Fire Chief: Response times too long for some Atlanta neighborhoods

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - If you live in certain communities in Atlanta, firefighters likely will be delayed getting to your help call. That candid assessment comes from Fire Chief Randall Slaughter. 

And there are several reasons why response times are getting longer – significantly beyond the five-minutes-or-less standard in the majority of areas in the city. 

Slaughter says there are some densely-populated areas where traffic is overwhelming during periods of the day. Add to that the obstacle of widespread construction that the city's large trucks have to try to get around. 

Plus, the problem areas where response times can run 40% or longer beyond the standard do not have a close-by firehouse. 

In these areas, average response times are running seven minutes, sometimes longer. A couple of minutes, if the call is heart attack or a fire, may make a difference. 

Two locations where the problem is acute is South Buckhead along the Peachtree Battle corridor and far sourthwest Atlanta -- the communities of Sandtown, Niskey lake, and Boat Rock. 

Slaughter is mulling short term and long term fixes to the problem.