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Lino Lakes, Minnesota – Fire Department Analysis Page 12 <br /> <br />Total Response Time Analysis <br />Although we wanted to evaluate all of the response time segments for this study (call-processing, turnout, <br />travel, and total response time), data limitations meant that we were only able to analyze total response <br />time. Total response (or reflex time) is the most important time segment, because it combines all of the <br />individual time segments and is one of the primary measures by which the public evaluates the <br />effectiveness of fire and EMS service. <br /> <br />The NFPA describes total response time as including three phases: “Phase One – Alarm Handling Time; <br />Phase Two – Turnout Time and Travel Time; and Phase Three – Initiating Action/Intervention Time.” <br />According to NFPA 1720, rural areas should have a total response time (dispatch to unit arrival) of less <br />than 14 minutes, the suburban areas less than 10 minutes, and the urban and metropolitan areas less than 9 <br />minutes. Because Lino Lakes has areas that fall into different population density classifications, and thus <br />have different NFPA 1720 response time standards, it would have been ideal to analyze response times by <br />the different planning areas. This would allow us to judge how well different parts of Lino Lakes are <br />meeting the NFPA 1720 standard. At the moment, we do not have the necessary planning area shapefile <br />to do this analysis, but can update this analysis if this shapefile is provided. A shapefile is a popular <br />geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. <br /> <br />Figure 6 shows the total response time for the first-arriving unit by hour of the day, and Table 1 shows the <br />total response time for the first-arriving unit by incident type. The total response time for EMS incidents <br />was 10:07, which is excellent for rural responses, acceptable for urban and suburban responses, and sub- <br />par for metropolitan responses. Fire and special-operations incidents had a slightly slower response time <br />of 11:00, which is acceptable for rural responses, but on the slow side for areas of higher population <br />density. Again, this analysis could be more targeted to different areas of the city if a planning area <br />shapefile is provided. <br /> <br />Figure 6. Total Response Time (First-Arriving Unit) by Hour of the Day, 2010-2013 <br /> <br />18