[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6579283,"mediaKeyId","3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b","parentId",3093065,"title","Interim Richmond Fire Chief reports Q2 FY25 response times, staffing pipeline and station upgrades","audioSeconds",1398,"startMs",1663000,"endMs",3061000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b&start=1663&end=3061","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b/thumbnail_1663000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6579283/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Interim-Richmond-Fire-Chief-reports-Q2-FY25-response-times-staffing-pipeline-and-station-upgrades","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6579283-0a2b69d322f61d88ae5a6f17a7d9775c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434264&Signature=eSvERBumu7pPiaNtnVytffSp~85r7QH2JsJBKJ1ZiKFwy4deCaSK9Kkxh90r4rzexooc69LLLSeHUPFXBf34escN0vIUULydJch0YIqOsZu0f97pbN5Dkl~b3DgoWsGUER7Rzf0vgYARD2EUTUbcpYwnVVxxLy1yWnCpyT8YJGTddiEKwGhuU9wazUMzjN1xHQRqf8QB~SeYi94xvLdHBxUyXILIRkYY2a3ezJ~s5Kt4KQMLZ2Q8ge2Eff0xc01tqt0afUrcoF40BmEQslbARQV0PGMzu8uITj2uAQZvUGou1yrdVZ1~y6eiJRem4RDfCdq31oyPCEXvJ90onMkIMQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Richmond City","date","2025-04-23T00:00:00Z","article","Jeffrey Siegel, interim chief of the Richmond Fire Department, delivered the department’s FY25 second-quarter update, reporting incident counts, response-time metrics, specialty-call volumes, fleet status and progress on two new fire stations.

Siegel told the committee the department responded to 293 fire incidents and 5,222 EMS incidents during the quarter. Median turnout time (alert to apparatus departing the station) for fire incidents was reported as 49 seconds, median travel time 3 minutes 23 seconds and median total response time 4 minutes 36 seconds. The department also reported 90th-percentile response benchmarks for fire incidents: turnout 1 minute 27 seconds, travel 7 minutes 1 second and total response 8 minutes 38 seconds.

For EMS calls, the department reported a median turnout time of 54 seconds, median travel time of 3 minutes 34 seconds and median response time of 4 minutes 52 seconds. The 90th-percentile turnout for EMS was 1 minute 32 seconds, 90th-percentile travel time 6 minutes 39 seconds and a 90th-percentile overall response time of 8 minutes 17 seconds.

Siegel described specialty-call volumes for the quarter: eight water-rescue calls (including watercraft rescues and river searches), 69 technical-rescue calls (building collapse, complex extrications and similar incidents) and nine hazardous-material responses. The department reported 29 displacements in the quarter, coordinated with the Red Cross and other stakeholders for shelter and relocation assistance.

On investigative work, Siegel said the department recorded 14 arson investigations during the quarter with a case-clearance rate of 57.14 percent (eight of 14 cases closed through arrest or other actions). The Fire Investigation Bureau also reported nine other investigations classified as undetermined (six closed, three open).

Siegel reviewed fleet and capital progress: the department operates about 20 frontline engines and eight frontline truck companies (28 frontline apparatus total), with apparatus ages ranging from model-year 1998 to 2024. He said four battalion chief command vehicles are being outfitted, and three to five new engines are scheduled for delivery in spring and early summer, with two additional engines expected by fall 2025, yielding a total of five new engines that the department expects will reduce the average age of frontline units.

Siegel said the city has two stations under construction. Fire Station 12 was near final punch-list completion and expected to be turned over for occupancy \"any week now\"; Fire Station 21 was on track for a fall completion date. Siegel highlighted station design features intended to protect responder health and privacy, including internal decontamination areas, on-site fitness space and community meeting rooms. He noted Station 12 received a design award from a professional industry organization for design excellence.

On staffing and training, Siegel said the training academy began a recruit class in January; presentation remarks identified an initial class size of 29 recruits with 17 identified as female, and the chief said current enrollment in that class was about 24 recruits. He said the department expects the graduating class to increase the share of female career firefighters in Richmond to above national averages. Siegel also described ongoing training in swift-water rescue, rope rescue, SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) accountability/telemetry and Richmond’s Engine Operator training program (REopt).

Committee members thanked staff for the work; several members indicated interest in station tours and in-person demonstrations of training. No formal committee action regarding the department update was recorded in the transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Richmond City - Public Safety Standing Committee Meeting - April 22, 2025 at 1:00 P.M. - Apr 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Interim Fire Chief Jeffrey Siegel told the Public Safety Standing Committee the department handled 293 fire incidents and 5,222 EMS incidents in the quarter, reported median and 90th-percentile response times, detailed specialty calls, noted fleet replacements and said two new stations are near completion.","taxTitle","Richmond City (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",5755,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6579290,"Public Safety Committee asks for side-by-side emergency-call data comparison from RAA and emergency communications staff",1164,561000,1725000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b&start=561&end=1725","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b/thumbnail_561000.jpg","/articles/6579290/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Public-Safety-Committee-asks-for-side-by-side-emergency-call-data-comparison-from-RAA-and-emergency-communications-staff","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6579290-3abf51d2bb436f7f5d825161cf8599c7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434264&Signature=Du-eKfmy0sBTOKeRTp4znjO38-zeQF8P34i5SrXFcdEfMWIfL1DFpyKbTlRy45SPyvkKKH4ErgOM06wZV1SDwJSx9MxFECoUbpqOPhBojnarf5zX4dtEZ0aSL8~uB2Ijqz9~86TfcpEXuYIsE3oQlExnQ8U4fDijcS1SoW0PyRpKpCclEarbKWxvpGOB5h5M6RRhcq9zDCRNvR56o~9T-~g6EH2xEDcSA7rUOlGzbBW~x3mbN1INN3CZdOO1buTgXWcCqhVGpkB4mW3tzsOAUFIDjnfp9DWYagJsObxqeueTxm8Ryv8p~lQdX5lc3fOpwXEMOONcn4mWM-C-LuHk4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chip Decker, chief executive officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, presented the authority’s emergency medical dispatch (EMD) compliance and call-answer data and described the RAA’s accreditation status and certain budget figures.

Decker said the Richmond Ambulance Authority is an accredited Center of Excellence by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and described compliance metrics the IAED tracks. He reported that the RAA’s FY2025 total operating expenses were presented at $26,000,000 and that the city subsidy for RAA was listed at $7,100,000 for the current year. Decker told the committee the authority allocates $1,900,000 in its budget to the communications center; he also referenced a line in his presentation indicating the city purchased six “chase cars” with an associated figure of $977,000. The transcript does not specify whether that $977,000 figure represents a single unit cost, a subtotal, or a total purchase amount.

Committee members said the presentation of RAA and Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response (DECPR) data has not been presented as a side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparison the committee requested at earlier meetings. Committee member Sarah Abubakar said the absence of a combined comparative analysis left members unable to make a fair assessment and expressed frustration that the committee had asked for the comparison at more than one prior meeting.

Director Willoughby (Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response) and other staff said DECPR had provided raw data and that they understood the committee’s request was for information; committee members responded that a combined presentation was what they wanted. The transcript records RAA staff saying they are willing to do the comparative calculations if DECPR does not present a combined analysis.

Chair Sherry Trammell directed staff to coordinate the comparative analysis and asked Steve Taylor to coordinate between RAA and DECPR. Committee members set a two-week deadline to gather and confirm the data before the next committee meeting and asked staff to return with an apples-to-apples comparison. The committee did not take a formal vote on this directive during the recorded portion of the meeting; the action appears in the transcript as an instruction from the chair and a staff commitment to coordinate.","After a Richmond Ambulance Authority briefing on call-answer and accreditation data, committee members pressed Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response staff for an apples-to-apples comparison; staff were asked to deliver a combined analysis coordinated by Steve Taylor within two weeks.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6579295,"Resident says RRHA negligence at Hills High Court endangers tenants; asks council to intervene",279,411000,690000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b&start=411&end=690","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b/thumbnail_411000.jpg","/articles/6579295/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Resident-says-RRHA-negligence-at-Hills-High-Court-endangers-tenants-asks-council-to-intervene","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6579295-62940b07c17882cdb2c751f28bcebaff/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434264&Signature=V~8w5y6CDgNZFGh4xzLvZiGuokBTGHikF~ltDDp1lh0-UGU4rYYHVl6oa8akIds8kUr2JwJiy2ECFhVgnXCVoFDKPuyFwKR872fzk5jZaG1zDbu2e7AfkEfNa~UMEMZoX8uVRPu0v8kSuoqnIex8r9x8fxS08yIAn05iP8g5cJiBpmTbVvhHiIkJVCMLnuYodaZgAGfvfHPKOurmEupXGbbx7oyeROV-G-delAgplhNn1dwIdVunel-eTa6NwMHAee-uZJfv~Zipb6v9HU~PI9jPjgcth2d4MVFpg7nvyffPXs1YndUmq144ErMJzCpV0T3GnQUSxgEuQ4A~VWNjbA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Latonya Tucker, a virtual speaker who registered to comment during the Public Safety Standing Committee meeting, asked the committee to intervene at Hills High Court, a property she said is managed by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA).

Tucker told committee members she has documented armed standoffs, explicit threats of violence and continuous disturbances at the property and that she provided video and audio evidence to RRHA leadership, including CEO Steven Nesmith, and property managers Karen Allen and Pamela Kearney. \"No effective action has been taken,\" she said in her public comment, asserting that security patrols were brief and insufficient and that RRHA has declined to install basic safety measures such as proper lighting and surveillance in problem areas.

Tucker said a petition outlining requested safety improvements has been submitted to CEO Nesmith and urged the committee to support enforcement of the changes she described. Her remarks were part of the meeting’s public-comment period; no committee motion or formal staff response to Tucker’s petition was recorded in the transcript.","A virtual speaker told the Public Safety Standing Committee that management at Hills High Court, overseen by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, has failed to address ongoing violence, overcrowding and safety needs and urged the city to enforce changes.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6579298,"Public Safety Committee forwards board reappointments, approves minutes and remote participation request",316,236000,552000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b&start=236&end=552","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093065-980732d56b6ecacecf0970035a741d4b/thumbnail_236000.jpg","/articles/6579298/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Public-Safety-Committee-forwards-board-reappointments-approves-minutes-and-remote-participation-request","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6579298-45b3fbdeeec4dbb727c05fa883cfacbf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434264&Signature=SnLu1~-UA-6bTkKRS3IGpRG-dpR~0l~ZblwfK2WR9xS57Uyac~Ao8Cc3Z8ZWwpPWkXSuHd1gJNoruYTia1IE2lHZrfPK8OoL-ryfX7CHkHu1OtAD8Orrv8dVPXPUKoMF9mXTwTf7G5pHKtPjNDY2xSdm8W4QZy89Qmsms8eNFi0fCAKIzCKOPMpM7aAl3IJzfa5fVxPemxBbQ8QFw9h0Int6r1~gBpVcopgFpor2XEv1LzOkaFoDuUoyO6XpGdFJMAzLqG8p042ekKIL0vns5X2SB46k~cZi9LZe8~hNal0osfEOi-9FswQfs6yPdqs2AC~tyXpfBZRwq3JRi9igRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Public Safety Standing Committee of the Richmond City Council approved meeting minutes, authorized a committee member to participate remotely for medical reasons and voted to forward multiple advisory-board reappointment recommendations to the full council.

The approvals occurred during the committee’s business session after council staff presented a packet of current and projected vacancies. Committee members voted unanimously to forward the listed reappointment applications with a recommendation for council approval.

Pamela Nichols, council management analyst, summarized the packet of vacancies and reappointment applications presented to the committee. The packet identified: one vacancy and a reappointment application from Deputy Chief Sydney Collier for the Advisory Board for the Assessment of Towing Fees and Vehicle Storage (police department representative); two towing-and-recovery-operator vacancies and a reappointment application from Rhonda Lawson; a reappointment application from Judge Shaw for the Community Criminal Justice Board (general district court judge seat); an application from Scott Ward for the community service board administrator role (employment/affiliation noted as RBHA in the packet); and a reappointment application from Joseph Trapani for the Richmond Ambulance Authority seat requiring city residency or principal employment in the city.

The committee first approved a motion to allow committee member Sarah Abubakar to participate electronically under the council’s rules of procedure, citing a medical condition. The motion passed with recorded “aye” votes from President Newbill and Chair Sherry Trammell. The committee then approved the minutes from the March 25, 2025, Public Safety Standing Committee meeting with no amendments.

Later the committee voted to forward the reappointment recommendations to the full council with a recommendation to approve. The recorded “aye” votes on that motion included Sarah Abubakar (participating electronically), President Newbill and Chair Trammell. No objections or dissenting votes were recorded in the transcript.

The committee closed the business item and proceeded to the public comment and presentation portions of the agenda.","The Richmond City Council Public Safety Standing Committee approved minutes, authorized a remote participation request for a committee member and forwarded several advisory-board reappointments to the full council with a recommendation to approve.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Interim Richmond Fire Chief reports Q2 FY25 response times, staffing pipeline and station upgrades

Public Safety Committee asks for side-by-side emergency-call data comparison from RAA and emergency communications staff

Resident says RRHA negligence at Hills High Court endangers tenants; asks council to intervene

Public Safety Committee forwards board reappointments, approves minutes and remote participation request