SAN DIEGO -- n an effort to assess the October firestorm more thoroughly, 911 audio tapes and fire dispatch calls were played Tuesday at a Lakeside fire board meeting. The dramatic tapes revealed moments of terror and relief.

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Part I Part II Firestorm 2003 Archive

The Cedar Fire became the largest in California history at 273,246 acres. At its apex, flames were leaping 200 feet into the air and consuming 5,000 acres per hour.

The Paradise Fire burned more than 40,000 acres. The fire consumed 111 homes and 100 outbuildings.

In the meantime, fire officials said that growth issues in the city are making it increasingly difficult to meet a national emergency response time benchmark.

The benchmark states that both fire and medical personnel should respond to emergencies in five minutes or less, 90 percent of the time.

The average response time in San Diego in 1980 was four minutes, San Diego fire Assistant Chief Tracy Jarman said Wednesday at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting. In 2003, it was 5.1 minutes.

In 40 percent of the city, especially the northern reaches, emergency personnel are making the five-minute benchmark on only half the calls, she said.

The increase can be blamed on San Diego's growth, traffic congestion, budget issues and the number of emergency personnel per resident, fire officials told the committee.

The population of San Diego increased 68 percent between 1980 and 2003, while the number of firefighters per thousand residents has decreased, according to the report.

The number of responses by fire and lifeguards in the city increased from 6,354 in 1980 to 163,655 in 2003, according to the report.

The issue is scheduled to be brought before the City Council on Feb. 11.