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Carlsbad fire chief outlines staffing, apparatus and wildfire-planning needs; requests ladder-truck replacement in budget
Summary
Fire Chief Michael Calderwood and staff presented an operational update: Carlsbad saw about 14,707 incidents in 2024, EMS calls are more than 80% of demand, the Coastal Corridor generates over half of call volume, and staff recommended adding an aerial ladder truck to the vehicle replacement fund and pursuing a multiyear staffing plan.
The Carlsbad Fire Department presented an operational update to the City Council that highlighted rising call volume, strained apparatus replacement timelines and proposed staffing changes.
Fire Chief Michael Calderwood said the department responded to 14,707 unique incidents in 2024 and made 24,585 unit responses. Assistant Fire Chief Nick Cordelli said emergency medical service (EMS) calls make up more than 80% of the department’s call volume and that improved ambulance capacity added in 2022 increased transport capacity and cost recovery.
Staff emphasized that the Coastal Corridor — protected by the recently opened temporary Fire Station 7 — accounts for more than 50% of call volume; Station 7 and two additional ambulances added since 2022 helped balance unit demand across stations and improved response times. The department reported turnout-time goals are being met; travel-time and dispatch-to-arrival metrics have improved but still lag national best practices and are affected by geography, traffic congestion, automatic aid and traffic-calming measures.
Chief Calderwood and staff flagged several operational needs: replacing an 18-year-old reserve aerial ladder truck (the vehicle is not currently in the vehicle replacement fund and has about 150,000 road miles), planning for a permanent Fire Station 7 (west of I‑5 and the tracks near Cannon Road), and an eventual remodel or replacement of Fire Station 1 (built in 1968). Staff recommended adding a replacement aerial ladder truck to the vehicle replacement fund in the FY 2025–26 proposed budget because build times for such vehicles can take about five years.
The department also described a multiyear staffing model intended to transition single-role EMTs into firefighter-EMT or firefighter-paramedic roles and to add three firefighter positions in the final phase; that would allow a southern station to transition from a three-person engine to a four-person aerial ladder truck in later years.
Council members praised the department’s recruitment and retention work and asked questions about response-time metrics, hospital turnover (‘wall time’), staffing models, and station priorities. Staff said wall times at hospitals remain a regional issue; time-on-task averages around one hour 30–40 minutes and the department participates in county working groups to find solutions. The presentation was informational and no council votes were required.
