Soaring number of emergency calls to London Fire Department prompts changes
CTV
Protecting the lives and property of Londoners is growing more challenging for the London Fire Department (LFD) as calls for service climb.
Protecting the lives and property of Londoners is growing more challenging for the London Fire Department (LFD) as calls for service climb.
According to the LFD’s new 2022 Master Plan, there was a 22 per cent rise in calls for service from 2016 to 2021.
The increase is the net result of a 39 per cent rise in emergency calls (9,103 in 2021), partially offset by a 22 per cent decrease in non-emergency calls (2,062 in 2021).
Almost half of the calls received are for fire alarms (26 per cent) and medical emergencies (23 per cent).
Fire Chief Lori Hamer says the corresponding 10-year action plan will be an evolving document emphasizing prevention through fire safety enforcement and education.
“We’re also doing a lot of education around fire alarm testing, to try and help,” explains Chief Hamer.
Despite the surge in calls, the 90th percentile response time has only risen by 11 seconds since 2016 (6:15 in 2021).
