RESPONSE TIMES TARGET OF FIRE PLAN.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Fire Department proposed a 20-year master plan Tuesday that would seek to reduce response times by increasing the deployment of firefighters and paramedics to underserved areas of the city, including parts of the San Fernando Valley.

The plan presented to the city Fire Commission would add two new, fully staffed fire stations and four ambulance crews to the northeast Valley.

``It's a very impressive plan,'' said Fire Commission President David Fleming, a Studio City attorney.

``It's amazing that in parts of the Valley, particularly in the northeast Valley, it takes up to nine minutes to respond to an emergency,'' Fleming said. ``It's very important to get these response times down.''

Battalion Chief Emile Mack told the commission the master plan would help the department meet its goal of responding to 90 percent of calls within five minutes throughout the city.

The master plan calls for a new fire station in Panorama City, which is already provided for in next year's budget, and another in Sun Valley. The two new stations would be staffed by 10 firefighters 24 hours a day.

In addition, the plan calls for adding four new paramedic ambulances to areas of the Valley based on call load and other factors, Mack said.