Fire-EMS Responses Up In Kingstowne-Springfield Areas: Report

KINGSTOWNE, VA—Dispatches for fires are up and EMS calls slightly down in the Kingstowne and Springfield areas, according to the fire department's new annual report.

In fiscal year 2018 (ending on June 30, 2018), Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded to 103,946 incidents in the county and surrounding jurisdictions, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous year. The county had six fatal fires, all of which were accidental. Fiscal year 2017 had seen one incendiary and two accidental fires.

The report provides statistics for each battalion, broken up into seven zones around the county. Battalion 405 generally covers Kingstowne, Franconia, Springfield, West Springfield and the Edsall Road area. The battalion handled 2,263 dispatches for fires in fiscal year 2018, an increase of 79. EMS dispatches slightly rose to 10,353.

The report notes some of the challenges for the battalion, including the Springfield interchange, Lake Accotink and the massive GSA warehouse. Of the 13,682 dispatches in the battalion, 74 percent involved EMS or rescue, 2 percent were fires, 2 percent were hazardous conditions and 7 percent were false alarms or malfunctions.

The battalion had an average 5.17 minute response time for the first EMS unit arriving and 6.07 minutes for the first fire unit arriving. The quickest response times in the county were 4.58 minutes for EMS and 5.63 minutes for fire (Falls Church-Annandale areas).

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is the state's largest fire department with more than 1,400 uniformed personnel, 355 volunteers, 175 full-time civilians and 38 fire and rescue stations.

See the full report here.

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