Response Time
How quickly emergency aid arrives at your home depends entirely on where the fire stations are. The closer to your home, the quicker they arrive. Street conditions, traffic, and weather also play a part. But fire engines are large vehicles, and they do not move with the speed of a Mercedes coupe, even with their red lights and sirens. So, closer is quicker and better. Farther away is slower and worse.
Critical Response Time Standard
There are a number of standards for arrival of the rescue personnel. The American Heart Association reports that in the event of a cardiac arrest, the brain begins to have irreversable damage between 4 and 6 minutes after the event.
The most widely quoted standard is the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1710, which requires for medical emergencies the arrival of a first responder trained to use and equipped with an Automatic External Defibrillator in five minutes, and a paramedic within less than eight minutes. For house fires, the standard is first engine arrival in eight minutes. After eight minutes the chances of a house fire spreading to involve the whole house grow increasingly larger. The standard for the arrival of a second engine company in a house fire is twelve minutes.
REMSA Ambulance Response Time in our Area
Many people think that REMSA arrives before the fire engine, so they don't have to worry about a medical emergency. But REMSA is a paramedic ambulance service that has the exclusive charter to transport patients. REMSA response times are monitored only within the city of Reno north of Huffaker Lane. The truth is that much of the unincorporated county area, including Montreux, Callahan, Galena, and St. James, is in one of the two longest contractual maximum response time zones for REMSA--"best efforts" or 20 minutes. Most of Arrowcreek is in the 20-minute zone, and the neighborhoods south of NV431 are nearly all "best efforts". Fire crews report that normally REMSA ambulances arrive three to five minutes after the fire engine. They might arrive sooner, (and according to James Gubbels of REMSA they usually do) but there is no way to be sure it will happen for YOUR emergency. Thus, for most of our area, REMSA does not meet the national standard for response time for advanced life support, and should be thought of as an ambulance transport service, not a rescue service. To see the actual REMSA response time requirement map, taken directly from the REMSA franchise agreement, click here.
Fire Staffing To Improve Response Time
The present plan is to staff the new station, at Thomas Creek and Arrowcreek, with the crew that currently staffs the Galena Station on Mt. Rose Highway, and to staff Station 39, on Joy Lake Road between Galena and St. James's Village, with another crew drawn from Station 30 near Bowers Mansion in West Washoe Valley. Having these two staffed stations in the core area ensures that the critical response time is met for the whole area.
Response Time for your Neighborhood
The table below shows which neighborhoods, at present, do not meet the critical 8 minute standard, and what the improvement would be when the new fire station is built and staffed, and staff is also moved into Station 39 on Joy Lake Road.
| Meets Critical Standard? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Now | With New Station |
| Arrowcreek | No |
Yes |
| Callahan Ranch | Yes |
Yes |
| Fawn Lane | Yes |
Yes |
| Fieldcreek | No |
Yes |
| Galena Country Estates | Yes |
Yes |
| Galena Forest Estates | Yes |
Yes |
| Galena Junction | Yes |
Yes |
| Grandview | No |
Yes |
| Holcomb Ranch Lane | Yes |
Yes |
| Lakeside/Huffaker | No |
Yes |
| Montreux | Yes |
Yes |
| Rolling Hills | Yes |
Yes |
| Saddlehorn | Yes |
Yes |
| Southwest Vistas | No |
Yes |
| St. James's Village | No |
Yes |
| Thomas Creek Estates | No |
Yes |
| Timberline | Yes |
Yes |
| White's Creek Estates | Yes |
Yes |
