FY2019 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2019 | Page 10

In 2011, the intent of the original Light Response
Vehicle (LRV) Pilot Program was two-fold: reduce
overall costs of providing emergency responses in
areas of high medical call volume, while enhancing the
response capacity provided by the existing heavy fire apparatus.
Unit Responses serviced by Light Response Vehicles
Based on increasing annual emergency response call volumes, many of the Department’s “heavy
fleet” units (Fire Engines and Aerial Ladder Trucks) were prematurely exhausting repair warranties
because of high mileage. Once a heavy fleet unit exceeds warranty mileage limits, repair costs
normally covered by warranties are then charged directly to the Department. Heavy fleet repair costs
are substantial and can severely impact the Department’s fiscal position; creating impacts to budget
performance needed in other areas and/or create the need for additional funding requests to support
the heavy fleet issue.
The LRV program was an effort to extend the usable life of heavy fleet units by maximizing the use
of vehicle warranties to minimize operational repair costs for the expensive heavy fleet (currently
at $650K per Fire Engine). Transferring “lower priority calls” from heavy fleet units to low cost Light
Response Vehicles (LRVs) has extended the usable life and mileage of the heavy fleet, while keeping
them available for major higher-priority incidents.
Our decade long experience has demonstrated that most EMS calls are well-matched for a Light
Response Vehicle. The LRVs are typically accompanied by an ambulance, while heavy fleet units
remain available for other calls. LRVs have improved overall response times, but not enough to
overcome the marked increase in emergency service demand. If these units were not active, overall
response times would likely be much higher.
When all LRV units are in service, the response capacity of the Department increases by 21%. LRVs
not only get better mileage, but also have an overall quicker response than heavy fleet units.
Since 2019, the AFD has operated with two full-time two-person LRV EMS squad units (Squad 2 and
Squad 4) and five, two-person rescue units. Rescue units also respond to EMS calls and carry Special
Operations equipment associated with the stations they are assigned to. These units are located at
Stations 1, 6, 7, 8 & 9. The rescue units are activated as staffing allows and based on area of demand.
Currently, Rescue 6 or 9 are typically activated first, followed by Rescue 1, 8, & 7. The LRVs respond
to 18% of the Department’s overall unit responses.
A threshold of 3,000 responses per year, is typically an indication that a unit’s activity level is high
enough to be unavailable for a significant share of the responses in its' first-due district. It can indicate
a level where reduced availability could become a major factor in the degradation of local fire district
response times.
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Additionally, firefighter fatigue can also become a factor in responder safety. In 2017, Engine 6 had
4,043-unit responses. In 2019, Rescue 6 was activated, reducing unit response for Engine 6 to 2,979-
unit responses (a 27% decrease) while Rescue 6 had 1,823-unit responses. The result was good for
both local fire district emergency response times and firefighter fatigue/safety.