A South Carolina fire department wants to improve response times after its annual report has shown that the community has seen a decrease in fires.
A rise in area traffic is one of the reasons North Charleston firefighters have seen their response times grow, Chief Greg Bulanow told WCBD-TV after the release of the department's 2018 report.
"One reason that we think our first units are slightly slower is because of increased traffic and congestion throughout the Lowcountry," said Bulanow, who added that the department is working with the dispatch center to increase staffing in order to handle calls faster.
The good news: Structure fires in North Charleston have continued to decrease. Work by fire inspectors to correct commercial code violations and teach fire safety at senior centers and schools has led to that drop over the years, Bulanow told WCBD.
