inconsistent response-time data
Summary
City staff told the council the city's 911 call process gives Carmel's own dispatch a short lead time before Monterey County dispatches fire and ambulance units, and staff said clocks do not sync with the county, so total response times cannot be reported precisely.
Carmel-by-the-Sea's fire and emergency services leaders told the City Council on March 30 that the city's separate 911 intake adds about 45 seconds to 90 seconds before Monterey County dispatches fire and ambulance units, and that the city cannot produce an exact total response-time figure because its clocks are not synchronized with the county's.
The information matters because the city reports monthly on a council directive from 2012, which set an internal target that 95 percent of calls should have a call-to-door time of five minutes or less. The council discussed whether the monthly report should include the full timeline from caller to arrival and asked about ways to make the figures clearer for the public.
Paul, the city's fire chief, explained that Carmel continues to receive 911 calls locally because Monterey County…
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