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Audit finds San Francisco Fire Department short on EMS capacity; recommends three ambulance shifts and system changes
Summary
A Budget and Legislative Analyst audit found the San Francisco Fire Department fell below an 80% Exclusive Operating Area (EOA) threshold and recommended three additional ambulance shifts (16 EMS positions), vehicle replacements and systemwide coordination including AVL tracking and a reconvened 911 provider committee.
A Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) performance audit presented to the Government Audit and Oversight Committee found the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is out of compliance with the city’s Exclusive Operating Area (EOA) requirement to respond to at least 80% of ambulance calls and recommended staffing and system changes to restore capacity.
The audit, presented by the BLA during the committee’s hearing, said medical calls made up about 77% of the department’s emergency responses in 2013 and that the department’s ambulance transport share dropped to about 73% that year, below the 80% target the EOA requires. The BLA concluded that adding three ambulance shifts — estimated to require 16 EMS positions — would move the department toward the 80% threshold. “We found that between 06:30 a.m. and 06:30 p.m. on average, the fire department needs 3 more ambulance shifts,” the analysts reported.
Beyond staffing, the audit recommended several operational changes: increase overtime…
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