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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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