Fire , Rescue, Emergency Medical and Fire Inspection Services

Adequate Fire, Rescue, Emergency Medical and Fire Inspection Services under City Code Chapter 22.12

22.02.010 - Purpose.

A. The purposes of testing for and certification of Adequate Public Facilities are to:

Assure that development and redevelopment occurs in concert with the Capital Improvement Program and will enable the City to provide adequate public facilities in a timely manner and achieve the growth objectives of the Comprehensive Plan as defined in Title 21.
Assure that proposed development protects the public health and safety, promotes the general welfare of the community, and conserves the environment.
Assure that proposed development fits harmoniously into the fabric of the community.
Encourage new development to occur in areas of the City where public facilities are being provided.

B. Adequacy standards should be achievable within a six-year time-frame and the annual Capital Improvement Program should be based on a community facilities plan that insures that existing deficiencies are corrected within that time-frame.

22.12.010 - Responsibility.

The Fire Chief shall be responsible for review and assessment of a proposed project with regard to adequacy of fire, rescue, emergency medical, and fire inspection facilities.

22.12.020 - Goal.

The goal of adequate fire, rescue, emergency medical, and fire inspection facilities is to ensure that emergency response times within the City are maintained at or above an established minimum; that the deployment resources necessary to respond to both fire and non-fire emergencies are maintained at or above an established minimum; that adequate water supply and hydrants are available for effective firefighting and fire suppression; and that an adequate fire inspection staff is maintained to perform fire and life safety inspection.

22.12.030 - Exemption.

A proposed project that will include a sprinkler system or systems in accordance with Section 17.12.010 shall be deemed to have adequate facilities under this Chapter.

22.12.040 - Standards.

A. The standards required to be promulgated pursuant to Section 22.08.010, shall include but not be limited to:

Response Times.
- Fire incident response time for the arrival of an initial company shall be within a four-minute response time and/or initial full alarm assignment within an eight-minute response time to ninety percent of incidents as measured annually in accordance with Section 22.10.020(A)(2).
- Emergency Management Service (EMS) incident response time for the arrival of a first responder with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) shall be within a four-minute response time to ninety percent of incidents as measured annually in accordance with Section 22.10.020(A)(2).
- EMS incident response time for the arrival of an Advanced Life Support (ALS) company shall be within an eight-minute response time to ninety percent of incidents as measured annually in accordance with Section 22.10.020(A)(2).
Fire Flow and Flow Duration. Fire flow and flow duration shall be maintained at levels of service throughout the City in compliance with the requirements of Section 17.20.020 and the State of Maryland Fire Prevention Code as adopted by the City.

Additional Applied Standards

Part I. Risk Identification

Application for proposed development is reviewed and assigned a risk category and deployment requirements based on identified hazard of building/development.
The geographical planning area (box area) for the proposed development is identified by using the department’s area coverage maps.

Part II. Response Time

Fire incident response times for the previous two (2) calendar years in the affected box area(s) are analyzed for consistency with the department’s goal of compliance with NFPA 1710, Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, for the arrival of an initial company within a 4-minute response time and/or initial full alarm assignment within an 8-minute response time to 90% of the incidents. (NFPA 1710: 5.2.4.1.1)

EMS incident response times for the previous 2 calendar years in the affected box area(s) are analyzed for consistency with the department’s goal of compliance with NFPA 1710, Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, for the arrival of a first responder with AED within a 4-minute response time to 90% of the incidents. (NFPA 1710: 5.3.3.4.2)

EMS incident response times for the previous 2 calendar years in the affected box area(s) are analyzed for consistency with the department’s goal of compliance with NFPA 1710, Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, for the arrival of an ALS company within an 8-minute response time to 90% of the incidents. (NFPA 1710: 5.3.3.4.3)

Part III. Fire Flow

The required fire flow and flow duration for the proposed building/development is calculated based on preliminary plans using NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code, Annex H. The available fire flow at the closest fire hydrant to the development is calculated by the fire department with 20 psi residual pressure. The required minimum fire flow requirement shall not exceed available fire flow plus a reasonable reserve as determined by the Chief of the Department. (NFPA 1: Annex H)

Part IV. Call Volume

Response reliability of fire and EMS companies for the previous 2 calendar years for the affected station(s) are analyzed for consistency with the department’s response reliability goal of 80% for fire units and 70% for EMS units (this assumes that a fire unit is available as a first responder).

22.28 Mitigation

22.28.010 - Opportunity to mitigate.

A. An applicant whose proposed project is subject to denial or delay under this title shall be given an opportunity to provide infrastructure funds, to improve facilities directly, or to donate necessary facilities in order to allow for approval of the applicant’s application under this title for a Certificate for Adequate Public Facilities.

B. The forms and levels of mitigation required of an applicant shall be roughly proportionate to the projected impact of the proposed project upon the facility or facilities and shall be determined by the Director of Planning and Zoning in consultation with the other departments responsible for the applicable facilities as outlined in Section 22.28.010.

C. For a school facility, mitigation consists of the construction or funding of improvements by a developer that increase capacity of the school facility which, at the time of application, is below the minimum standard in the impact area so that the capacity of the facility in the scheduled completion year is equal to, or greater than, it would have been had the development not been constructed. A mitigation plan with physical improvements may be secured by bond,

22.28.020 - Process.

A. Mitigation consists of the construction or funding of improvements to onsite or offsite public facilities by an applicant that increase capacity or safety on each public facility that is below the minimum standard so that the capacity or safety of the facility after mitigation will be equal to or greater than if the proposed project had not been developed.

B. To determine the appropriate forms and levels of mitigation, an applicant shall consult with the department responsible for review and assessment of each facility that would be deemed inadequate. Once the applicant and the department agree upon the forms and levels of mitigation that will offset the impact of the project upon the facility, the applicant shall enter into a mitigation plan on terms and conditions acceptable to the Department of Planning and Zoning in consultation with the Office of Law. The mitigation plan shall require the applicant to provide the mitigation agreed upon and in return the Department of Planning and Zoning shall determine that the facility or facilities will be adequate for the project.

C. If a department finds that a facility is or would be inadequate as a result of more than one proposed project, the department may apportion the responsibility and cost of mitigation among all contributing projects, which apportionment shall be reflected in the applicable mitigation plans.

D. Each mitigation plan shall be approved by the Director of Planning and Zoning as well as the department responsible for the facility for which the mitigation plan approval is sought. If a facility would be inadequate for a project, and if the project and the applicant are unable to agree upon acceptable forms and levels of mitigation for the facility such that no mitigation plan is entered into by the applicant, the department shall determine that the facility is inadequate to support the project and shall forward a written copy of such findings and explanation to the Director of Planning and Zoning.

Annual Report

2019 Fire Department Adequate Public Facilities Assessment 5 21 2020

2020 Fire Department Adequate Public Facilities Assessment 7 16 2021