Bend Fire Department set a record last month for average response times: 5 minutes and 28 seconds. The city’s goal is 6 minutes and 15 seconds. One month of good response times is nothing to celebrate if people are dying, or if the city’s response times get worse. But with total call volume going up about 10 percent a year, keeping response times low is important, because it can save lives. Bend Fire Chief Larry Langston told us it can be critical to get to a heart attack patient within 6 minutes.