Chanhassen Fire Annual Report 2017

Transcription

1 Chanhassen Fire Annual Report 2017

2 CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT DEMOGRAPHICS Population 25,136 Area 22.8 square miles/14,580 acres Parks, Recreation & Preserves 2,667 acres Households 9,113 County Carver and Hennepin Schools o Preschool Children of Tomorrow Learning Center Children s Learning Adventure Chanhassen KinderCare La Petite Academy Little Saints Preschool New Horizon Child Care Primrose School of Chanhassen The Goddard School o o Private Chapel Hill Academy St. Hubert Catholic School Public Bluff Creek Elementary Chanhassen Elementary School Chanhassen High School Minnetonka Middle School West Unique Areas/Businesses o Chanhassen Dinner Theatres o Eckankar o General Mills o Instant Web Companies o Lifetime Fitness o Minnesota Landscape Arboretum o Paisley Park o Rosemount Inc. o RR Donnelley

3 ADMINISTRATION At the end of 2017, the fire department had 41 of the 45 authorized firefighter positions filled. Notable events included Firefighter Mike Ryan retiring in July after twelve years of service. Then the Annual Black Hat Ceremony was held on July 17 honoring Keegan Geske and Cody Pribble for passing the two year probationary requirement. Seven candidates completed the hiring process. These Probationary Firefighters began training in July of Ryan Brattensborg Harold Jerome Coyne III Nate Fazio Dewayne Hansen Matthew Rosati Marissa Smith Ryan Sullivan

4 Chanhassen Fire Organizational Chart Fire Chief Don Johnson Fire Marshal/Fire Prevention Don Nutter Administrative Specialist Ana Fatturi Assistant Chief Equipment & Compliance John Murphy Chief 2 Assistant Chief Operations Steve Smith Chief 4 Assistant Chief Safety & Training Jim Van Asten Chief 3 Captain Station 1 Team 1 Dan Eastman Captain Station 2 Team 2 Matt Keuseman Captain E & C Team 4 Ray Rindahl Captain Operations Team 5 Chad Olsen Captain Operations Team 6 Troon Dowds Captain S & T Team 3 Matt Warden Gregg Geske Keegan Geske Dawn Smith Daisy Anderson David Arion Nick Folwick Michael Ryan Jake Coleman Joe LeFevere Barry Steckling John Williams Jack Atkins Rob Frisbie Lorrelle Larson Dan Martinez Bryan O Keeffe Mike Anderson Joe Brennan Aaron Busch Matt Grady Matt Kutz Dan O Mara Cody Pribble Angelo Silione

5 OPERATIONS Call Reponses In 2017, the Chanhassen Fire Department responded to 753 calls for service. This is an increase from the last few years. The 5 year table below represents calls by year with an average of 666 calls over the time period. In 2017, calls for service were up 13% over the five year average. Chanhassen Fire Department Total Calls by Year 5 Year Table Number of Calls The graph below illustrates a fairly evenly dispersed call load over the 7 day week annually Calls by Day of the Week Sat 12% Sun 12% Fri 16% Mon 15% Thu 14% Tue 16% Wed 15%

6 The graph below shows a fairly consistent pattern of the times the fire department is being called to service on a three year comparison. 60 CALLS BY TIME OF DAY Chanhassen Fire Department Calls By Month Comparison Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

7 The graph on the previous page shows calls by month for the past three years. Summer months tend to show busier call volumes; however, there is really no way to predict the workload for any given month Calls by District 3% 20% 12% 65% North South West Mutual Aid The table above demonstrates the overall calls by response district. The north district represents the most densely populated section of the city and is rated as Urban Density. Consistent with the area, this district draws the most responses from the fire service Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Year to Date Rescue & Emergency Medical Service Alarm Calls Good Intent Call Hazardous Condition Service Call Fire TOTAL The fire department uses a statewide records management system that requires the call type be assigned to major categories. The above table shows the overall breakdown of all calls for the year based on major category. Rescue/Medical calls continue to be the major type of calls for service. Within that category includes Motor Vehicle Accidents. Incidents by Category Fire Rescue & Emergency Medical Service Hazardous Condition Service Call Good Intent Call Commercial/Residential Fire Alarms

8 The table on the previous page shows unremarkable changes in most categories with the exception of the medical response category. Prioritized dispatch procedures have not changed within the five year period and can be ruled out as a contributing factor. Major changes within EMS calls can be attributed to a few different issues; 1) An aging population requiring more care 2) An increase in multi story, multi family senior buildings within the city 3) Two additional advanced care senior living buildings with planned expansion 4) An increase to the overall Ridgeview Ambulance Service Area drawing in to town rigs out of town. 5) Duty crew staffing changes the medical response model allowing on shift staff to provide a trained, efficient response to the community Mutual aid continues to be a strong partnership to ensure that the appropriate resources and equipment are available for fireground safety and to control serious incidents. Chanhassen maintains strong relationships and utilizes pre programmed box alarm packages involving our close partners. Mutual Aid Incidents 2017 Given Received Chaska 3 10 Cologne 1 0 Eden Prairie 9 7 Excelsior 3 5 Minnetonka 1 6 Mound 4 Victoria 2 1 Waconia Duty Crew

9 In 2017, the Chanhassen Fire Department Duty Crew has again proven to be a successful program that mutually benefits both the citizens, and the fire department Duty Crew Calls # of Duty Days Total Duty Crew Hours 1,973 2,095 2,307 The Chanhassen Duty Crew is a scheduled shift. It is typically comprised of three firefighters who are at the ready and positioned at the fire station or about the city. This Crew is capable of either handling a call on their own or, if more than one resource is needed, are capable of responding to a call as the first due apparatus. There are many benefits of duty crew but the main purpose is to provide the community with an efficient and timely response. Crews reduce response times by as much as 7 minutes from an average response. Considering a house fire can go from ignition to fully involved in 4 5 minutes and every second is precious in a CPR or rescue situation, these 5 7 minutes can be all the difference in a life and death or major property loss event. Duty Crew sets up the Chanhassen Fire Department to be successful. The duty crew schedule in 2016 was 6:00 pm 10:00 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Recognizing the need to expand these shifts, we included as many Tuesday evenings as the budget allowed in As a result, our duty crews responded to a record amount of calls. Of the 753 calls in 2017, 107 were duty crew calls. That is 14.2% of all calls, which was on par with 2016 (14.7%), and again more than twice the historical averages prior to As described previously, a timely call response is the most obvious benefit from the duty crew program and most important. There is also a financial benefit to the duty crew program. The average non duty crew call response is 12 firefighters, which equates to $156 per call. One duty crew shift has three firefighters for 4 hours. This is 12 man hours, which equates to $156 per duty crew shift. One call during a duty crew shift will covers the costs of the duty crew. In 2017, there were 191 duty crew shifts and 107 duty crew calls. 56% of the duty crew shifts covered their costs and provided the most efficient service to our community. When considering the success of the duty crew and overnight response programs, along with the fact that more firefighters have very busy young families, scheduled response appears to be the desired and beneficial model for the Chanhassen Fire Department. Under our current paid on call model, we have scheduled response for the following: Duty crews cover 16 hours per week. Overnight response covers 56 hours per week. Full time & part time city staff covers 40 hours per week. 67% of the weekly hours are scheduled, which leaves weekend days and early morning weekdays unscheduled. Calls during these unscheduled times have the lowest call response and are the most concerning moving forward. In 2017, 31 different firefighters worked at least one duty crew shift. Ten firefighters accounted for 73% of the total shifts. When the duty crew schedules are released, they are filled within hours. There is a high demand to work duty crew shifts within the fire department. Given the timely response, financial benefits of duty crew,

10 and the demand to fill shifts, it appears as though more duty crew shifts during the concerning unscheduled hours is a logical solution. Continued expansion of response days/times are on the horizon for the department. Monday evenings are typical training nights for the department but we are moving to more and more online training sessions. The Monday nights where the department does not physically meet for training, we hope to cover these nights with a duty crew. Then, using historical data and other analytics, we will look to prescribe ideal times for duty crew shifts over the weekends (Saturday & Sunday). Department SOGs & Policies The City of Chanhassen continues to grow in both population and building. New technologies are also regularly introduced into our world. These factors directly affect the ways in which the fire department responds to the community s needs. The way we organize these practices is through Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG s) and Fire Department Policies. In 2017, the fire department s Policy Committee was tasked with a review in three areas. These areas were cancer prevention and awareness, overnight response, and training and call percentage. Firefighters are at a high risk of cancer due to exposure to high concentrations of carcinogens and other harmful elements. As a result, we must consider how we handle these exposures on the scene of an incident and ourselves and equipment post incident. The primary focus of the Committee centered on how we handle ourselves and equipment post incident. Doing our best to clean our gear, our equipment, and ourselves at the conclusion of an event can help limit our exposure to these harmful elements. Creating a new SOG detailing how we are to clean our gear, our equipment, and ourselves was completed and implemented in The overnight response policy was revised and implemented in To ensure a sufficient response during the hours of 10:00 pm through 6:00 am, a pilot program was put in place in The overnight response program is essentially sharing the overnight call responsibilities across all six teams for a week at a time. The program proved to be a success through 2017 and was adopted into the policies of the Chanhassen Firefighter s Handbook. The focus of the Committee here centered on how the overnight response program affected a firefighter s good standing within the department and discipline procedures for failed responses. The review period regarding minimum call and training percentage was the final item reviewed by the Policy Committee. To avoid discipline procedures and remain in good standing in the fire department, all firefighters are held accountable to respond to a minimum amount of calls and attend a minimum amount of trainings. Previously, these minimum requirements were reviewed quarterly. With the addition of more duty crew shifts, the implementation of the overnight response program, and more online trainings, there became fewer opportunities for firefighters to respond to calls and make trainings. Due to this, the review periods for both call response and training was extend to every 6 months. Moving forward, the goal in 2018 for the Policy Committee is a full review of the SOG s. It has been some time since our last full review and there is a desperate need to ensure that how we actually perform our job mimics how our operating guidelines describe our actions.

11 Special Events/Non Emergency Events The fire department is regularly approached with special details within our community that were not initiated by a call. These special details include National Night Out, Chanhassen High School Homecoming Parade, Fire Prevention Week, 4 th of July Activities, Tonka Mud Run, Chanhassen Football Game Standby, Lion s Pancake Breakfast, Memorial Day Escort and Ceremony Standby, Fire Station Birthday Parties and Fire Truck Birthday Surprises, and many others. The Chanhassen Fire Department also makes a conscious effort to go beyond our primary responsibilities and address needs within our community that may otherwise go unnoticed. When responding to calls, we often are with members in our community who are having a bad day. Our training kicks in as a reaction to the emergency but we also try to recognize other needs. This may include shoveling a driveway or sidewalk or handing out stuffed animals to scared children. There are other actions that were taken by the department that will remain anonymous. The firefighters in Chanhassen take pride in these events, which are at times not paid events. Moving forward, we hope to fill as many needs and requests as possible. Our main goal is call response to our community but a close second is service in non emergency situations.

12 TRAINING In 2017, Fire Training conducted 86 total hours of fire training for our firefighters. Each member received fire and special operation continuing education training by attending: Monday Evening Department Training Southwest Joint Ops Training Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Conferences State Fire Schools sponsored by various educational institutions College level classes through varying educational institutions Training topics included: Specialized Incident Command Training Leadership Training Firefighter Basic Skills Survival and Confidence Techniques Rapid Intervention Protective Equipment training including Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Emergency Vehicle Operation and Traffic Safety Specialized Vehicle Extrication Cancer Awareness Hose Deployment/Hose Streams Flow Path and the impacts of ventilation on fire Ice Rescue Hazardous Materials Small Engines and Tools 24+ Hours of response to medical incidents through a contracted instructor from the Hennepin Tech College Specialized training was offered this year in a collaborative effort with the SW Joint Ops Group. Nationally accredited trainers were brought in to teach the importance of understanding fire dynamics and flow path. Dollhouse props were built and small fires were started within the houses to show how well you can control fire spread by controlling airflow through doors and windows. It was eye opening for many of our firefighters and well received. The fire department brought on six new Rookies in The new candidates started with a 48 hour Emergency Medical Responder class in July. All probationary firefighters attended the Southwest Fire Academy, a 220+ hour fire academy that encompasses going to school two nights a week, 4 hours a night. At the completion of the Academy, all probationary firefighters are state certified as Firefighter I, Firefighter II and Haz Mat 2013/Ops.

13 Training Wages $32,000 $47,793 $42,573 $49,464 Training Operating Costs $12,818 $20,883 $20,913 $33,822 Gambling Contribution towards training $18,823 $20,729 $16,669 * Cost Prior to Reimbursements $63,641 $89,405 $80,155 $83,286 MBFTE & Other Reimbursements** ($3,075) ($11,732) ($12,907) ($7,210) Total Cost of Training $60,566 $60,566 $67,248 $79,076 Total Hours of Training *2017 was the initial year that 100% of the training wages were paid via the proceeds from Gambling ** Funding reimbursement is set by the legislature through the Fire Safety Account and runs off the state s fiscal year of July June. Traditionally, the proposed training budget includes planning on hiring five new firefighters per year. In 2016 and 2017, additional new hires were added which impacted the initial training budget in both salaries and operating costs. We continue to use the Target Solutions platform for delivering training. In 2017, we developed a way to track hours and manage training pay through Target Solutions and officially launched the program on the first of the year (2018). This makes Target Solutions even more valuable as we continue to maximize our training and be cost effective.

14 EQUIPMENT AND COMPLIANCE Compliance The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) have several mandates that require annual maintenance and inspection on equipment used for firefighting. The Chanhassen Fire Department actively ensures equipment meets industry guidelines. Hose Testing FireCatt, a contracted vendor serving many fire departments throughout the state, completed hose testing in June Of 13,020 feet of hose tested, 250 feet failed testing. The sections that failed were over 17 years old. Ladder Testing FireCatt tested 257 feet of ground ladders, when conducting hose testing, with a 100% passing rate. American Testing conducted the annual test on Ladder 11 and found minor issues easily corrected by Public Works mechanics. Pump Testing Emergency Apparatus Maintenance tested all fire pumps in March. There were a few issues with leaking valves corrected by Public Works mechanics. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus All SCBA units and firefighter face pieces were checked for annual compliance in August. The contractor performing the tests corrected minor issues. Equipment Pager replacement Chanhassen Fire began upgrading its current pagers to be more compatible with the 800 megahertz system. The Unication G5 pagers are gradually being phased in as new equipment is needed. Cancer Fighting Equipment Chanhassen Fire is addressing cancer in the fire service by adding decontamination equipment to all fire apparatus and upgrading some equipment such as thermal protective hoods. A future project that involves installation of an Exhaust Gas Recovery system for both fire station is awaiting approval for the 2018 Capital Improvement Program. Ladder 11 Replacement In 2017, the Ladder Replacement Committee researched and toured multiple fire truck manufacturers to replace the 30 year old LTI Ladder 11. The Committee and the City of Chanhassen utilized the Houston Galveston Area Council to contract and to purchase a Pierce Velocity Ascendant Aerial Platform from MacQueen Emergency Group and Pierce Manufacturing. The aerial apparatus named Truck 1 is set for delivery in October 2018.

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16 FIRE MARSHAL 2017 was a year of change for the Fire Marshal position. Long time Fire Marshal Mark Littfin retired in the autumn of 2017 and a new Fire Marshal was hired. The new Fire Marshal was able to work with Mark for 3 weeks until he retired, passing on valuable knowledge and procedures to his replacement. Don Nutter, the newly hired Fire Marshal quickly took the lead on prevention planning and conducting most community based activities for the year. Fire Prevention 2017 was a very successful year for our fire prevention program. During Fire Prevention Week, we held fire station tours and educational events for over 800 children and their teachers, ages Kindergarten through 3 rd grade. We also visited another 500 children on site at schools and daycares to further expand our fire prevention and education program. This year, The Fire Department Open House changed dates to a weeknight and we saw a great turnout both from firefighters and retirees working the event and from attendees. We will continue this trend into 2018 and add several new aspects to the Open House as well. We have started a community based Hands only CPR/AED training program in 2017 and we hope to continue growing this program and offering this service to more businesses and community groups. A new Fire Extinguisher Electronic Trainer was purchased by the Fire Relief Association and was a successful tool at our first Fire Extinguisher training at the Landscape Arboretum. This device allows us to take our training indoors and save the businesses the clean up and cost of using real fire extinguishers and real fire during training sessions. We will also be expanding our Fire Extinguisher Training Program in 2018 now that we have this great tool at our disposal. Many of our firefighters will volunteer their time, outside of paid fire department hours, to go out into the community and read to students, do firefighter presentations, visit birthday parties and community events. We take pride in our fire prevention program and look to expand our activities in the future.

17 Fire Inspections 2017 was a busy year for construction and fire inspections in Chanhassen. The Fire Marshal and Fire Chief completed over 200 inspections. These inspections range from permits for new and remodeling construction work to annual fire inspections. Some notable work completed this past year: The Chanhassen Dinner Theater remodeled the fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems. Lifetime Fitness Corporate underwent several remodels. Twin Cities Self Storage added several buildings and a new suppression system. Children s Learning Adventure opened and gained a Certificate of Occupancy. Powers Ridge Senior Apartments gained a Certificate of Occupancy. LaMettry s and The Motorplex gained occupancy on several new buildings and auto repair shop. Tweet Pediatric Dentistry opened a new location and gained occupancy. Construction began on a new Water Treatment plant, slated to finish in Several new townhome projects gained occupancy. Several large plans were reviewed and approved for upcoming projects including Target store remodel, a new Aldi store with apartment building above, and Mission Hills Senior Living and Townhomes. The focus of annual fire inspections is to upkeep the life safety elements of our daycares, schools, and occupancies serving vulnerable populations. We work hard to educate the business owners and employees on proper upkeep of things like the fire and sprinkler system, keeping fire exits clear and operational, and excessive combustible storage. The new Fire Marshal looks forward to continuing to grow the relationship between the community and Chanhassen Fire Department. Fire Investigations The Fire Marshal investigated several large fires in 2017 including: 500 block of Lake Drive A fire occurred in a resident s unit at Summerwood of Chanhassen. The sprinkler head put the fire out and contained it to the unit of origin. Unfortunately, there was a fatality during this fire. The Fire Marshal and State Fire Marshal concluded a lengthy investigation. There are still several civil investigations on going pertaining to this fire block of Chaparral Trail A structure fire was extinguished by fire service personnel. The Fire Marshal completed the ensuing investigation. There was a large dollar loss on this fire. No injuries or fatalities occurred.

18 GOALS and ACCOMPLISHMENTS COMPLETED in Replace Ladder 11, a 100ft platform aerial device, originally placed in service in The selection of the vehicle will include vendor interviews and truck tours involving a committee of stakeholders from city staff and firefighters. Results: A truck committee was formed comprised of Assistant Chief John Murphy, Assistant Chief Jeff Galvin, ret., Captain Matt Keuseman, and Fleet Manager Charlie Siegle with the task of selecting the replacement apparatus. Most of the work and review was completed throughout 2016 to be prepared for council presentation and approval in January After approval for purchase was granted, an order was placed with MacQueen representing Pierce for the purchase of the new 110 aerial apparatus. We added three committee members for the final ordering process; Station Engineers Gregg Geske, Joe LeFevere, and Cody Pribble. The group traveled to Appleton Wisconsin in January 2017 and finished the final details. The new apparatus, named Truck 1, is due for delivery in October In Fall of 2017, the fire marshal, an employee with a twenty four year tenure, will retire from the city. Fire administration will work with city staff to create, post, interview, and hire the replacement of this position. Due to a unique skill set, and critical nature of this position, significant time will be spent to ensure a qualified candidate is found. Result: An extensive hiring process including over 20 applications and 7 interviews resulted in the hiring of Don Nutter to fill the position of Fire Marshal. Don comes to Chanhassen with a significant amount of education and experience that will undoubtedly improve the future of the fire prevention responsibilities within the city. GOALS FOR ) Complete a comprehensive review of the fire department Fire Prevention Program and look for enhancements and new opportunities. This assessment will be completed by the Fire Marshal as one of the essential functions of their position. Some examples of work areas to consider; Open House, Fire Prevention Week, Community CPR, Commercial Inspection Programs, etc. 2) Replace two aged out Command Vehicles. 3) Place new ladder into service. The new aerial device, Truck 1, will be delivered sometime in October of This piece of equipment will require significant training for all staff prior to placing the vehicle in service. Due to space issues, the old ladder will not be available for service during that time. A condensed, efficient training program will be created around the actual delivery date.