Looking at the fire company workload from the 2026 ESO Fire Service Index makes me wonder if we need to return to a two-piece engine company. The first-out unit is designed to handle incidents that do not require a 1.34″ fire attack line, and the second unit brings the big water, high-volume fire pump, equipment, and tools for a structure fire.
Plano, Texas, alternative response vehicle
What 10.2 Million 2025 Fire Company Run Reports Tell Us
This is the eight annual index report from ESO Solutions, sharing the information from their clients that use the electronic data entry from both the computer aided dispatch system and the last year of NFIRS incident run reports.
Call Volume
- 66% are EMS related
- 12% are Good Intent
- 8% are Service Calls
- 7% are False Alarm or False Call
- 3% are Hazardous Condition (No Fire)
- 3% are Fire (Series 100)
Breaking Down the 341,000 “Series 100” Fire calls
- 37% structure fires
- 23% natural vegetation fires
- 19% rubbish fires
- 13% mobile property (vehicle)
61% of the 34,381 structure fires were classified as Working Fires
Among residential structure fires, one- or two-family dwellings account for 77%, followed by multifamily dwellings at 16%. While two-family and multifamily dwellings make up a substantial percentage of residential fires, single-family homes remain the primary concern for community fire safety and prevention efforts (Crowe et al., 2026, p. 8).
Residential Fires and Civilian Rescues
Midwest City (OK) Training Chief Brian Brush repeated the 2021 research he did while working on a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. His original study was profound, showing that, on average, firefighters in the United States rescued 9.8 civilians from fires every day. This placed Chief Brush as a “big room” keynote speaker at the Fire Department Instructors Conference. Chief Brush revisited this issue in 2026 and shared his results in this Fire Engineering article.
Residential structure fires are where the rescues occur. In 2026, only 10 of the 1,033 victims were rescued from commercial structures. The data for the single-family dwelling once again supports the idea that we need to prepare for rescues in the plural term as average number of victims per incident with a rescue is once again greater than one.
For the higher density multifamily dwellings, we see that the number of victims per incident with rescues was 2.6 in 2021 and 3.2 in 2026. While several incidents with more than a dozen rescues at a single apartment fire incident does influence this, there is still a significant strategic take away for incident commanders.
A working apartment fire with exposures has a significant resource demand on its own. If you are dispatched to one with reports of trapped occupants, ensure you are also starting the units and staff to also potentially establish a medical group ready for triage treatment and transport of multiple victims (Brush, 2026).
Three Examples of First/Fast or 2-piece Companies
Let’s look at Syracuse, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; and Los Angeles City, California, which use non-traditional approaches to meet community needs. Firefighter staffing is different. Syracuse splits the four person engine company crew with two on the mini and two on the maxi, Phoenix has all four firefighters staff the ladder tender or the aerial truck, and Los Angeles adds additional firefighter/paramedics to staff the fast response vehicles.
Syracuse NY Mini-Maxi Deployment
Most of this section is from Chief David Reeves’ extensive history of the Syracuse mini-pumpers and Tom Shand’s pictures. In 1970, Mayor Lee Alexander approved a reorganization plan for the Syracuse Fire Department. This was driven, in part, by New York State legislation requiring career firefighters to work a 40-hour week by January 1, 1974. In Syracuse, this led to the closure of 3 engine companies and 2 truck companies. That meant the fire department had to hire 62 new firefighters instead of the 125 new firefighters to meet the 40 hour workweek requirement (Reeves, 2017).
This image shows the Syracuse (NY) crews along with Chief Thomas Hanlon on the ramp of former Station 17 on South Midler Avenue.
The reorganized fire department staffed 13 two-piece engine companies and 6 ladder companies. A full alarm assignment for a known or possible working fire was 2 engines, 1 ladder, and a 7-firefighter squad company. Four firefighters will staff a two-piece Mini-Maxi engine company (Loeb, 1974).
The engines were built by Ward Lafrance. Ambassador 4×4 models were equipped with a Hale single-stage 1500 GPM pump, 55′ HiStream boom, 500 gallon water tank, and 20 gallon Rapid Water system. The mini-pumpers were equipped with a 300 GPM pump, 200 gallon water tank. and a remote controlled deck gun.
Tom Shand photo: Engine Company 12 is seen here flowing three streams using the Hi Stream boom along with the Monex remote controlled monitor on each vehicle.
The original role of the minipumpers, beyond responding with the Maxi engine, was to respond alone to car fires, outdoor fires, lock-outs, downed power lines, and nuisance calls from the hundreds of street alarm boxes throughout the city. In the 1980s Syracuse expanded its role in Emergency Medical Services beyond the Rescue Company by training all firefighters as certified first responders and sending the mini-pumpers to EMS calls.
No Longer A Mini Pumper
By 2000, the minis had no pump or water and served as EMS first-responder vehicles, carrying a load of supply hose to complete a fireground layout.
In 2022 the Minis were SUVs
Phoenix Ladder Tenders
Former Phoenix Fire Chief Allen Brunacini compared a truck company responding to an EMS call to “Using a cement truck to deliver pizzas.” A Ladder Tender (LT) is a smaller, medium-duty second piece assigned to a Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) truck company. Per SOP 205.10, its purpose is “to provide a full level of truck capabilities, while extending the service life of the larger, more costly apparatus”. Tenders are bought “at a fraction of the cost of full-sized truck companies” and are used “wherever they are deemed adequate (i.e., EMS calls, special duties, extrications, etc.)”. The city’s impact-fee cost table reflects that difference: a Ladder is listed at $2,204,100 and a Ladder Tender at $732,100 — roughly one-third the price (Phoenix 2021).
Ladder Tender 26: 2024 Freightliner M2-106/Rosenbauer. tollesonfirebuff picture
Functionally, “each of our ladders is married with a ladder tender, a Freightliner chassis with a box on the back that carries extraction tools and other rescue equipment, a three-section 28-foot ladder, and the same set of saws and rescue tools as the aerials”. PFD’s own city legislative record notes the department “owns and utilizes [Holmatro extrication] equipment on every ladder truck and ladder tender in the City”.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 205.10: Ladder Tender Response
Under SOP 205.10, a ladder company forms a “two-piece truck company” (Ladder + LT). Dispatch rules:
- Structural alarms of 3-1 or greater from quarters: the complete crew responds on the Ladder Truck; the officer may bring the Tender for flexibility.
- If the crew is already out of quarters in the LT when a structural is dispatched, they respond in the LT and Dispatch/TRO advises all units that a Ladder Tender is coming; hand ladders and equipment from engine companies may be needed on scene.
- BLS dispatches: the officer of a two-piece truck company may respond with a minimum four-member crew on the LT.
- Tenders may run as BLS (“LT”) or ALS (“LPT”) when paired with a paramedic team.
- Governing rule: “a pessimistic approach is required … when in doubt, request a Ladder company backup” (Phoenix, 2003).
In everyday practice PFD uses LTs to “chase” EMS calls, motor-vehicle accidents (962s), mountain rescues, and other non-truck calls to reduce wear on the aerial, keeping the aerial available for confirmed structural or elevated-rescue work. Practitioner accounts note that actual daily use varies by crew — “I only know of one crew around the city on all three shifts that actually uses theirs daily” — with many companies keeping the LT primarily for EMS/MVA runs while the aerial stays committed to structural response (Reddit, 2023).
Ladder Tender Specifications
Equipment loadout on each LT includes a full complement of extrication tools (Holmatro on every ladder and ladder tender citywide), a three-section 28-foot ground ladder, and the same set of saws/rescue tools carried on the paired aerial. All 14 Phoenix truck companies have a ladder tender.
Los Angeles City Fast Response Vehicles
LAFD repurposed two brush fire trucks into a paramedic/fire fast response (FRV) units in 2015. One was assigned to Fire Station 9 in Skid Row and the other in to Fire Station 20 in the north San Fernando Valley area. By 2020, four FRVs were staffed in the city. Their value today is is handing the increase in EMS and rubbish fires in the city.
The firefighter/paramedics assigned to the four Fast Response Vehicles (FRV) [deployed throughout the city] have a unique authorization from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to medically clear certain patients experiencing acute behavioral crises or chronic public inebriation for transport to either a Mental Health Urgent Care Center or Sobering Center, rather than to a traditional hospital emergency room. In addition, all LAFD FRV personnel certified Tactical EMS (TEMS) units and are available to support LAPD SWAT Team efforts. (LAFD, 2020)
This 2:19 minute video shows Fast Response 9 handling a homeless encampment fire in 2025. https://youtu.be/kLgR2QPGFH0
The newest Fast Response Vehicles are 2023 Ram 3500s with a QTAC slip-in skid with a 100 gpm pump and 150 gallons of water. Full complement of paramedic equipment (monitor/defibrillator, medications, advanced airways, and trauma kit).
What Would Work In Your Community?
Based on the ESO Solutions data, it seems the first/fast vehicle will be your primary EMS first responder. Your community needs and local ambulance provider’s performance will determine if the unit will be an AED/Emergency Medical Responder, Emergency Medical Technician, or Paramedic. Syracuse’s mini-pumpers evolved into an EMT-level SUV. Some IAFF locals have balked at splitting a fire company crew to staff an EMS first responder rig.
“Good Intent” and “False Alarm or False Call” represent 19% of the responses. We cannot predict at dispatch whether a 9-1-1 call will be good intent or a false alarm. Phoenix allows the ladder company officer in charge to decide which rig to staff at dispatch. Under Phoenix’s labor-management plan, the four-firefighter crew remains intact.
Phoenix Medical Response Unit Assigned to City of Glendale Fire Station 154
Screenshot of Medical Response 70 (2023) by arizonafirebuff1
Phoenix placed Medical Response 154 at a Glendale fire station in 2018 because Engine 154 responded to more than 3,000 EMS first-responder calls in Phoenix annually. Phoenix staffed the medical response unit with a captain, engineer, and two firefighter/paramedics. Renumbered Medical Response 70 in 2023 to reflect a planned new Phoenix fire station, the unit continues to respond from Glendale Fire Station 154.
Los Angeles added employees to staff the Fast Response Vehicles. They are especially helpful with the increase in EMS calls and cooking/rubbish fires generated by “persons experiencing homelessness.” We did a deep dive into “Skid Row” in an earlier post https://companycommander.com/2026/09/13/the-fire-ems-challenge-in-high-poverty-neighborhoods-sept-13/
Do you think your department would benefit from a fast or two-piece fire company? Or is it best practice for a $2 million tiller truck to accrue most of its road miles and engine idle time running EMS first-responder calls?
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References
Brush, B. (2026, September 7) Counting Rescues: The Mission Metric, Five Years Later. Fire Engineering. https://www.fireengineering.com/firefighter-training/search-operations/counting-rescues-the-missing-metric-five-years-later
Cali Fire Photo. (2025, December 16) (Small Explosion) LAFD FR9 Handles Rubbish Fire. [YouTube Video]: https://youtu.be/kLgR2QPGFH0
Crowe, R. P., Fernandez, A. R., Treichel, A., Gardner, B., & Myers, B. (2026) 2026 Fire Service Index: Incidents and Best Practices For Fire Departments. ESO Solutions.
LAFD. (2020, February 11) With the addition of FRV 82 in Hollywood, the LAFD now has FRVs assigned within all four of the department’s geographic bureaus. Los Angeles Fire Department. https://lafd.org/news/lafd-augments-fast-response-vehicle-deployment
Loeb, D. (1974, October). Syracuse Updated – a look at the Mini-Maxi Pumper Concept in Action. Fire Chief Magazine. https://www.gotbigwater.com/files/doc/288/Syracuse%20Updates%20-%20Leob%20-%20Fire%20Chief%20%20(1974).pdf
Phoenix. (2021, May 19) City Council Formal Meeting: Additional Expenditures for Equipment, Parts and Services – Requirements Contract – RFA 18-315A (Ordinance S-47582) [Minutes]. https://phoenix.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?From=RSS&ID=4954691&GUID=24B3D53F-21C8-48E9-9706-798E6C615B93&utm
Phoenix Regional Standard Operating Procedures. (2003, March) Ladder Tender Response (M.P. 205.10). Phoenix, Arizona, Fire Department. https://www.phoenix.gov/content/dam/phoenix/firesite/documents/074793.pdf
Reeves, D. (2017, February 12). Syracuse Mini-Pumper History. [Online forum post] FirePics Online Group, https://www.firepics.net/MyBB/printthread.php?tid=139
TakashumiHoldings. (2023) Why is Phoenix FD’s ladder tender concept not used out of Arizona? [Online forum post] Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/138sksa/why_is_phoenix_fds_ladder_tender_concept_not_used/
Featured photo: Plano, Texas, alternative response vehicle. https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/fire-apparatus/departments-cite-effectiveness-of-alternative-response-vehicle-and-rapid-response-vehicle-programs/