The Matrix Consulting Group has worked with over 150 fire/EMS agencies over the firm’s 15-year history, conducting studies of staffing, management, standard of coverage, and feasibility studies, among others.
Click on a subject area below to learn more about the services we provide and view samples of our work:
Master and strategic plans
Develop long-range master and strategic plans to guide planning efforts for fire and EMS services as communities grow
Comprehensive planning by working with local and regional stakeholders to forecast growth in the community and surrounding region, and how it will impact the need for fire and EMS services in the future.
The planning process begins with analysis of current capabilities and builds to allow for a phased process of change.
Station location planning
Plan station locations effectively through detailed GIS analysis of forecasted travel times
By showing where service level gaps and overlaps exist, the analysis is able to provide a clear picture of current capabilities and whether they reflect the geography of emergency call demand.
Working with city and regional resources, as well as fire department personnel, allows for station planning to align with areas of higher risk and population densities in the community.
Case Study: Winter Garden
Staffing analysis
Determine staffing needs through an in depth understanding service needs, workloads, and alternative ways to manage work
Analysis of fire and EMS staffing needs must take into account community characteristics, workloads, and service philosophies. The evaluation of these staffing needs should be based on:
- • Service needs
- • Workloads
- • Time committed to emergency scenes
- • Opportunities for alternative service delivery such as civilianization and regionalization
The key important figure to consider is whether there is adequate availability to meet performance standards and effectively mitigate emergency scenes.
Case Study: Suffolk
Scheduling and deployment
Find the most effective way to deploy your resources with the right shift schedule
Ensuring your Fire and EMS personnel are scheduled and deployed to provide the most effective and efficient service is critical to meeting community needs.
Our advanced analysis will examine a number of shift schedule configurations to determine the best way to meet the needs of your community and ensure that personnel are being utilized effectively.
Case Study: Anchorage
Standard of coverage
What are the true capabilities of your Fire Department? Are there appropriate performance measures in place?
These studies examine community risk, existing service delivery, community expectations and performance goals, demand for services, concentration of resources, and reliability of emergency response in order to develop a document that illustrates the current capabilities of the fire rescue system and opportunities to improve services to meet industry standards for your community.
Regionalization and consolidation feasibility
Determine the feasibility of establishing a regional or consolidated Fire or EMS Agency
There are a multitude of factors involved with the decision to move forward with a regional approach to providing regional fire protection or EMS services. Our sophisticated analytical models will provide precise answers on every aspect of its feasibility:
- • Detailed costs associated with the consolidated regional/agency, including both startup and operating expenses
- • Agency organizational structure
- • The staffing needed to establish the agency at each function and classification
- • Governance and cost allocation
- • A comprehensive plan for implementation
Case Study: Pacific Grove
Management studies
Effective management of fire protection and emergency medical resources is more critical today than ever
Management systems require fire and EMS administrators and managers to be leaders internally and within the community, impacting the need for:
- • Strategic planning
- • Community engagement
- • Effective communications
- • Policies and procedure
- • Performance planning and monitoring
- • Mentoring and organizational development
- • Continuous improvement
These areas need to be addressed because the community and today’s workforce expect it.
Case Study: Springdale
Contract compliance audits
Are contract communities getting the services that they are paying for? That they need?
Contract service can be a useful and cost-effective strategy for many communities, often allowing them to obtain more services than they would otherwise be able to afford. However, effective contracts should include:
- • A structure that meets the needs of the community – not the contract entity.
- • Accountability for meeting contracted service levels.
- • Overhead costs that are reasonable and verifiable.
- • Transparent and easily understood reasons for cost increases.
- • A focus on performance to ensure that expected service levels are met.
Case Study: Cooper City