Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Fire topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sandpoint Fire Department presents annual incident snapshot; false alarms rise, response times steady
Summary
Fire staff presented incident statistics and response-time metrics for 2022–2024 and said dispatch-to-arrival target times remain near their goals. The department also reported an increase in false-alarm responses, primarily alarm activations.
Sandpoint Fire leadership presented a year-over-year snapshot of incident volume, response times and calls for service covering 2022–2024.
The department reported that dispatch-to-arrival response times generally meet the goal of under seven minutes, while turnout times (dispatch to apparatus leaving station) and travel times show modest variation year to year. Chief (name not provided in the record) told council the department recently moved to a new records-management system (RMS) and expects more accurate reporting as data are standardized in the new platform.
Councilor Rick Howard asked about the increase in false calls. The fire chief said most false calls are alarm activations (system malfunctions or repeat activations at the same occupancies) and that the department tracks repeat callers and works with those occupancies to reduce recurring activations. The chief also noted the department enforces fees per the city fee schedule after multiple responses to the same location.
Why it matters: response times and false-alarm trends affect emergency-service readiness and operating costs; tracking inside- vs. outside-city responses and zone-based reporting will improve with the new RMS.
The department said it plans to report these statistics quarterly going forward and is working to refine data breakdowns by zone and inside/outside city limits. No formal council action was taken.
