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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Page 6 1 Councilmember Horst referred to the flyer that stated "What if you dialed 911 and no one came?" He 2 asked where the loyalties would lie between the two cities. Fire Chief Forte stated that was one of the 3 reasons that they have initiated mutual aid. He added that the cities of Minneapolis and St. Anthony 4 would be prioritized as one community. s Councilmember Horst referred to the union requirement that required more riders on the Fire Trucks 6 that they currently have. Fire Chief Forte stated that they could certainly meet those needs for the City 7 of St. Anthony. 8 Councilmember Sparks asked about the rumors that the Johnson Street Station would close if the 9 agreement did not go through. Fire Chief Forte indicated that was only a rumor and the Johnson Street 10 Station would not close. 11 Councilmember Thuesen referred to ambulatory response time in the City of St. Anthony being slower 12 than others, and asked if they would give them the ambulance bay regardless of the decision to combine 13 services. Fire Chief Forte indicated that there was no room to add on to the existing fire station at this 14 time right now, but additional funds would make enhancing that station possible. Councilmember Thuesen asked if he had the authority to put an ambulance bay in anyway. Fire Chief 06 Forte stated he was not in control of that, but an increase in his budget would help him use his influence 17 to get Hennepin County into the area and, hopefully, get the ambulance bay addition. 18 19 Councilmember Hodson referred to the response time, and stated he found the statistics difficult to 20 believe. Fire Chief Forte stated that the average range of four to eight minutes depended on how near 21 or far a residence was from the station. 22 Councilmember Hodson mentioned how critical those first three minutes can be in saving a life. 23 Councilmember Sparks referred to a some research she had done that discussed a"five minute point of 24 flash over,"and asked for clarification of what that was. Fire Chief Forte stated that it meant a fire 25 could begin spreading to the contents of a room within five minutes. 26 Councilmember Sparks added that nine minute response times in the City of Minneapolis are scary. 27 Fire Chief Forte stated that the nine minute response time was the extreme, and once any community's 28 resources are overwhelmed by multiple fire alarms, the response time goes up. However, he added 29 that their average response time is three and a half minutes. 30 Councilmember Thuesen indicated that he would like to see Fire Chief Hewitt respond to the issue of 31 house fires on opposite sides of town, and how they would be addressed. 0 32 Fire Chief Hewitt indicated that the fire department in St. Anthony belong to various mutual aid groups 33 for response. He stated that, essentially, if they do not have the resources they call out to their other 34 mutual aid groups.