HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.c. Fire Department Semi-Annual Report CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: September 18, 1990
AGENDA ITEM: AGENDA SECTION: Business
Fire Department Semi-Annual Report Heads Reports & Consent
PREPARED BY: AGENDA NO. ���M�C
Scott Aker, Fire Chief e c�
. ATTACHMENTB: . . � APPROVE . .
Semi-Annual Report �
City ordinance requires a written report by the Fire Chief to the City
Council twice a year. One report is required in March which is called the
Annual Report, another report is required in September which we have called
the Semi-Annual Report. The March report is presented both in written form
and verbally in quite some entirety to the City Council . The September
report is pretty much a written report and if possible the Chief is on hand
to answer any questions the Council may have of him or to highlight any
areas he feels they should be aware of.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Acceptance of Semi-Annual Report on fire department operations.
COUNCIL ACTION:
Accepted.
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ROSEMOIINT
FIRE DEPARTMENT
SEMI-ANNIIAL
REPORT TO THE CITY COIINCIL
SEPTEMBER 1990
Respectfully Submitted
by
SCOTT AKER, FIRE CHIEF
CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
a t
Again this year, I would like to begin the semi-annual report by
giving eredit where credit is due. The City of Rosemount is
still very fortunate to have a very dedicated group of fire
fighters working for them. The department pretty much runs
itself and needs very little guidance from myself as Chief.
Again as I have said in the past, I am just lucky enough to
represent them in the position of Chief.
MEMBERSHIP
Total Membership ----- 39
On Leave ------------- 0
. Light Duty ----------- 4
Active Members ------- 35
During 1990 so far, we have seen quite a turnover in the
membership of the fire department. We have had two persons who
have reached the age and number of years to receive their
pensions and full retirement and have also had two persons who
have taken early retirement. Coming up in the next month we will
have another person leaving town due to his employment and will
have to res�gn from the department.
By looking at this year' s membership of 39 compared to last
year's membership of 40 and keeping in mind those 4 persons we
have lost, you can tell that we have done some recruiting: This
year we have done more of an active campaign of recruiting. We
have put notices in the city newsletter along with running ads in
the paper. We are finding that more and more people value their
leisure time hiqhly and are less willing to dedicate their time
to volunteer service in the community. This could be a potential `
problem to the City of Rasemount in the future. The City of
Rosemount is not unique in this situation, however, all other
departments around the state are suffering the same way.
E4UIPMENT
Aerial/Elevating Platforms {35180) ---- 1
Pumpers (35181, 35182, 35183) --------- 3
Grass Rigs {35192 , 35194) ------------- 2
Tankers (35195) ----------------------- 1
Hose Truck (35196) -------------------- 1
Rescue Vehicle (3590) ----------------- 1
Chief/Misc. Vehicle (3598, 3599) ------ 2
Utility/Rescue (3591) ----------------- 1
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Perhaps the two vehicles listed above which would need the most
explanation would be the Chief/Miscellaneous vehicles, 3598
and 3599. These vehicles are usually kept at home by Assistant
Chief John Strese and myself for response directly to the fire
scene. At times, when one or both of us are unavailable to
respond or out of town, these vehicles are passed on to a captain
or lieutenant who assume the duties of responding to the scene.
Getting to the scene prior to the first arriving pumper by use of
these vehicles has proved to be very valuable to the operation of .
the fire department. When T or another officer is able to arrive
on the scene a minute or two ahead of the first arriving erew; we
are able to find exactly where the fire is located in the
structure, locate the closest water source, plan where the first
arr.iving, the second arriving and possibly the aerial truck and
other vehicles will be placed and make all the other 1001
decisions in the first two minutes. You can see how this vehicZe
becomes valuable. It also frees up the afficer who arrives on
the first pumper so that he does not have to take command and
command that crew at the same time. If both the Assistant Chief
and myself end up responding to the scene, one will take charge
and the other usually assists with manpower.
UtilityfRescue Truck (3591) ------ This truck is used to respond
to medical calls. It also responds to car accidents and ends up
on the scene at fires, both to transport personnel, provide
assistance to any injured persons in the fire, and standby should
a fire fighter be injured. This vehicle underwent some body work
earlier in the year. It is now in excellent condition for its
age. With our new rescue truck, this will be a backup rescue
truck. and will also respond as a utility vehicle.
Assistant Chief's Vehicle f3598� ----- Earlier in the year, the
vehicle that held this position was condemned by our city
mechanic and taken off of the streets. It was not even able to
be sold at the auction we had this spring. Lucky for us, things
worked out that the police were getting new squads and were going
ta be retiring some, so we took one of those from them. 'I`he
squad we took has over 100, 000 miles but hopefully will get us
through unti2 the middle of 1991 when we have monies in the CIP
scheduled to replace this vehicle with a new truck.
Aerial Truck (3518O,Z ----- This vehicle is 18 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.
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 repair that is necessary to get
it back into service. This year so far it has cost us
approximately $2,500. Iri the past 2 or 3 years we have been
averaging between $5, 000 and $6,000 in repairs for this vehicle
alone. So far all of the breakdowns have been items that have
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not caused a safety factor. This is something that we should
keep in the back of our minds and this truck should probably be
replaced as soon as possible.
Pum,per {351811 ----- This pumper is in excellent condition,
With routine maintenance and possibly some recertification or
rebuilding of the pump in the future years, it should serve the
City of Rosemount for quite some time.
PumQer (35182j� ----- This vehicle is 25 years ald at the present
time. It has been postponed in the CIP due to budget constraints
for as long as I have been on the department. It has not cost us
a whole lot in repairs until the last year or so. During these
recent times, it has started to nickel and dime us and has cost
us �approximately $500 in repairs this year. This does not seem
like a great amaunt, when you eonsider how things can add up very
quickly, but this vehicle is no longer used to any extent due to
the feeling that it is beginning to be unsafe. This vehicle is
our only gasaline powered pumper. It is also our only pumper '
equipped with a manual transmission. It is not capable of
pumping through high volume hose. It is of the vintage that
would not be feasible to be recertified or upgraded but would
probably need to be replaced. At the present time, it is
scheduled to be replaced in 1996 at the soonest, even though it
should be seplaced at the present time. Because of its presumed
unreliability, we have changed some of our standing operating
procedures, we are using some of the other pumpers more
extensively and keeping this one in a reserved capacity. If this
vehicle were to be replaced, we could then alter -our standing
operating procedures again and make more extensive and efficient
use of all vehicles
Pumper (35183) ----- This pumper is our first response pumper.
It is only a few years old, in excellent working condition and
serves the city very well.
Grass Rig (35192� ----- This pickup truck is in excellent
condition. It is part of the rotation which is set up with the
Public Works Department so this vehicle stays very current. It
is equipped with a moderate pressure pump and serves the city
well.
Grass Rict 135194) ----- This vehicle is also part of the rotation
with Public Works. The vehicle stays very current and is in
excellent condition. This vehicle is equipped with a low
pressure pump and wili probably need to be replaced with a high
pressure pump in the future.
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Tanker (35195�, ----- This vehicle is used to shuttle water to
rural areas. It carries approximately 3,300 gallons of water.
The tank was recently rebuilt and the entire truck is in
excellent condition. The only drawback of the vehicle is that it
does have a manual transmission and a three-speed axle which
makes it difficult for a number of people to drive at peak
efficiency.
Hose Truck (35196Z ----- This vehicle was rotated to this
position from a grass rig. The vehicle itself is in good
condition. 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. At $500
per• piece of hose it is definitely not cost effective to store it
in this position for too long into the future. This vehicle was
scheduled to be replaced in 1991 with a larger truck that can
carry a reel. Due to budget constraints this vehicle is now
scheduled to be replaced in 1992 at the soonest.
Chief' s Vehicle {3599, ----- The Suburban is used by the Chief or
an afficer to respond directly to the scene. It is in excellent
condition.
Rescue f3590) ----- This vehicle just arrived and is our new
rescue truck. This will take over as our main medical response
vehic2e.
The vehicles which are rotated with the Public Works Department
are put together by the members of the fire department. The
members volunteer their time and do about 99 percent of all the
wiring and the hookup of light bars, sirens, �adios, etc. that is
necessary to get the vehicle into service. This saved the city
approximately $3 , 000 in installation fees the last time we did
it. The members of the department are very eager to get involved
and do these things.
Our Assistant Chief, John Strese, has set up a maintenance
program with the city mechanic. Each vehicle is scheduled for
routine maintenance on a regular basis. Samples of oil and other
fluids are sent in and all the vehieles are being monitored very
closely. .
TRAINING/EDIICATION
In the spring of 1990, several fire fighters took the opportunity -
to attend classes outside of the department on their own time.
These classes are offered primarily on weekends. Fire fighters
attended sectional schools around the state as well as the
Minnesota State Fire School held in Plymouth. Other years we
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have had classes brought into the department for officers or fire
fighters. Due to the lack of funding and budget constraints
during 1990, we did not offer these classes this year and not
very many classes will be offered this fall until we get into the
new budget season after the first of the year.
As you probably are aware, Steve Strese did attend some training
outside the fire department. That training was at Texas A & M
University near Houston. The cost for' that training was picked
up by Koch Refining.
It is unfortunate that we had to cancel the opportunity for fire
fighters to attend classes this fall due to budget constraints.
Members attending these classes always bring back very valuable
information to share with the rest of the department.
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Each year, one half of the fire fighters on the department
undergo a first resgonder refresher course. This enables us to
sharpen our skills and increase our knowledge in regard ta rescue
and medical calls. We have applied for grant money to offset the
cost of this training for 1991. The results of that grant are
not known at this time. For the last several years we have
received enough grant money to completely reimburse the
department for these expenses.
MISCELLANEOIIS
In 1990 we have applied for money to purchase medical equipment
through the county. Last year we received approximately'$450.
This year that same amount of money is available and all
indications are that we should be able to receive that money
again this year.
This year the department has again received numerous donations
from the Jaycees, the KCs, the American Legion, etc. This money
has been designated to go towards the purchase of a Hurst Tool
for our second rescue truck. The cost is approximately $13 , 000.
This $13 , 000 item was cut from the budget due to budget
constrains so we are attempting to purchase it through donations
fram the community. To date we have $5,400 designated for this
and have ordered the equipment now with arrangments to pay over
the next 2 years.
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 material incident. As was related to the city council
earlier, at the present time, not one department in Dakota County
has the necessary training. We are pursuing several avenues.
The possibility of contracting with St. Paul, starting our own
hazardous material response team, or having one funded by the
state are all possibilities. A line item ih the budget
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for $4, 300 woul,d pay for training and a contract with St. Paul.
That seems to be what we are leaning towards at this time as a
temporary stop gap measure. Rosemount has already experienced a
few small scale hazardous material incidents. So now is the time
to prepare for that larger incident, which we hope will never
happen.
NEEDS
Back in 1989, I indicated that one primary need of the fire
department was to replace some outdated equipment. A portion a�
that equipment was replaced in 1989 with the money we had to
operate with during that year. Some of those items were yet to
be replaced in 1990. Again, due to budget constraints these
items were not xeplaced. We have not purchased any pagers, hose,
a hose testing machine, or a pressure washer. These are several
of the items which we were looking forward to having replaced or
to purchasing in 1990. The other item which was noted as a need
back in 1988 and in 1989 and a need for 1990 was the need for
additional space at the fire station. This space is needed for
the storage of vehicles, the storage of equipment, and the
general operation of the fire station. All that informatian was
again reinforced by the city facility needs study which was just
completed. Hopefully we will be able to proceed with phase I of
the plan which would greatly aid the fire department in its day
to day aperation.
BIIDGET
The 1989 budget, if you recall, invalved about a 20 to� 30 percent
increase over the 1988 budget. The 1988 budget and budgets
proceeding that one were often overspent and not realistic in
nature. When I presented the 1989 budget, I suggested that it
would be a realistic one and one with which we would be able to
operate. That was the case for 1989. Due to increases in
salaries during 1990 and a big rise in the number of calls we are
experiencing, constraints had to be placed on other portions of
the 1990 budget. We were also nagged with the cost of repairs on
our aerial truck and our 25 year old pumper. For those reasons,
our 1990 budget has been very tight. Our proposed 1991 budget
represents further cuts in spending on equipment. The 1991
budget looks to be even tighter than the 1990 budget has been and
we are getting back to the days of unrealistic budgets that may -
have to be overspent an order to operate.
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GOALS ,
We have continued to promote training and work on safety around
the fire station and on the fire scene. In the future, we would
still like to initiate some type of a health grogram. The doctor -
who aversees our stress testing has consented to help us set up
such a program and monitor each firs fighter as they work towards
improving their physical fitness. He has indicated, however,
that until we have access to some type of a workout facility it
probably would not be of too much benefit to set up this program.
Alang the same safety lines, our two open cab vehicles, the
aerial truck and one of our pumpers, have had safety gates
installed. These gates make it almost impossible for a fire
fighter to lose his balance and fall from the side compartments
of a vehicle while it is in motion. I th,ink this is a great step
towards the promotion of safety when responding to calls.
A Policy and Procedures Manual was given to al�. members of the
department back in the early part of this year. The manual
outlines almost everything a fire fighter needs to know. These
are available to new persons who we take on to bring them up to
speed as quickly as possible. They are updated and changed as
needed. This would be the first time that all the rules and
regulations "governing the department would be formally written
down. Up until this time, they were scattered amongst the
minutes of the previous meetings, passed on by word of mouth and
relayed from one person to another if people happened to remember
to do it. If a member of the council would be interested in
looking at one of these manuals, one could be made available for
them.
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 elaborafie and in detail 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 am at a council meeting, please feel
free to contact me. I would welcome any input, suggestions,
criticisms, or questions that you may have. It is sometimes
difficult for me to determine how much information to put into
various reports such as these. The difficulty arises because of
the difference in exgerience on the council. Some of you have
heard many of these things before and could be getting bored when
I go into detail. Others may need more detail in order to make
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something clear. For that reason, feel free to request more
information of ine if you so desire or direct me to be more
concise and not elaborate so much.
The support the council has showm the fire department and the
assistance Steve has given me as department head has made the
position of Chief a very enjoyable one. That is not to say that
holding down a full-time job and putting in approximately 20-25
hours a week as the Fire Chief does not get- rather tedious at
times.
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