The Los Angeles Fire Department has been testing out a potential motorcycle response team composed of five motorcycles.

The bikes are on loan from Kawaski Motor Corp. and are all equipped with a small fire extinguisher, a defibrillator, other medical supplies, as well as a GPS installed on the handlebar. The appeal of a motorcycle unit is that they will be able to get to the scene of an accident more quickly than other emergency response vehicles in order to aid injured victims, provide information to dispatchers and scout fires & other potential issues, (Los Angeles firefighters test motorcycle response unit, Frank Shyong, L.A. NOW-L.A. Times, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/los-angeles-firefighters-motorcycles.html).

L.A. is not the first city to devise a motorcycle unit; other cities with heavily condensed traffic have also established units for quicker response times and as an easy form of patrolling. That is also the hope for the L.A. department as they face budget cuts and have been criticized for having response times below the national standard.

The motorcycle response team got their first opportunity to test their abilities last year when the 405 freeway, one of the busiest in the nation, was shut down for 10 miles. They were put to the test again earlier this month when a 70-acre brush fire halted traffic and caused an evacuation of the Getty Center. It was L.A. Firefighter Greg Pascola and his partner that arrived first on the scene riding in on motorcycles. It took them only 3 minutes to reach the scene arriving even before helicopters making it possible for them to hand out radios and begin mapping the fire right away, (Los Angeles firefighters test motorcycle response unit, Frank Shyong, L.A. NOW-L.A. Times).

In the future, there is the possibility for up to ten permanent motorcycles in the department with twenty-eight riders. Currently twelve firefighters have completed the training program.

The motorcycles are being viewed as an aid to increasing response time, with back up on the way; this unit would not replace any of the current department teams or equipment. As LAFD Chief Brian Cummings sees it, “Do I see the motorcycles supplanting larger vehicles? No. There's always going to be a need to bring heavy equipment and large numbers of individuals. They each have a role. They're each tools in the toolbox,” (Los Angeles firefighters test motorcycle response unit, Frank Shyong, L.A. NOW-L.A. Times).