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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.j. Approve Fire Department Semi-Annual ReportCITY OF ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: September 17, 1991 AGENDA ITEM: AGENDA SECTION: Fire Department Semi -Annual Report Consent PREPARED BY: AGENDA1Y1 4Scott Aker, Fire Chief ATTACHMENTS: APPROVED BY: Semi -Annual Report This item is the presentation of the -semi-annual report to the city council. This report is submitted in written form only to provide the council with information as to what has transpired in the past 6 months. No formal presentation of information is scheduled for the council meeting. Any questions which the council may have after reading the report, could be answered or explained in more clarity at the council meeting. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to approve the Fire Department Semi -Annual report. COUNCIL ACTION: ROSEMOUNT FIRE DEPARTMENT SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 1991 Respectfully Submitted by SCOTT AKER, FIRE CHIEF CITY OF ROSEMOUNT MEMBERSHIP Total Membership ----- 34 On Leave ------------- 1 Light Duty ----------- 0 Active Members ------- 33 During 1990 and 1991 we have seen quite a turnover in the membership of the fire department. Currently we have 10 people on the fire department which hold rookie status. A rookie is considered to be a person who has been on the department for less than 2 years and is still in the process of being trained. The fire department has been accepting applications as usual and trying to process them into becoming active members. With the recent coverage we received from the Thisweek Newspaper, we had 15 people apply for a position on the department. After meeting with them and explaining to them what is involved in the process, we had 12 persons who were still interested. Those 12 persons were scheduled to take the agility test. Only 5 of the 12 showed up to take that test. All 5 persons passed the agility test and were sent tor. Declean billfor ofhhealthSandFare out of those 5 persons were gien a now on probation with the department. By looking at this year's membership of 34 persons compared to last year's roster of 39, you can see that we are still down a few persons from where we would like to be. Ideally, a roster which numbers in the mid -forties would probably best suit our needs at the present time. EOUIPMENT Aerial/Elevating Platforms (35180) ------- 1 Pumpers (35181, 35182, 35183) ----__-- 3 Grass Rigs (35192, 35194) --------_ _ __ -- 2 Tankers (35195) --------------------------1 1 Hose Truck (35196) -------- ------ Rescue Vehicle (3590) -------------------- 1 Chief/Mise. Vehicle (3598, 3599) --- 2 Utility/Rescue (3591) --------------- 1 As the council is fairly well informed as fire department is using and its current elaborate on a few of our vehicles. 1 to what equipment the condition, I will only Assistant Chief's Vehicle (3598): Earlier this year, the vehicle which had held this position was condemned by the City mechanic and taken off the streets. Soon after, we did receive our new vehicle which was purchased through monies in the CIP. This vehicle was put into service in mid -summer and should serve the City well for many years. Aerial Truck (35180): This vehicle is 19 years old at the present time. It is not scheduled to be replaced until 1995. It has been postponed several times due to budgeting constraints, as a vehicle of this type approaches the half million dollar mark. Funding for this vehicle was scheduled to begin in 1992, but again in trying to present a balanced budget, it had to be postponed. This vehicle, when it does operate, works very efficiently and has served the City well. Unfortunately, usually when it is used it will have some type of repairs that are necessary to get it back into service. This year, as you well know, has been no exception for this vehicle. It has just returned after being in the shop for approximately 5 weeks at a cost of $4,000. In the past 3 years we have been averaging between $5,000 and $6,000 in repairs for this vehicle. This vehicle also did not pass its ISO rating which was done in the spring. The truck is not able to pump up to capacity, not able to provide the necessary pressure, and not able to create a vacuum to be used in a drafting situation. Our 25 year old 1965 Ford pumper did make up the difference where this vehicle was short to get us the necessary pumping capacity for our ISO rating. While working on this vehicle and repairing the hydraulics, some safety concerns have been raised and should probably be addressed in the near future also. Grass Rig (35194): This vehicle was just replaced with a 1991 pickup allowing us to rotate the 1989 pickup to the Public Works Department. Every 4 years one of our grass rigs is scheduled to be replaced as part of that rotation. Hose Truck 35196): This vehicle was rotated to this position from a grass rig. The vehicle itself is in good condition for a 1978 model. The drawback of this vehicle is that it is not capable of handling a reel for the storage of hose. The hose on this vehicle has to be stored in a flat position. This type of storage takes its toll and reduces the life expectancy which has been the case for the last 4 years. This vehicle is scheduled to be replaced in the 1992 CIP, and be equipped with a reel for more efficient use and storage of the hose. TRAININGZEDUCATION In the spring of 1991, several firefighters took the opportunity to attend classes outside of the department on their own time. 2 These classes are offered primarily on weekends. Firefighters attended sectional schools around the state as well as the Minnesota State Fire School held in Plymouth. Other years we have had classes brought into the department for officers or firefighters. Due to the lack of funding and budget constraints during 1991, we did not offer these classes this year. With additional cuts being necessary in our proposed 1992 operating budget this area again will tend to suffer. Whereas it is not advantageous to cut out the amount of training we offer our firefighters, it is an area that we do have discretion when necessary cutbacks are pending. As you were informed earlier, outside the fire department. University near Houston. The covered by Koch Refining. Dan Corrigan attended some training That training was at Texas A & M cost of that training was totally Each year one-half of the firefighters on the department undergo a First Responder Refresher course. This enables us to sharpen our skills and increase our knowledge in regard to rescue and medical calls. We have in the past applied for grant money to offset the cost of this training. Because of budget cuts at the county level, grant monies will not be available for 1992.and all costs will have to be taken care of out of our operating budget. Several times in the past I have included a chart of the number of hours required of new firefighters. Because we have just recruited 4 new persons, I included this chart again so you will have an idea of what they will be going through in the next year. 1. Firefighter I 72 hours 2. Hazardous Materials Training 45 hours 3. Rosemount Fire Dept. Training 96 hours 4. First Responder Training 40 hours TOTAL 253 hours MISCELLANEOUS In 1991 we have applied for money to purchase medical equipment through the county. In years past we have received approximately $450. This year the same amount of money should be available and we are hopeful that this program will not be cut. During the year the department has again received donations from the Jaycees, KCs, Lions, and other organizations. These donations have paid off our $13,000 Hurst Tool system, purchased an additional cellular telephone, and helped to defray the costs of numerous other items. Because the size of each individual 3 donation rarely covers the cost of a chosen item, an account has been set-up where monies can be designated and carried over to a future year. There are no excess funds for 1991. The council will be asked to authorize that type of a transaction for the first time, possibly in 1992. Continuing to be a great concern to the Dakota County Fire Chief's Association is a need for a team to respond to a hazardous materials incident. Legislation was pending which could have provided state funded teams for such an incident. That did not pass in the last legislative session. For that reason Rosemount, like most cities in Dakota County, does not have any type of personnel that could respond to a hazardous materials incident. We have already experienced a few small scale haz-mat incidents, so now is the time to prepare for the larger incident, which we hope will never happen. STATISTICS As was reported in the Annual Report, our number of calls has increased from 189 in 1986 to 330 in 1990. Even with a slow grass fire season, we are still averaging over one call per day at the present time. If things continue, 1991 should have us responding to somewhere between 365 and 400 calls for the year. NEEDS In the ,;past I have indicated that the fire department was in need of replacing a lot of outdated equipment and adding new equipment to better equip our firefighters and trucks for today's needs. The good news is that most of those items, which we needed to add or replace through our operating budget, have been taken care of in the last 2 - 3 years. This gradual replacement over the past few years has left us with only 3 items we need to look at replacing in the future. The bad news is, those 3 items are a new fire station, an aerial truck and a pumper. Jeff May has been working with all departments of the City to pass on the needs to our financial consultant, Springsted, for their analysis and recommendations. Undoubtedly, these 3 items will come up in discussions often over the next several months. BUDGET The fire department's proposed budget for 1992 shows no increase over 1991. Although there is no overall decrease in the dollars which will be going toward fire department operation, it should 4 be noted that approximately $20,000, which had been used for the purchase of equipment and the day to day operation of the department, has now been shifted to salaries. This was necessary due to the raises which were approved by the City Council, the increased number of calls we are experiencing, new legislation which now requires the payment of social security, and the inclusion of the fire marshal's salary in the fire department and salary adjustments for that position. GOALS We have continued to promote training and work on safety around the fire station and on the fire scene. We are still working at trying to initiate some type of a health/fitness program. Possibly yet this year we would like to add one piece of exercise equipment that would begin this process. Another goal for 1991 was to improve cooperation and work more closely with the police department. The Koch Refining disaster drill seemed to be a good kickoff to that venture. some inter- departmental training activities can hopefully be scheduled in the near future. Along those same lines, the need for a command unit has been identified by both police and fire. We are planning, possibly during the winter months, to enter into some type of a joint venture to overhaul our old rescue truck so it could also be used as a command vehicle for both police and fire. The fabrication and putting together of this type of a vehicle will involve mostly labor along with the pooling of some resources which each department now possesses. I think this will be an excellent opportunity for members of both departments to work together. It would also be an excellent use of the City's resources as no one individual department has that great of a demand for this type of a vehicle that it could not be shared by both. As was identified earlier, a large target population which could be at risk if we had some type of a disaster in Rosemount would be the students in our schools. For that reason, with the assistance and cooperation of the police department we are looking at working more closely with the school district in the future. Chief Knutsen has had initial contacts but for now the school district has put the project on hold. 5 CONCLUSION As in the past I have attempted to keep the report to the council in September as short and concise as possible. Information will be more elaborate in the annual report given in written and oral form at the March meeting. Again, as I have indicated in the past, should there be an instance where council feels that it would be necessary for me to elaborate on anything other than at the two scheduled meetings during the year or when I'm at a council meeting, please feel free to contact me and make your request. I would welcome any input, suggestions, criticisms or questions you may have. The support the council has shown me and the assistance Steve and all other department heads have given me, has made the position of chief a very enjoyable one for the past 4 years. That's not to say that holding down a full-time job and putting in approximately 20 - 25 hours a week as fire chief does not get rather tedious at times. My second term of office as fire chief will be coming to an end in January of 1992. 91