DETROIT – Detroit fire and EMS crews were quickly on scene Wednesday night at a nasty accident.
It was just a few years ago when Detroit's abysmal EMS response time was making national news and putting lives in danger.
"It was between 16 and 18 minutes," said Detroit EMS Chief Sean Larkins.
Sixteen to 18 minutes is an unacceptable time and an eternity when people need help. The national average is 8 minutes.
Now, Larkins and EMS Commissioner Sydney Zack are reporting big news that for the past two weeks response times in the city averaged 8:44 and 8:46. It's a major breakthrough in service.
But how accurate are those times? Is every response being counted, or just some?
"The mayor's goal is to have the high-priority calls, which are the code one calls, to be counted and reported to the cabinet. Those are the ones we really need to get to as fast as possible," said Larkins.
"We are not able to massage numbers. Mayor Duggan wouldn't allow it. Every single run that comes in every day is looked at," said Zack.
Critics say the city is re-prioritizing runs to improve times. The city says there are far more ambulances and medics on the streets now.
The city expects even lower times with 14 fire companies responding to EMS calls and Detroit firefighters responding to medical calls for help.
"Through them we're going to be able to sustain this number and lower it even more," said Zack.