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78 Because the qualitative effects are harder to place into specific terms, the following Page 3 points are listed for consideration; 1. More people in the downtown will generate more emergency response activity, primarily in the area of emergency medical responses, but there is an increased risk of fire as well. Vacant buildings generate very little call volume. It is human activity and business uses that generate incidents. This means when all properties such as restaurants, theaters, and retail shops see increased activity, the activity will create a greater potential for a fire, vehicle accident, or emergency medical call. 2. Redwood City has a concentration of unique commercial buildings in the downtown which is primarily within the first-due response area for E9 (Station 9). Of this stock, there are many buildings without built-in fire protection (fire sprinkler systems) and having an engine company arriving with a fire pump is an important factor in keeping fires as small as possible after a fire is detected. A fire that gains momentum is harder to control as time to effective intervention increases and has the potential to involve surrounding buildings. Fire extension into neighboring structures is a common issue when older buildings are involved, especially when there is no physical space separating the structures. 3. A by-product of a successful downtown revitalization will mean increased traffic. Whether this equates to "congestion" is not at issue here, but there will be increased traffic and this means that Jefferson I Main Street, Middlefield Road and Broadway will have increased traffic that will slow emergency vehicle travel through the heart of Redwood City. Although this will impact units responding within the downtown, it will also impact fire companies responding into the downtown from other areas. 4. Based upon our experience with the existing theater complex in Redwood City, fire staff does not project more than 25 emergency responses annually specific to the movie theater activity of the downtown. We are unable to project what the effect will be to other venues that become more active, and we do not have any way to project what the actual call-volume increase will be that is caused by longer patron stays and multiple businesses visited. In other words, because of the location of the movie theater, the retail shops and restaurants will be busier there is a potential for additional response volume to the area in general. 5. The activity generated in the downtown does not only affect the downtown. Activity in the core of the city will affect fire company response into other areas of the city, such as those areas that require E9 to travel Jefferson Avenue to either replace, or back-up fire companies west of EI Camino. The impact to fire response volume and response routes is broader than the specific marginal effect of the theater complex. 3