LAFD standards-of-cover report finds major staffing and coverage gaps; city urged to pursue short-, medium- and long-term fixes

Battalion Chief Eric Roberts, with the Los Angeles Fire Department planning section, told the Los Angeles City Public Safety Committee that an International Association of Fire Fighters standards-of-cover analysis shows the department is “under resourced, understaffed, and underfunded for decades.” The report, prepared in partnership with labor, concluded the department can reach only about 49.2% of city locations within the four-minute threshold NFPA 1710 recommends for initial emergency medical response.

Why it matters: The committee heard that LAFD response performance has worsened in recent years even as call volume surged — from about 100,000 runs a year historically to roughly 514,000 in 2024 — and that the department’s ninetieth-percentile travel time stood at 7 minutes, 53 seconds in the study period, roughly double the NFPA recommendation.

The report quantified short-, medium- and long-term steps. Short-term items the department said can be implemented quickly include deploying additional two-person fast-response units and ambulances (the study recommended 32 more ambulances), and using existing apparatus differently instead of waiting years for new vehicles. Medium-term recommendations include adding battalions to reduce span-of-control problems and strengthening civilian administrative staffing. Long-term recommendations call for adding new stations — the IAFF analysis recommended 84 stations but the department proposes 62 additional stations taking mutual- and automatic-aid agreements into account — and hiring hundreds more firefighters.

“More firefighters, more resources, allowing us to get to your homes in the recommended time,” Roberts said, summarizing the study’s central finding. He told the committee the IAFF analysis estimates an immediate need of about 712 additional firefighters and that the department’s current ratio is roughly 0.91 firefighters per 1,000 residents compared with NFPA guidance of 1.54–1.81 per 1,000 residents.

Union leaders who addressed the committee echoed the staffing concerns and urged rapid action. Freddy Escobar, president of UFLAC, said the union supports a fire bond and told the committee the city should “double the funding and the double the resources.” Rich Ramirez, second vice president of UFLAC Local 112 and an LAFD firefighter-paramedic, said LAFD operates with roughly 0.9 firefighters per 1,000 residents, “half of the national average,” and warned that major incidents could deplete city resources. Captain Chung Ho, a UFLAC director, described extended mandatory force-hire shifts and urged hiring to avoid overworking incumbents.

Committee members and the chief discussed implementation. Roberts said the department has hired 267 firefighters in fiscal year 2023–24 and that, if funded, the department proposes up to five recruit classes per year (with an approximate 20% attrition assumption) to accelerate hiring. He said the fire chief’s budget request included a 7% operating increase that would add about 412 positions (sworn and civilian) to address near-term gaps; the department also plans a 25‑year vision for infrastructure and staffing.

Committee members pressed for localized data and tools. Roberts described a mapping tool that shows gaps by council district and by hazard type, and said the department can produce council-district-specific binders and “heat maps” showing where response times exceed four minutes. He also noted that increases in specific call types — for example, rubbish fires rising from roughly 5,000 to more than 30,000 per year over recent years — have driven overall demand.

The report differentiated discussion from formal requests: the department sought committee direction and said it will return with detailed budget proposals and an implementation plan. The committee voted to note and file the report and to adopt a motion by Councilmember McOsker and Councilmember Park requesting an annual update attached to the report.

Ending: Battalion Chief Roberts closed by noting equipment availability: “The out of service apparatus at this time are 39 fire engines, 32 rescue ambulances, and 13 trucks,” and thanked the committee. Committee members said they intended to use the report to inform budget deliberations and potential facility funding, including consideration of a 2026 bond for fire facilities.