LFR adds new ambulance to fleet to combat lagging response times

Lincoln Fire and Rescue aims to respond to emergency calls in eight minutes or less, but firefighters say that doesn't always happen. According to the department's annual reports, in 2016, it was happening 87.5% of the time, but that number dropped to 82% in 2017.

"It's just not happening," Ron Trouba, president of Lincoln Firefighters Union said. "But I think that's due in large part to the growth of the city. The city is growing exponentially, both geographically and in the call volume."

Since 2013, the population has grown nearly 6.5%, but the number of calls for service has increased by 18.2%, nearly three times as quickly as the city's population.

In order to improve response times, LFR has added a 7th ambulance to its fleet. Medic Unit 1, previously a reserve unit, has been upgraded to a full-time "front line" ambulance.

Currently, on average, the front line units answer an average of nearly 3,600 calls a year.

"Medic 8 answered 4,034 last year," Trouba said. "These units are busy. That's over 10 calls a day. And when you take into account each call takes at least an hour, sometimes two or three, and there's paperwork that has to be filled out for each call too. It takes a toll on our guys."

Trouba said the addition of the 7th ambulance is a step in the right direction, but the department really needs another ambulance to meet all call demands.

"With eight units, that number of calls per year goes down to about 2,900," Trouba said. "That averages out to around eight calls a day instead of 10 or 11. Each call that they don't have to go on makes a huge difference."

The mayor is expected to release a budget on Friday. Trouba said he hopes there are more resources set aside for LFR so the department can get an 8th unit added to the fleet.