It's nice to see LFR getting some positive press, in this case because their response times have improved. Of course, improvement was the only option after many months of poor performance back in 2007 - 2009. And consistently responding within eight minutes is the minimum standard for accreditation. There's plenty of room for improvement.
One has to wonder what effect response times will have on Lincolnites' thoughts about closing Station 11 in Air Park. That station doesn't take many calls but the area it covers is relatively remote. Filling in the gap left behind by the station's closure won't be easy. This morning's LJS article doesn't mention the station's possible closure, but it's not unreasonable to assume that discussion had something to do with the timing of this article.
Have you ever had to call 9-1-1 for emergency medical services? I have on several occasions. The only time I personally made the phone call was when I was managing a fireworks tent that collapsed in a wind storm. A pole snapped and whacked a woman in the side of the head. A fire truck was on the scene within ... I don't know, three or four minutes. It was very quick.
The longest I've ever had to wait was when a boy broke his ankle while playing indoor soccer at Abbott Sports Complex. (There was no foul; he planted his foot and snap.) I didn't time the responders, but it wouldn't surprise me if it took 15 minutes. However long it was, it was way too long for that poor kid. I've been around for a few other soccer-related incidents -- not a single one of them caused by a foul -- and I'd guess all the rest were handled within 6-8 minutes.
(As an aside, my favorite place to call 9-1-1 -- if there can be such a thing -- is Crete. You end up with what seems like two dozen volunteers arriving over a 20 minute span. Just when you think they're done, here comes another pickup.)
I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I neither like the thought of an inefficient LFR station, nor the thought of escalating response times. Can we convince folks to start a construction boom out in Air Park so that the station out there more easily justifies itself? No? Well, then I'm out of ideas.
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