Fire Department Meeting, March 5, 2024

How long does emergency response take?

Because of accusations I had seen on Facebook that the Fire Department’s response times to emergency calls had become very long and because my wife (a physician) reported to me that for the first time ever one of her Nottingham patients had complained to her about how long it took for an ambulance to get to them, I decided to investigate. On February 15 I filed a right-to-know request with the Town Administrator to obtain data about response times.

I expected response-time data to be readily available. Response-time data were cited in the 2022 voters guide published by the Board of Selectmen in support of the warrant article to add staff to the department. The Board of Selectmen told the voters:

This article would provide funds to add career firefighters to the permanent staff and allow the department to staff the station 24 hours/day. The Town currently relies on an On-Call ‘volunteer’ force to respond during evening and overnight hours.

This expanded coverage is expected to provide for faster response times; improved employee retention; and reduced dependence on the On-Call force.

Average Response Time in 2021 during hours the station is staffed: 8 minutes, 14 seconds.

Average Response Time in 2021 when members had to respond from home: 20 minutes, 26 seconds.

If the department could report to the number of seconds it took on average to respond, it would seem that the department must have a database of incidents it responded to and how long those responses took. 

While I did not expect the information provided to me via my right-to-know request would be flattering for the Fire Department - which has been suffering from being understaffed for nearly a year - I was dismayed that after nearly three weeks my request for what would appear to be one of the most basic performance metrics for the department had remained unfulfilled. RSA 91-A:4:IV says that right-to-know requests must be fulfilled in five business days. 

Because of this, I decided to escalate the question by asking it at the department’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 5.

Chief Curry said he didn’t know the response times off the top of his head. 

I said, that’s okay. Can you get it to me? He said, “yes, but compared with what?” I replied, “compared with the past.”

Chief Curry said nothing to indicate that he was aware that I had made a right-to-know request for these data weeks ago.

It’s been four days since I asked this question at the department’s meeting. I still have not received the data.

Other news from the Fire Department’s Meeting:

• The department is making progress in filling its open positions. It has a new full-time employee about to start work, and two per diem staff in the pipeline, one of whom has signed an employment contract. 

• Kyle Kustra has been promoted to Captain. 

• Craig Campbell has been promoted to Lieutenant. 

• The department is working on filing for a grant to fund the purchase of new radios. 

• The department received two letters of thanks from neighboring towns for providing mutual aid. One from Epping regarding the fuel tanker fire. One from Lee regarding the February 21 fire on North River Road.