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Resident recounts delayed 911 responses; council and fire chief say calls are under investigation
Summary
A retired firefighter told the council he experienced multiple delayed emergency responses in Temecula, citing NFPA response benchmarks; city staff said the specific calls are under review and the fire chief is investigating.
A longtime Temecula resident and retired firefighter, Ed Ackerman, told the council during public comment on May 27 that his family and neighbors had experienced medical 911 responses that took far longer than National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) targets.
Ackerman, who identified his emergency medicine background and experience, cited NFPA 1710 response-time benchmarks and recounted specific calls: his granddaughter's 2019 medical incident that took about 10 minutes for responders to arrive (which Ackerman said was later identified as a dispatch error), and a May 4 incident in which a neighbor's seizure response reportedly took 11 to 14 minutes. He said the delays were alarming given the narrow brain-survival windows for cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Mayor and council members acknowledged the reports and said the chief of fire services (Chief Crater referenced in discussion) is investigating the incidents. The mayor said staff would work with the chief and the county dispatch to review the specific calls and report back with ways to improve response times.
Ending: Council said staff and the fire chief would follow up with Mr. Ackerman and others who raised concerns and would report findings and recommended improvements to the council after the internal review.
