Lincoln Fire Chief Micheal Despain spoke at Lincoln South Rotary Club on August 18. He helped us understand how they measure the effectiveness of the Department.

Michael opened his presentation by asking why we like the Fire Department? When asked that question, most of us will respond that we appreciate what they do - make us feel safe, rescue us, reduce loss in the event of fire, etc.

Few of us will state that we appreciate the Department from a business perspective. There is also the customer service perspective. Chief Dispain explained that when they hire they look for people with a servant attitude.

In a recent survey - when asked what what people want from the Department - the results include:

  • Show up quick
  • Solve my problem
  • Be nice
  • Don't cost me a lot of money

Michael indicated that there was a task force of Community Stakeholders organized a few years back. The purpose was to get a better understanding of the behind the scenes activities. They did ride-alongs and spent time at the stations. After being exposed to all aspects of the Department and activities at the Stations, they were asked what could be changed to provide better customer service.

The public is most interested in the outcomes

  • How likely is it that my life will be saved
  • How much of my property will be saved
  • After the incident, what can I expect for a qualify of life
  • How much will it cost 

Dispain explained that one of the most important aspects is to respond to fires in the room of origin. If they are able to contain the fire to the room of origin there is a good change of the resident surviving, loss is greatly reduced, and there is a low impact on future insurance rates.

If the fire goes beyond the room of origin, lives may be lost, the focus of fire containment actually moves to the neighboring buildings because the building with the fire is likely lost, and insurance rates will increase a great deal. Michael explained that in some regions of California homeowners cannot even purchase insurance - they have to pay cash for their homes and assume the risk.

Michael stated that the Lincoln Fire Department has a record of arriving within 6 minutes from a call, greatly improving the changes of keeping the fire contained to the room of origin.