Urbandale Fire Department Mission Driven Customer Focused Annual Report 2013

Transcription

1 Urbandale Fire Department Mission Driven Customer Focused Annual Report 2013 Our Mission Statement: To preserve life, protect property, and to promote safety through education.

2 Chief s Message Urbandale Fire Department st Street Urbandale, Iowa (515) Fax (515) Core Values Pride Respect Integrity February 17, 2014 Duty Unity It is a pleasure to provide you with the 2013 Annual Report for the Urbandale Fire Department. This report includes statistical data on the services we provided and projects/actions taken during This is our report card and I hope that you will find the information useful. Compassion The men and women of our department are dedicated to being the best that we can be. We see this report as a benchmark of our performance objectives and I am proud to present it to you for your review. While we did well in some areas, we continue to seek opportunities to become better in everything that we do. I am happy to say that our staff embraces this approach and the continued quest of constantly striving to be better. On behalf of the dedicated men and women of our department, I thank you for taking the time to review our report and I welcome your input as we continue to look to the future for the best possible service delivery models. We are your department we exist to serve you, our customers, and we are honored to be able to provide our services to the citizens and visitors in our community. If you would like to see any of our performance measures, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than happy to provide you with all available information. In the interest of a safe and prosperous community, we are proud to be here to serve you. With Warm Regards, Jerry Holt, MA, CFO, EFO Fire Chief Page 1

3 2013: The Year In Review We were very busy in 2013 as it proved to be a record year for the number of calls. But as you will see, we were busy with projects other than calls. Two of the year s highlights were an Insurance Services Office (ISO) evaluation and the City of Urbandale s Citizen Survey. Both resulted in high marks for our department including an improved fire insurance classification that began on February 1, Both of these were a reflection of the hard work put forth by our staff. ISO Evaluation Our ISO evaluation resulted in an improvement of our fire classification. ISO classifications range from a Class 1 to Class 10. In this instance, the lower the number or classification, the better the classification. We have moved from a Class 4/9 to Class 3/9. The new classification will become effective February 1, The 3/9 split rating means that the first class (Class 3 in our case) applies to properties within five road miles of a fire station and within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant. The second class (Class 9 in our case) applies to properties within five road miles of a fire station but beyond 1,000 feet of a hydrant. ISO generally assigns Class 10 to properties beyond five road miles. This affects the northwestern area of Urbandale the most in the area where a third station is needed and there are homes located more than five miles from a fire station. The improved classification is the result of improvements we have made. A quick reminder, ISO obtains a score based on three things, Communications worth 10 possible points, the Fire Department worth a possible 50 points and the Water Supply worth 40 possible points. The improvement is largely due to system wide improvements. Communications was 7.5 and improved to 9.92 out of a possible 10 points. Fire Department was and improved to out of a possible 50 points. Water Supply was and improved to out of 40 possible points. When there is a divergence between water supply and the fire department rating, a penalty is assessed. The penalty is on the theory that if the capacity to supply water is better than the ability of the fire department to deliver that water, there is an ability missmatch. (That works either way) All of this gives us the ability to identify ways in which we can improve. Citizen Survey The results of the Citizen s Survey were very positive. The overall excellent/good rating of the fire department was 97% with EMS being rated as 96%. A favorable rating yet we have much room for improvement with fire prevention and emergency preparedness both receiving 88% excellent/good ratings. While we had the very good news about our evaluations, we also had the absolute worse incident in 2013 in which there was a fire fatality in This is the second home fire fatality in our community since The fire, which occurred in September, resulted in the loss of life for the 88 year-old occupant of the 3:30 AM fire. The cause of the fire was undetermined. There were three firefighter injuries in 2013 with only one resulting in lost time. One firefighter suffered a broken toe when moving a table that fell on his foot. This was the first loss time injury in over a year. We had completed 421 days without a lost time injury before this incident. There were other safety incidents during the year but none that resulted in serious injury. Safety remains one of our major goals and we continue to work diligently on improving firefighter safety and maintaining a healthy and safe work force. We did lose two important part-time positions during Our part-time Emergency Preparedness (EP) Specialist accepted a job as a County Emergency Management Director and our part-time Assistant Chief (AC) of Operations accepted a Fire Chief position. Both of these positions are difficult to fill. We have conducted two rounds of applications for the EP position and haven t identified a qualified candidate for the AC position. Our upcoming budget request includes a request to combine these two positions into on full-time position. As we look to the future, we do need to continually evaluate our performance and coverage issues. Our mutual aid partners were called more than 57 times in Additionally, we have developed portions of our most western area of Urbandale that are more than five miles from a fire station adversely affecting the ISO rating in those areas. As such, we need to continually monitor the need for the addition of a third fire station and staffing to serve this underserved area. Our Capital Improvement Program (CIP) does include a third station with a projected date of Page 2

4 A/C Mike Cardwell Assistant Chief Reports 2013: The Year In Review 2013 Annual Report Training: Assistant Chief Mike Cardwell One way to measure the preparation of a Fire/EMS Organization to answer emergency calls is to look at the depth of its training program continued to demonstrate that UFD personnel are professionally committed to both personal and organizational improvement. In a typical month UFD personnel attend either two or three 2 ½ hour in-service trainings, which cover Fire, EMS or Rescue topics in depth. They must complete three skills review, where they work individually or as a team to demonstrate competency on their firefighting or patient care skills. They are assigned three different computer-based training assignments which must be viewed and then successfully complete a post-test. Finally each crew is assigned one complex or building to inspect and a complex for them to complete pre-incident planning. Our goal is to complete some type of training daily. In 2013, UFD personnel completed almost 7500 hours of training. That averages out to 178 hours per person. About one-third of those hours are in EMS while the remaining two-thirds are in Fire, Rescue, or Command training. While onduty, UFD firefighters completed almost 6000 hours of training. An additional 1500 hours was completed in training courses offered by outside agencies. Often personnel completing this training did so on their own time. As in past years, almost half the department and all of the command staff completed some type of outside training. On average an Urbandale EMS provider completed an average of 65 hours of EMS-specific training in The national standard for EMS recertification requires 36 hours of continuing education per year. By comparison, RN s are required to complete only 12 hours of continuing education each year, lawyers just 15. Our EMS personnel take their commitment to saving lives seriously and regularly work on their life-saving skills such as airway control and treating pediatric patients saw the introduction of several new types of equipment. The department took delivery of new Drager self-contained breathing apparatus, new Motorola portable radios, and new Zoll heart monitor/defibrillators. For each, UFD personnel were required to complete a multi-layered training program to ensure they were ready to use this new equipment. Each person had to complete an initial orientation session, an on-line operations training, a skills use and review, and a post-course written test. In an emergency, equipment familiarity is a must and UFD goes to great lengths to ensure its personnel are well-trained on the latest technology. As Urbandale prepared for the process of establishing a career FF/EMT eligibility list, the department saw it as an opportunity to expand opportunities for women to enter the fire service. Angie Gallagher, a personal fitness trainer, was enlisted to help develop a fitness training program specific to women for them to use while preparing for the department s physical ability evaluation. This early effort spawned involvement by reporters Erin Kiernan and Sonya Heitshusen of WHO TV13, who participated in the process as a news story. The end result was a multi-part story on women in the fire service which aired in October. UFD was prominently featured in the story. In addition completing their regular training and EMS continuing education, several UFD personnel completed significant milestones in their personal education pathway. Driver/Engineer Eric Ennen completed his BS in Fire Science Administration. D/E Demir Miljkovic also completed his BS in Fire Science Administration. Lt. Lance Routson completed his Masters in Public Administration. Congratulations to these three on their achievements! As we look ahead 2014 is setting up to be a year of new development and new challenge. The establishment of the new Driver/ Engineer position creates new opportunities for those individuals to take on a more active role in the mentoring of new UFD personnel. An Officer Development Academy featuring bi-monthly education sessions is being established and will provide personnel with the opportunity to develop the knowledge necessary to function as a company leader. UFD will begin to incorporate the concept of hybrid training, which incorporates individual learning, computer-based training/testing, and group skills evaluations. Finally, UFD Training in 2014 will place an emphasis on developing technical rescue skills with an initial emphasis on rope rescue. On the next page is a list of Training Events UFD Personnel Attended in 2013: Page 3

5 Training Events UFD Personnel Attended in 2013: 2013: The Year In Review Command/Leadership Training Events EMS Training Events Iowa EMS Association Providers Conference IEMSA Conference Central Iowa EMS Topics Roundtable Trauma Trends Conference Difficult Airway Course Mercy School of EMS EMS Instructor Update Iowa Dept. of Public Health EMS Instructor Development Conference Iowa Dept. of Health Advanced Medical Life Support Fire Training Events Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Technician Drager Airpacks, IL Training Officer s Workshop Fire Service Training Bureau Fire Department Instructor s Conference Indianapolis Preparing for Initial Company Operations Traffic Incident Management Iowa Dept. of Transportation Car Seat Technician Update Iowa CPS Special Operations/Rescue Training Events Nuclear Materials Transportation - Dept. of Energy Active Shooter A.L.I.C.E. Train-the Trainer Polk County EMA Confined Space Awareness Fire Service Training Bureau Hybrid Vehicle Extrication Fire Service Training Bureau Training for Regional Collaboration Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs Conference The Bullet Proof Mind Training NFPA State Fire Chief s Conference Boston* Governor s Safety Conference Standards of Coverage Class by Center for Public Excellence, Kansas City Computer Security by City of Urbandale All Hazards Planning Section Chief by Polk County EMA All Hazards Incident Command by Polk County EMA IAFF Leadership Management Instructor s Conference Phoenix Leadership Accountability & Culture FSTB State Fire School Fireground Playbook FSTB State Fire School Incident Command I-300 and I-400 Polk County EMA Mental Aspects of Emergencies IA Professional Fire Chiefs Command & Control of Incident Operations National Fire Academy Emmetsburg MD Executive Leadership National Fire Academy Emmetsburg MD Health & Wellness Advocate Train-the-Trainer Nat l Volunteer Fire Council Promotions Assessor Training Iowa Professional Fire Chiefs * = no cost to the City. Fire Prevention/Emergency Management Training Events Fire Sprinklers Chicago* Understanding Weather for Critical Decision Making by Nat l Weather Service Fire Inspection Principles National Fire Academy, Emmetsburg MD Enhanced Risk & Threat Assessment Dept. of Homeland Security NFPA 1600 Implementation Story County EMA NFPA 1033 for Fire Investigators Fire Service Training Bureau Residential Sprinkler Plan Review National Fire Academy outreach Hawkeye Fire Safety Association Conference - HSFSA Crews work to overhaul a fire on 61 st Street in July. Overhaul is the search for and extinguishment of hidden fires in the debris. Page 4

6 A/C Rob Light 2013 EMS Recap- Assistant Chief Rob Light 2013 EMS by the numbers: 2013: The Year In Review Patients treated or attended=2008 patients. A 9.5% increase over Patients transported to hospitals=1385 patients. A 9% decrease over % of the patients we saw refused transport to the hospital by ambulance. The vast majority of these patients were both treated and refused transportation by ambulance to the hospital or were patients that just needed assistance in one way or another. Of the patients that were transported to the hospital by our department, their destination hospital is shown in the chart to the right. The average age of our patient gained a year from last year to 56 years old. The year-end recap also gave us a better picture of where our calls for service originated as follows, and how they compared to the previous year: East of 100 th Street 1382 patients 1485 patients Between 100 th St. &142 nd 522 patients 432 patients West of 142 nd Street 74 patients 81 patients Out of Urbandale 12 patients 10 patients The central part of the city had the biggest share increase again at 9.3%. EMS Week 2013 We again held our EMS Week Open House at Station 41. Attendance was down this year from last year. It was attributed to the cool and rainy weather. We again partnered with Safe Kids Iowa and received 50 free bike helmets for our event. We added these to the left over helmets from last year to provide a wide selection of different sizes for both males and females. We also provided car seat installation and inspection services again this year. Both the kids and parents loved the picture opportunities as well as the refreshments. Big Sky Bread was gracious enough to donate cookies again this year. We also provided lemonade, popcorn and various public safety education items. During EMS Week we also held several public education events at various locations including the Senior Center, Illahee Hills and The Reserve. These events involved education in trip/slip/fall safety, fire safety, evacuation in emergencies and medication education. Blood pressure checks and vitals monitoring were also offered to the residents and visitors to these facilities. We plan to hold this event in May of 2014 as well. Page 5

7 New 12-Lead Defibrillators 2013: The Year In Review We purchased four new 12-lead monitors/defibrillators and they were put into service on 12/1/13. These units are now located in each of the four ambulances. Employees went through a series of training evolutions to become proficient in their use. Training included an online class, a series of video instructions, a PowerPoint class, a written test, a skills test, and numerous other hands on scenarios using these devices. We can now transmit critical cardiac rhythm information directly to the receiving hospital emergency department from the scene. These units also gave each ambulance the capability to measure carbon monoxide levels in blood as well as a means to record patient data for our patient care reports to be reviewed later as part of our quality assurance reviews. Medical Director New Zoll 12-Lead Cardiac Monitor/Defibrillator We worked on changing our Medical Director in 2013 and Dr. Travis Kain from UnityPoint Healthcare System has agreed to take on those responsibilities. Dr. Kain is a former Urbandale resident and former Urbandale High School graduate who currently works as an emergency physician at Iowa Methodist, Methodist West and Iowa Lutheran hospitals. During his residency, he was an Asst. Medical Director for two services in Pennsylvania. He expressed an active interest in our city and our department and is even interested in riding along with the crews from time to time. He was a former Emergency Medical Technician and he has as a great interest in EMS. There were a number of things that had to occur to facilitate this transition such as paperwork with the Iowa EMS Bureau, the pharmacy agreements, the protocols updated, the DEA license, the drug audit for transferring control of our medications, etc. All of this took place in 2013 so Dr. Kain could officially take over the reins on January 1 st, Looking Ahead to 2014 We look forward to our new partnership and involvement of Dr. Kain. One of the initial things we will be looking at is our airway protocols and possibly changing some of the drugs we carry to better treat patients. Any changes we make will be based on clinical data from research and direct experience in the emergency setting. The department has been involved with another system change involving how we are dispatched. Department representation worked with WestCom to identify a procedure to dispatch specific units for specific types of alarms. This new dispatch system works in conjunction with a WestCom software program called Emergency Medical Dispatch and Emergency Fire Dispatch. Many hours were spent identifying the units that will be dispatched for specific incidents to specific locations. This system removes any questions to what apparatus will respond to a specific type of alarm. This system Fire department staff prepared and served a meal for the Freedom for Youth has improved the time it takes to get apparatus responding to Ministries, UCAN, and Aldersgate Church s Whiz Kids program. alarms. Page 6

8 Fire Marshal Jon Rech 2013: The Year In Review 2013 Fire Prevention/Public Education-Fire Marshal Jon Rech 2013 was another busy and productive year in the area of fire prevention. The continued upward trend in residential and commercial construction led to another busy year with plan reviews and fire inspections in the community. We continue to see older adults in the community take advantage of our smoke detector battery replacement program to help assure they have working smoke detectors in their home. Efforts continue to educate the community on the importance and value of home fire sprinklers in addition to many other safety items for the home. We enjoyed another successful Citizen Fire Academy held in the spring and a full Kids Fire Academy that took place in June. During Fire Prevention Week we provided home safety checklists to all elementary aged children at schools located in Urbandale. We also continue to participate with the Human Services Team of the Urbandale Community Action Network (UCAN). The public turnout for the UFD Open House at Station #41 during Fire Prevention Week was one of the best ones on record. In addition to a residential fire death that occurred in September, we once again saw more than one fire caused by a failure of CSST flexible gas pipe in a home due to an indirect lightning strike. We continued our efforts in educating the community on the dangers of this type of piping. As with previous years, most of the fires that were investigated during 2013 were preventable in nature. Citizen Academy student gains experience using the Jaws of Life during rescue training. The graduates are shown below. Students of the Citizen Academy prepare to fight a fire in a side by side demonstration. The compartment on the right is not protected by fire sprinklers. The compartment on the left is protected and results in very minimal damage. Page 7

9 2013: The Year In Review Statistics Total Calls for Service: 2,731 Fire: 612 Break Down of Services EMS, 74% EMS: 1,999 Other: 120 Other EMS Fire Other, 4% Fire, 22% Hours of Training: 7, ,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 Page 8

10 2013: The Year In Review Response Times: Average response time all incidents: Average Emergency response time fire and EMS: 6 minutes and 20 second 6 minutes and 13 seconds Average response time EMS: Average Emergency response time EMS: Average Non-Emergency response time EMS: 6 minutes and 07 seconds 6 minutes 6 minutes and 12 seconds Average response time Fire: Average Emergency response time fire: Average Non-Emergency response time fire: 6 minutes and 50 seconds 6 minutes and 35 seconds 6 minutes and 58 seconds We received mutual aid 57 times we provided mutual aid 36 times in Page 9

11 2013: The Year In Review Response Time Goal - Emergency Responses: 7 minutes, 90% of the time. We meet that goal 69.3% of the time. Page 10

12 2013: The Year In Review Prevention Activities Smoke Detector B atteries Smoke Detectors I nstalled Car Seats Checks Plan R eviews Prepla ns Prelim Walk-Thrus Re-Ins pections Ins pections The three largest fire losses in 2013 were: Number of Adults in PE/PR: 3,113 House fire with a loss estimated at $540,000 House fire with a loss estimated at $240,506 Number of Children in PE/PR: 4,722 House fire with a loss estimated at $165,000 Total Particpants in Public Education/Public Relations activites: 7, ,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 Open House 2013 Page 11

13 Apparatus 2013: The Year In Review Condition Engine GPM Pumper Fair Ambulance Type III Ambulance Fair Engine GPM Pumper Good Ambulance Type III Ambulance Good Ladder ' Ladder (Quint) Good Ambulance Type III Ambulance Good Ladder Ladder (Quint) Good Ambulance Type III Ambulance Fair Rescue Heavy Rescue Truck Good Car Chevrolet Tahoe Good Utility Dodge Ram Pickup New Car Chevrolet Tahoe Good Attack Chevy brush truck Good Car Chevrolet Tahoe Good Scenes from the Annual Citizen Fire Academy Page 12

14 2013: The Year In Review FY 12/13 Budget Information: Approved Budget: $3,483,852 (includes $467,397 in pension cost) Cost to our customers: 23.8 cents per day (Approved budget divided by population (40,020) = cost per year per person ($87.05), divided by 365) Kids Fire Academy 2013 Page 13

15 2013: The Year In Review FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF: February 2014 Full-Time Staff Jerry Holt, Fire Chief 16 years Craig Jensen, FF/Paramedic 6 years Mike Cardwell, Asst. Chief 5.4 years Derek Manser, D/E 4.2 years Jon Rech, Fire Marshal 13 years Josh Boyle, FF/Paramedic 3.6 years Dan Birkett, Lieutenant 10 years Bryce Landers, FF/Paramedic 3.6 years Lance Routson, Lieutenant 7.8 years John McCannon, FF/Paramedic 3.6 years Mike Gentosi, Lieutenant 11.5 years Demir Miljkovic, D/E 3.6 years Brennan Burke, D/E 11.5 years Andrew Stiles, FF/Paramedic 3.6 years Stuart Wilson, Lieutenant 8.5 years Cory Young, FF/Paramedic 3.6 years Cory Macumber, Lieutenant 7.5 years Rob Zahnd, FF/Paramedic 3.3 years Eric Ennen, D/E 7.2 years Brad Crookshank. FF/Paramedic 3.3 years Kyle Bissell, Lieutenant 6.5 years Rob Harris, FF/Paramedic 3 years John Ouverson, D/E 6.5 years Michael Kaduce, FF/Paramedic 1.4 years Cody Thorne, FF/Paramedic 6.4 years David Burns, FF/Paramedic 1 month Jamie Erie, D/E 6.1 years Lesley Olsasky, Billing Specialist 18 years Part-Time/POC Staff Medical Director: Dr. Travis Kain Rob Light, Asst. Chief 26.2 years Greg Glendy, FF/Paramedic 1.4 months Paula Merfeld, Paramedic 25.4 years Kyle Clark, FF/EMT 1.4 months Julie Stuckle, Paramedic 22.4 years Cody Nicely-Green, FF/EMT (PE/FPS) 8 months Craig Pope, FF/EMT 9.4 years Ross Budden, FF/EMT 5 months Jeff Gilchrist, FF/EMT 18.7 years Karla Hogrefe, FF/EMT 2 months Ross Frank, FF/EMT 5.5 years Marty Smith, FF/EMT 2 months Chad Jackson FF/EMT 3.6 years Fabio Rivas, FF/EMT 2 months Tom Montgomery FF/EMT 3 years Tim Malchow, FF/Paramedic 1 month Nick Heuer FF/EMT 2.4 years Support Volunteers Rev. Dr. Arthur McClanahan (Chaplain/Photographer) Page 14

16 2013: The Year In Review Thank You Notes Page 15

17 2013: The Year In Review Thank You Notes Page 16

18 2013: The Year In Review Thank You Notes Page 17

19 2013: The Year In Review Thank You Notes Page 18

20 2013: The Year In Review Fire Department Awards Promotions 2013: Jamie Erie Driver/Engineer Demir Miljkovic Driver/Engineer Eric Ennen Driver/Engineer John Ouverson Driver/Engineer Derek Manser Driver/Engineer Brennan Burke Driver/Engineer Page 19