Changes to Frederick County’s fire and rescue response goals could help county fire stations get more support — and maybe more personnel.
The Frederick County Council heard testimony Tuesday on a bill to change target response times throughout the county.
Right now, county code has a blanket approach to measuring fire station responses, the time it takes units to leave a station after a dispatched call. All stations are expected to respond within eight minutes 90 percent of the time.
The bill from the county’s Division of Fire and Rescue Services would distinguish urban, suburban and rural stations.
Targets would tighten for urban areas, to four minutes at least 99 percent of the time, and for suburban areas, to six minutes at least 90 percent of the time. Targets would loosen for rural areas, to an eight-minute response at least 80 percent of the time.