Confine structure fires to room of origin 85% of the time
Objective Description
Trend Analysis
In FY20, there were 226 structure fires, including fixed mobile homes and commercial trailers, and over 83% were confined to the object or room of origin, nearly the same as the ten-year average. During the ten-year period from FY10 to FY20, 84% of all structure fires were confined to the object or room of origin, and 1.3% of fires spread beyond the structure. During this period, there was an average of 256 structure fires annually in Howard County. Overall the number of structure fires declined over 24% during these ten years. For the six years between FY09 and FY14, the number of structure fires steadily declined by an average of 21 fires per year, but by FY15 the County experienced an increase of 16 structure fires per year through FY18. During FY20, the number of structure narrowly declined by 6.
Strategies
- Implement a dynamic dispatch system that determines unit assignments based on real-time GPS-based Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL).
- Strategically plan and construct new facilities and place apparatus around the County.
- Assure adequate staffing on fire engines, aerial and rescue squad units that allows for effective and rapid execution of "critical immediate tasks" upon arrival to fires.
5
Source: Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue