The City of Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) Bureau of Fire Field Operations historically has responded to all calls for service in a Fire Engine, Squad, Truck or Specialty Response Vehicle. With an ever-growing increase in traffic calming devices, traffic patterns, and calls for service of a medical nature, the issue of response time reduction remains a priority. Time is critical in responding to medical calls especially those involving sudden cardiac arrest.

A March 1998 study, by then DPS Medical Director Dr. Craig van Roekens, identified that patrol officers in police cars responded to EMS calls faster than fire-based apparatus. This study led to the placement of AEDs in DPS patrol vehicles.

The 2002 DPS Light Response Vehicle study was designed to see if the use of a smaller, lighter vehicle could achieve a reduction in response times to calls for service of a medical nature. This process involved the purchase and temporary use of 2 vehicles, a Ford Explorer and a Ford 1 Ton Pickup Truck with a utility box, within the Bureau of Fire Field Operations. These vehicles were obtained in late 2001 and placed into service in January 2002. Both vehicles were equipped with emergency lighting, sirens and emergency vehicle markings as well as emergency medical services equipment. The study period was scheduled to last 1 year and concluded in January 2003. Throughout this period an ongoing review of the study was conducted.

On January 21, 2002 Sunnyvale DPS initiated a Light Response Vehicle study to determine if a smaller lighter vehicle could arrive at a medical emergency faster than the typical fire department response vehicle. A Ford Explorer and a Ford 1 Ton Pickup were obtained, outfitted with code 3 equipment and stocked with emergency medical response equipment. The duration of the study was scheduled for 1 year.

To determine if the type of the light response vehicle was impacted by the response district, the units were scheduled for 6-month deployment intervals. The Ford Explorer started the year at Fire Station 4 and the Ford Pickup started the year at Fire Station 6. On August 5, 2002, the vehicles switched and the Explorer took the response position at Fire Station 6 and the Pickup went to Fire Station 4. On January 21, 2003, the project concluded and the vehicles were returned to Fleet Services.

At the conclusion of the study period, dispatch and response time data was retrieved from the Dispatch Computer System. This response time information was reviewed and processed by the Crime Analysis Unit within the Department of Public Safety. The Crime Analysis Unit completed a statistical comparison of the response times measuring the response time from time of dispatch to time on scene (See attachment).

A review of the response time analysis found that the Ford Pickup responded faster than both Squad 4 & Squad 6, while the Explorer responded in about the same amount of time as Squad 4 but faster than Squad 6. One possible explanation for the Explorer’s performance was the level of traffic that is encountered in Fire District 4 and the low profile and low visibility of the Explorer. In reviewing the response times of Patrol to EMS calls for service we see a confirmation of the report by Dr. Craig van Roekens that patrol vehicles respond faster in all cases than any fire based vehicles.

The findings of this study support the direction of DPS in placing an increasing emphasis on the response of patrol based personnel to a call of a critical EMS nature.