LAFD standards-of-cover study finds gaps in coverage, urges hundreds of new firefighters and dozens of stations

The Los Angeles Fire Department is “under resourced, understaffed, and underfunded for decades,” Battalion Chief Eric Roberts told the City Council Public Safety Committee, presenting a standards-of-cover analysis that found the department can reach only about half of city residences within the NFPA-recommended four minutes and that the department’s 90th percentile travel time is 7 minutes, 53 seconds — roughly double the national recommendation.

The findings, compiled in a report the department produced with labor partners and the International Association of Fire Fighters, showed LAFD handled roughly 514,000 service calls last year and currently has about 3,538 sworn firefighters, a ratio Roberts said equals about 0.91 firefighters per 1,000 residents compared with an NFPA recommended range of 1.54 to 1.81. “We need 712 additional firefighters in the short term,” Roberts said.

Why it matters: Committee members said the results underscore long‑standing concerns about response times, equipment and facility maintenance, and worker workload ahead of the next budget cycle. The committee voted to note and file the report and adopted a motion to return annual updates before future budget decisions.

Key findings and recommendations - Coverage and travel times: The department’s mapping analysis found LAFD can reach 49.2% of city locations within four minutes for a typical EMS or fire response;…