Fire Departments in Mobile and Theodore Partner to Protect Citizens

Jul 11th, 2018

Goal:
Mobile Fire-Rescue has set a goal for the City's fire department to achieve an ISO (Insurance Services Office) Class 1 rating-the best in the nation. Of the 45,000 fire departments in America, only 0.2 of 1 percent have achieved this. Currently, MFRD is an ISO-3.

Background:
To achieve this goal, MFRD must decrease its response times in the City of Mobile and in the Fire Jurisdiction. Response times determine success or failure during an emergency, and time is the primary factor measured in department performance reports. A cause of poor response times is the lack of availability of vehicles, equipment and personnel. If MFRD sends too many resources to one location, it runs the risk of not having enough resources to respond to other emergency situations.

City Action:
MFRD is partnering with the Theodore Fire Department to decrease response times in the Theodore area. Theodore will become the primary responder for emergencies in Theodore, because the location of their resources is closer to the emergencies in this area. MFRD will transition from primary response to mutual aid response in the Theodore area meaning the department will send backup resources when Theodore requests it. MFRD will help prepare Theodore with training and recruiting during the transition period and will continue to provide technical services after the transition period. Additionally, MFRD will donate lifesaving equipment to the Theodore Fire Department.

Outcome:
Citizens in both Theodore and the City of Mobile will experience shorter response times and improved services during times of emergency. Because the Theodore Fire Department will be responding to the majority of calls in the Theodore area, MFRD can focus more of its resources on responding to calls within City limits. The faster firefighters can respond, the more lives they cans save.