Initial Assessment of Fire Response Time Between Different Category of Fire Station

Abstract

Response time is one of the important indicators in fire operations. It is crucial to have a continuous assessment of response time to monitor the performance level of the firefighter. This paper conducted the initial assessment of fire response time on selected fire stations from categories A, B, C and D throughout Malaysia from 2018 until 2020. A 10 minutes standard response time was used as a benchmark to evaluate the fire stations performance. Most of the fire stations show positive development in terms of average response time within the three years. The implementation of movement control order in 2020 has significantly reduced traffic congestion hence improving the average response time. Category C and D fire stations show a high average distance travelled and response time due to the local topographic. Constant development in these semi-rural areas might require a new risk profiling to minimise the fire risk. The new addition of fire stations in these areas will cater for the demand from the community.