Los Angeles fire officials admitted on Friday to putting out data for years that made it appear crews were arriving at the scene of emergencies faster than they actually were.
The revelation came to light after mayoral candidate Austin Beutner penned an online column on the Huffington Post claiming that recent budget cuts have sent response time for the department soaring, according to The Los Angeles Times.
He put the blame on local lawmakers and singled out his mayoral rivals, citing the reports that stated the department responded to EMS calls within five minutes 86 percent of the time in 2008 before the cuts and just 59 percent of the time after the cuts.
After his criticism and an inquiry by the Times, the department admitted that the past data was wrong.
Retired Capt. Billy Wells, who compiled the data with a hand calculator, said he followed the department's six-minute response standard, which improved the record.
Capt. Mark Woolf -- Wells' successor -- said he continued using the formula because he didn't want to be blamed for a sudden drop in performance.
The corrected data generated by a computer system shows that in 2008, the department actually responded within five minutes only 64 percent of the time.
Fire Chief Brian Cummings stressed that his department's performance is good.
"I need the public to be reassured that we're going to get there and get there in a timely matter," he told the newspaper.
