Hemet Fire reports rising call volumes and response-time strains; squad added eased pressure slightly

Hemet Fire reported on March 24 that call volumes are growing and current deployment no longer matches community demand, producing longer-than-industry response times in some neighborhoods.

The presenter said Hemet Fire responded to 19,992 calls in 2025 and expects call volume to grow toward 22,000 in coming years. "Our deployment platform is in crisis," the presenter said, and noted industry guidance that a unit should not exceed about 2,500 calls per year. "Three of our units exceeded between 4,000 and 5,000 calls per year," the presenter added.

Staff reported an average response time of 7 minutes, 34 seconds for the last calendar year compared with a national benchmark of 6 minutes, 30 seconds. Two geographic areas were flagged as most affected: the McSweeney development and the Four Seasons area (the latter averaging 10 minutes, 12 seconds). In October the department activated Squad 4 in a targeted area and measured a 24‑second incremental improvement in system performance, which staff called meaningful.

Council members asked about call concurrency and the interaction of unit deployment and multiple simultaneous incidents. The presenter said the department maintains detailed concurrency analytics and has provided that data to the council in prior briefings.

The department also said it recently added nine hires and three promotions and thanked council members for attending a ladder-of-excellence event.

Ending: Staff will continue to provide operational metrics and return with deployment proposals as budget and capital decisions are refined.