Mentone Emergency Response Times Rise as Staffing Gap Widens

The Mentone Fire Station answered 1,847 emergency calls last year-a 23 percent jump from 2021. The ambulance service responded to 3,122 medical emergencies across the postcodes covering the city centre and surrounding residential areas. Police recorded 8,946 incident reports. Behind these numbers lies a crisis of capacity that's forcing the city's emergency services to make difficult choices about how they deploy limited personnel across growing demand.

The pressure hits hardest during peak hours. Between 6 p.m. and midnight, average response times for fire services in Mentone climbed to 7 minutes 14 seconds last financial year, compared to 5 minutes 32 seconds in 2019. For ambulance callouts in the same window, paramedics now take an average of 9 minutes 28 seconds to reach patients-up 3 minutes from 2019 figures. Police first-response times have similarly degraded, with officers taking 18 minutes on average to reach property crime incidents in the Mentone postcode area.

What's driving the surge? Population growth in new residential developments along Riverside Avenue and the Docklands precinct has added roughly 4,200 residents to Mentone since 2019. The city's ageing population also skews call volumes toward medical emergencies. People aged 65 and over now account for 31 percent of the city's population, up from 22 percent in 2015. That demographic shift alone explains much of the 40 percent increase in ambulance callouts over the same period.

The Staffing Gap Gets Wider

Here's where the numbers become troubling. The Mentone Fire Station operates with 47 full-time firefighters and 12 part-time volunteers. That's the same staffing level as 2018, when annual call volume sat at 1,512. The ambulance service covers Mentone with 28 operational paramedics and 8 non-clinical responders-still below the 35 paramedics the service says it needs to meet demand without systematic delays.

The local police precinct covers Mentone and three adjacent suburbs with 156 officers. Ten years ago, that same area had 184 officers. Budget cuts in 2019 and 2021 eliminated 28 positions, and replacements haven't materialised. Recruitment efforts have been hampered by low pay relative to neighbouring jurisdictions. A junior constable in Mentone earns $54,200 annually; the rate in comparable cities runs 12 to 18 percent higher.

The city council approved $2.8 million in emergency services funding for the coming financial year, a 4 percent increase from the previous year. The fire service will use that money to add 2 full-time positions and upgrade equipment at the central station on Market Street. The ambulance service received $1.2 million in supplementary funding but says it needs $3.4 million to reach adequate staffing levels. The police precinct received no new funding allocation.

What Residents Should Know

The practical effect of these numbers is simple: don't expect a fast response in all circumstances. Life-threatening medical emergencies still get prioritised, but routine non-critical calls now face waits that sometimes stretch past 45 minutes. Fire services continue to meet industry targets for structural fire response (5 minutes in 90 percent of cases) but are missing targets for medical assists and false alarms.

The city's emergency services coordinator has flagged the strain in three separate reports to council over the past 18 months. Without additional staffing, the coordinator warned, response times will continue deteriorating. Peak-hour ambulance waits could exceed 12 minutes within two years if call volume grows as projected.

Residents who experience long emergency response times are being urged to lodge formal complaints with the city council's public safety office. Documentation of delays helps build the case for increased budget allocation. For non-life-threatening situations, the Mentone Community Health Centre on Westgate Road offers walk-in urgent care that can reduce pressure on ambulance services. The centre operates until 10 p.m. daily and doesn't require advance appointment.