LOS ANGELES – Serving one of the nation’s busiest 911 call zones, Los Angeles Fire Department tactical paramedic Scott Lazar’s number one priority is to get to those calls as quickly as possible.

“We were on scene in seconds. Literally the minute the call went out, we were on scene the same minute,” said Lazar, describing a recent medical dispatch.

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Lazar works on FR 9, a “fast response vehicle” that services L.A.’s skid row and “jumps” on EMS calls in the area.

The mission is to get to the problem before an ambulance, assess the gravity of the situation and what resources are needed and hopefully keep the less critical calls and non-emergencies from tying up ambulances and fire engines.  

“Our job is to mitigate. We get to work and we mitigate problems,” Lazar said.

Lazar added that the majority of their calls involve the area’s homeless population.

“That is the bulk of our calls. We’re starting to learn people by first name,” Lazar said.

Lazar said that over his 16-and-a-half-year career with LAFD he’s noticed that the calls paramedics respond to don’t involve true medical emergencies, like heart attacks or strokes. 

“There’s mental illness, there’s drugs and alcohol. Put them together. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which it is,” Lazar said.

The fire department just announced Tuesday the expansion of the FRV program to four units across the city: in L.A.’s Skid Row, South L.A., Hollywood and Sylmar.

Also announced: paramedics like Lazar are now able to medically clear patients experiencing acute behavioral crises or public inebriation for transport to a mental health urgent care center or sobering center, instead of the ER.

“What we’re starting to see is some of the folks that are getting direct access to that care we’re starting to see some positive results,” Lazar said.

It’s not a one-size fits all solution. 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti himself has said each homeless person is like a lock with his or her own unique key. 

“We’re just trying to find the right keys for some of the locks. And a lot of the times it’s working. It is, it’s getting better. But it’s a mammoth undertaking,” Lazar said.