{"id":152487,"date":"2026-01-28T01:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T01:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152487\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T01:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T01:03:12","slug":"long-beach-fire-improves-its-emergency-response-times-as-it-restores-expands-resources-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152487\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Fire improves its emergency response times as it restores, expands resources \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Long Beach Fire Department has reduced its response times citywide with the restoration and expansion of critical fire department emergency response resources, city leaders announced on Monday, Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

With the addition of a full-time paramedic rescue unit, and key adjustments to staffing and deployment in a contract with the Long Beach Firefighters Association, the fire department has increased rescue availability and improved response times by 30 seconds, said Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan during a press conference on Monday at Fire Station 2.<\/p>\n

Since Dec. 1, Long Beach has restored and enhanced resources for its fire department, officials said. This includes the deployment of Rescue 2 as a full-time, 24-hour rescue unit; continuing operation of Peak Load Rescue 13; and adding Engine 11 as a paramedic assessment unit, as well as relocating a basic life support transportation unit to the future Fire Station 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese resources play a vital role in our ability to respond to medical emergencies, especially during periods of high call volume,\u201d said Fire Captain Dennis Garrett. \u201cTheir restoration strengthens response times, operational readiness, and public safety citywide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City Council, in its adopted fiscal year 2026 budget, allocated funds<\/a> to make sure that Rescue 2 remained operational. In November, they also approved a labor agreement<\/a> with the Long Beach Firefighters Association, which added resources to better respond to increased calls for service from the city\u2019s constituents and to improve response times.<\/p>\n

\"City<\/p>\n

City leaders and firefighters join Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, as he lays out plans to restore and expand the department\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Engine<\/p>\n

Engine 11, a Paramedic Assessment Unit, is positioned at Fire Station 2 in Long Beach on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"City<\/p>\n

City leaders and firefighters join Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan for remarks at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, as he lays out plans to restore and expand the department\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach Vice Mayor and Councilmember Roberto Uranga speaks at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, during a media conference to lay out plans for the restoration and expansion of the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Second<\/p>\n

Second District Councilmember Cindy Allen, from left, Fifth District Councilmember Megan Kerr and Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan attend a media conference at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, to announce plans to restore and expand the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan speaks at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, during a media conference to lay out plans for the restoration and expansion of the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Engine<\/p>\n

Engine 11, a Paramedic Assessment Unit, is positioned at Fire Station 2 in Long Beach on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Rescue<\/p>\n

Rescue 2, a full-time, 24-hour rescue unit, is positioned at Fire Station 2 in Long Beach on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Lamont<\/p>\n

Lamont Nguyen, president of the Long Beach Firefighters Association, speaks at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, during a media conference to lay out plans for restoration and expansion of the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach Fire Department vehicles are positioned at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, for a media conference to lay out plans to restore and expand the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A bicyclist passes Long Beach Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, as officials announce plans to restore and expand the city\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 11<\/p>\n

City leaders and firefighters join Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan at Fire Station 2 on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, as he lays out plans to restore and expand the department\u2019s emergency response resources. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Long Beach\u2019s emergency medical services capability includes nine fully funded paramedic advanced life support ambulance units that operate on a round-the-clock schedule. Over the last year, there have been moments when units were unavailable, creating real challenges for residents who need immediate medical care, officials said.<\/p>\n

To help prevent that, Rescue 2 Peak Load unit \u2013 an advanced life support ambulance unit that aimed to enhance emergency medical service capacity for the fully funded ambulances within Long Beach \u2013 is now a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week unit in the downtown area.<\/p>\n

\u201cReturning Rescue 2 to full service is about making sure that when someone calls in Long Beach for help, there is a rescue that is ready to respond,\u201d Second District Councilmember Cindy Allen said. \u201cIt\u2019s about ensuring that our residents, businesses, and visitors have support when every single moment matters and counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city has allocated resources citywide to make improvements to public safety, such as the paramedic assessment unit at Engine 11 in North Long Beach and Peak Load Rescue 13 relocating to the west side and operating on a 12-hour, seven-day-a-week basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud that in the Seventh District, where Rescue 13 is located, it\u2019s going to be the station for special responses to other parts of the city, because Station 13 is somewhat centralized,\u201d Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga said. \u201cIt expands the radius of the services that are available to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long Beach also continues to invest in the fire department\u2019s infrastructure, with the new Station 9<\/a> anticipated to open this summer, officials said. The new station will be home to the reassigned basic life support unit in the Bixby Knolls area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about keeping our residents safe and giving our firefighters the tools and staffing they need to be successful,\u201d said Fifth District Councilmember Megan Kerr. \u201cIn our ever-growing city that continues to evolve, the needs of residents, especially in times of crisis or emergency, remain a top priority and continue to change as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

These additional resources have already made an impact, Buchanan said. From Jan. 1 to Jan. 20 in 2025, the fire department was out of rescues 52 times in those 20 days last year. At the same time this month, the department was out of recues twice. Last year, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 20, response time was at seven minutes and 36 seconds, and this year, it\u2019s seven minutes and six seconds, the fire chief said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re moving all these additional resources throughout the city to provide the best coverage for our residents, our visitors and our workers in the city of Long Beach,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cThese adjustments are strategically designed to support increasing call volume, but also to enhance our services, and the impact it has on firefighters in the city of Long Beach, a heavy workload, and that is one of the main reasons why we put these rescues into service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Long Beach Fire Department said it will continue to ensure there is consistent paramedic coverage as new positions are activated, as well as maintain system reliability during the expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Long Beach Fire Department has reduced its response times citywide with the restoration and expansion of critical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":["post-152487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}