Fire Department Call Volume Information

Calendar Year 2009:  1841 Calls

DEFINITION OF CATEGORIES

Fire
Fire calls are the calls most associated with the Fire Department. In the past couple of years, the Fire Department has extinguished all types of fires, including fires in single family and multi-family residences, vehicles, offices, research labs, restaurants and care homes.

Medical
Each Fire Engine is staffed with at least one Paramedic daily. Fire personnel who are not paramedics are trained Emergency Medical Technicians.

The Fire Department responds to more emergency medical calls than all other emergency responses combined. Nearly half of all calls are emergency medical calls.

Medical calls run the gamut from vehicle accidents to heart attacks, athletic injuries to difficulty breathing.

Other Emergency
The Fire Department will respond to any emergency to which we are dispatched. Emergency responders have training to provide service in a number of emergency situations in addition to fires. Some of these include:

• Hazardous Materials Response and Containment
• Auto Extrication (Vehicle Accidents where a victim is trapped)
• Elevator Rescue
• Water Rescue
• Airplane Crashes

Service
Foster City Fire Department prides itself on the delivery of service to the Foster City Community. Our Department responds on a variety non-emergency service requests on an "as available" basis -- meaning that units will respond if they are not committed to emergency calls and may leave at any time, should a priority call come in.

The Fire Department always responds in teams known as "companies." This means that at least three personnel and one vehicle will respond, even on service calls.

Some of the service calls that the Department handles include:

• Vehicle and Residential Lock-Outs
• Animal Rescue
• Water Removal

Unnecessary
The Fire Department groups all calls in which an emergency response was made, but no emergency existed, into the category called "Unnecessary Responses." Unnecessary responses cover a wide range of responses including:

Good intent. The caller truly believes an emergency to exist

Accidental Activation. An automatic system is activated by a non-hazardous incident (like burnt toast setting off a smoke detector)

Mechanical Malfunction. An automatic system malfunctions, setting off an alarm where no hazard exists

Malicious Alarm. An individual intentionally calls or sets off an alarm with the full knowledge that no hazard exists