WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

Transcription

1 WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT Planning to Protect......Acting to Save June 2013 Volume 1, Issue 6 Inside this issue: Budget time again. Fire & EMS 1 EMS Bureau Report 2 Fire Prevention/Public Safety Bureau Operations Bureau 6 Training Bureau 7 In Their Own Words 8 YEARS of SERVICE ~ June BC VanLangen..06/18/92 FF J. Dornacker..06/05/00 FF S. Inhof..06/25/00 FF S. Williams.06/25/12 4 As budget time approaches, numerous hours are spent preparing the budget. This also includes preparing the capital budget requests for the Department. This year, budgets are tighter than ever. With this in mind extra hours are spent to ensure that we spend every dollar the best way possible. $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $ (est.) The graph above depicts the budget increases over the years. The blue bars indicate the total budget for the Fire Department. The red bars depict the revenue that the Department received. This revenue is generated by items that include ambulance fees, town fire contracts, permit & tank fees, and Fire Department conducted training classes. As you can see, revenue has been increasing faster than the budget. Our run volume continues to reach record numbers as the demand for our services continue Runs (est) Runs The last part of our budget preparations is compiling a Capital Projects Request budget. These requests are the larger priced items such as vehicles and major equipment purchases. Highlighting this years capital projects request is funding to replace a 20 year old fire engine. We believe the items requested in this year s budget proposal are truly needed to make us better at what we do.planning to protect acting to save....acting to Save Emergency Activities Types of Calls Jun-13 May-13 Year to Date (2013) Year to Date (2012) Fires Emergency Medical Calls Paramedic Intercepts Interfacility Transports Hazardous Conditions Service Calls/Good Intent Calls False Alarms/False Calls Other/Special Incident Types Totals Town of Barton Calls Town of West Bend Calls

2 Page 2 Our Department is State licensed at the EMT- Paramedic level, the Paramedics have 40 medications that they can use to treat various types of medical conditions. These medications have different expiration dates and our Department needs to maintain a minimum number of medications. Over the years, the companies that we purchased our medications from have discontinued their practice of exchanging expired medications for new medications. Our Department had no option other than to discard the expired medications. Page 2 Emergency Medical Services Bureau Battalion Chief Todd VanLangen Captain Tom Thrash EMS Medications Exchange Program... Thanks to Aurora Medical Center in Grafton that has changed. A new system has been established with Aurora Healthcare where we can bring our medications that have a greater than 60 day expiration date and exchange them for new medications. This system has greatly reduced the amount of medications that our Department has to discard. In addition we are now purchasing almost all our medications from Aurora Healthcare. In the first year we saw nearly a $4,500 savings. We would like to thank Aurora for working with us on this program and saving our taxpayers money! Keeping Kids Safe In The Summertime. Kids on bicycles, this is the time of year that we encounter kids of all ages on their bikes. Every year approximately 300,000 kids are seen at Emergency Departments due to bike injuries. Some of those injuries are serious enough to cause death, with the usual cause of fatalities being head injuries. That is why it is so important to wear a bike helmet whenever riding. Adults can be a very important role model by wearing a helmet when riding a bike. When you ride, be on the lookout for road hazards such as potholes, broken glass, puddles, or anything that could cause you to lose control of your bike. When riding on the roadway always go with the flow of traffic. For children under the age of 13, riding on a sidewalk is recommended. Whenever around traffic stay alert. The Washington County Injury Prevention Coalition partnered with the West Bend Police Department in May and held their 2nd annual Street Smart Kidz Program. The kids participated in numerous activities including being fitted with a bike helmet, riding through an ob- stacle course, and walking through a pedestrian course complete with stop an go lights and pretend cars. All the kids had a great time learning about safety. Also this year Green Tree School participated for the second year in a row in the National Bike to School Day. More than 1,700 schools participated across the country This program encourages kids to safely bike to school. Over 130 Green Tree students rode their

3 Aurora Hospital Grafton s New SIM MAN WBFD Paramedics arriving on scene to find a bystander doing CPR on the SIM MAN The West Bend Fire Department has worked with Aurora Hospital in Grafton very well for the last few years. That relationship continues to work well. Aurora Hospital in Grafton has committed resources to helping EMS agencies with continuing education. WBFD has worked with Dr. Zils and RN Rick Boeshaar for teaching and training our paramedics. Through the work of Dr. Zils and Rick, Aurora Grafton was able to use donations and grant money to purchase a SIM MAN. This is a mannequin that is almost life like. to allow rescuers a chance to hear different heart sounds, breathe sounds, and bowel sounds. It allows for skills such as IV and IO placement, which is a needle placed into the bone. It has the proper anatomy for advancing basic and advance airways. All this is controlled wirelessly with a special tablet computer that is controlled by Rick or Dr. Zils. Aurora Grafton just took delivery of the SIM MAN and wanted to let everyone know they have it. So because of the great relationship we share with them they asked our Department to unveil it to the press. We set up the SIM MAN at Regner Park and had one of our crews respond to the park for a person down. When our crew showed up they were surprised to find the Page 3 SIM MAN lying on the ground. Our WBFD Paramedics quickly got to work assessing the patient and working to correct what they found. The patient went from not breathing or having a pulse to breathing and talking by the end of the scenario. The RN from Grafton made a comment to the newspaper reporters that if he is going to have a heart attack, he would have it in West Bend. Working with Aurora Grafton Hospital will continue to provide excellent Emergency Medical Services training to our Paramedics, and the use of SIM MAN will make the training be even more life like. SIM MAN can breathe, blink, talk, bleed and vomit. It has the ability West Bend Fire Department Paramedics working to revive SIM MAN at Regner Park

4 Page 4 Planning to Protect.. Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tammy Lamberg June 2013 Fire Prevention Inspections Follow-up Compliance Semi-Annual Annual Total Violations Inspections Cards Station # Station # Station # Staff Captain/ Totals Prevention Bureau Tips for Fire Extinguisher Maintenance *Be sure extinguishers are mounted properly, visible and easily accessible. *Be sure pull-pin and tamper seals are intact and in place. *Be sure pressure gauge is in the green zone indicating adequate pressure. *Check for physical damage, loose parts or clogged nozzles. Fire Prevention Permits and Fees *Confirm extinguisher is tagged indicating required professional maintenance is up to date. *Be sure you have the proper type of extinguisher: Class A-Ordinary combustibles. Class B-Flammable liquids. Class C- Energized Electrical. Class D- Combustible Metals Class K-Grease & Cooking Oils Count Permit Type Total Fees 4 Outdoor Burning $ Sprinkler Installation/Modification heads $ Sprinkler Installation/Modification heads $ LP Tank Permits $ Tent Permits $ Alarm System Install /Modification 1-50 devices $ Alarm System Install/Modification devices $ Alarm System Install/Modification 251+ devices $ Total= 14 Total Permit Fees for June $

5 Fire Safety Information on Multi-Family, Residential Properties Page 5 The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) has published information on fire safety statistics related to multifamily dwellings. Some significant statistics were noted: For the years , in multifamily residences, smoke alarms alerted occupants of fire in ONLY 46.7% of the reported incidents. In the living units where smoke alarms did not alert occupants investigations revealed that building owners often could not verify that smoke alarms were functional with working batteries. This report reveals that landlords need to take a more handson approach to fire safety. The following recommendations were made: 1. Landlords should provide tamper-proof, long-life battery smoke alarms where hard-wired alarms are not available. 2.Tenants should be educated about fire safety through hand-outs, meetings and signage. 3.Automatic fire protection systems, extinguishers and smoke alarms should be verified to be in working condition regularly. Occupancy Consultations, Follow-up Inspections, Plan Reviews & Acceptance Tests DATE OCCUPANCY TYPE ACTIVITY NOTES 4. Storage areas should be monitored to prevent accumulation of combustibles or storage of high-hazard materials. 5. The property and the activities of the tenants should 6/3 Business Plan review Sprinkler system alterations/expansion 6/4 Assembly Consultation Meeting regarding occupancy loads and egress issues be evaluated by building owners on a regular basis. 6. The local fire prevention official should be contacted if assistance is needed in correcting fire safety issues. This West Bend Apartment building was the scene of a kitchen fire in Neighbors smelled smoke and reported the fire. Smoke alarms did not function. 6/7 Manufacturing Consultation Consultation with owner regarding expansion and fire protection requirements 6/7 Retail Violation follow-up Meeting with property owner to make recommendations to deal with non-compliant fire safety issues 6/10 Business Plan review Review building plan/ fire protection for tenant build-out 6/13 Residential Acceptance test Acceptance test of upgraded alarm system 6/14 Residential Consultation Meeting regarding relocation of fire doors 6/18 Restaurant Acceptance test Acceptance test of hood fire suppression system 6/20 Business Acceptance test Acceptance test of monitoring communication system 6/20 Residential Violation follow-up Meeting to verify corrections to egress issues and fire dept. access 6/21 Business Violation follow-up Meeting with business owner regarding alarm status issues 6/21 Assembly Plan review Plan review of auditorium renovation and fire protection

6 Page 6 Operations Bureau Battalion Chief John Spartz Captain Jon Coutts Planning for Effective Fire Department Operations in the Next Year This month s quote is on planning by Donald Rumsfeld. We tend to become involved in the routine of completing daily duties, training, and running calls which often causes a narrow focus. Stopping to prepare for future needs is a vital component of effective operations. Two Quote of the Month Think ahead. Don't let day-today operations drive out planning. Donald Rumsfeld areas the Operations Bureau has been focusing on to insure future needs are met are the annual budget and the Department s operating procedures. Planning the next year s budget cycle is an annual process performed by the Operations Bureau. Staff determines vehicle, building, and equipment needs by looking at past history and current needs to come up with a plan that meets the city s requirements. Suggested operating procedures are used by a Fire Department to insure operations are consistent and uniform. Good procedures allow for smooth transitions when staff changes. The current SOPs are in a review process and are being updated to meet current operations. Mid Year Operations Bureau Budget Review As we pass the midpoint of 2013, and begin the budget process for 2014, we would like to provide you with a brief snapshot where we stand in regards to our four largest budgets. They are Suppression Fuel, Suppression Maintenance, Rescue Fuel, and Rescue Maintenance. The chart to the right shows the starting budget and the amount left as of July 1. As you can see our Suppression Maintenance budget has 45% remaining. This is about where we would like to be at this time. Our Rescue Maintenance budget has about 7% remaining. This is not a good situation as we will probably deplete this budget in July. We continue to see a double digit percentage increase in call volume. This means that usage and miles on our 4 Med Units is continuing to increase. This increases the maintenance costs on our vehicles. Our Fuel Budgets appear to be $35, $30, $25, $20, $15, $10, $5, $0.00 on track with 56% remaining in our Rescue Fuel and Suppression Fuel has 58% remaining. START AMT AMT LEFT

7 Fire Instruction & Training Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle Captain Tom Thrash Page 7 Last month in the Looking Ahead article I stated that I was going to talk more about the training activities that are involved with our Aerial Apparatus. Aerial trucks are referred to with many names throughout the fire service. West Bend FD refers to them as Truck Companies. We currently have three aerial trucks in our arsenal. We have a Pierce, E-One, and a Smeal. Our Truck Companies are unique to the fire service because they are all equipped with pumps. Our Trucks can be first in on any structure fire and need to be able to function as an aerial or as an Engine with a pump. In many big cities they have dedicated Engine and Truck Companies. In West Bend we are crossed trained to do both, and that is what our Trucks are set up for. On the fire ground we can use trucks as water supply, aerial for access to elevated areas, pre-piped waterway for hose advancement to higher elevations, or elevated master streams. Our Truck Companies serve not only as Engine or Truck Crews, but also as Rescue Crews. Truck 1 carries a full complement of extrication tools. Truck 2 carries a Jaws of Life Unit and a variety of other extrication equipment. We would most commonly use these on Motor Vehicle Accidents. Trucks are also used to protect firefighters and Paramedics on accidents. They act as a safety net for Firefighters so the Rubber Neckers don t hit one of the Rescuers. Trucks can be used in other types of rescues such as above grade or below grade. It can be used to hoist patients up or assist with lowering a patient from a higher elevation. Trucks can also be used for elevated lighting on a variety of scenes. They are equipped with generators so we can operate anything we need that is electrical. Knowing this now, you can understand why you see these large trucks not only at structure fires, but at a variety of different kinds of scenes. I have been asked what those Big Trucks are doing at all the scenes. Now you know it is our large Tool Box that gives us the versatility we need on all of our Emergency Scenes when someone's life is in jeop-

8 In Their Own Words... The back page of our newsletter features a couple of notes or cards that we received from our customers.the people we serve. Whether it is on an ambulance call, fire call, or a public education assignment, the members of the West Bend Fire Department are dedicated to making their contact with the members of the community a positive experience. PERSONNEL SPOTLIGHT.. Susan Bruesch June 21st ended an era for the West Bend Fire Department. Sue Bruesh, our Administrative Assistant, retired from the City of West Bend. Sue served over 44 years with the City, 36 of them with the Fire Department. Sue started her career in the city clerk s office, working for Mayor Schoenhaar and city clerk Al Hemauer. After a short maternity leave, Sue returned to the city to work for the Fire Department. Chief Oelhafen was excited to steal her away from the clerks office. During her career with the Fire Department, Sue experienced the damage from the 1976 ice storm, the tragedy of the 1981 tornado, and the excitement of 3 Presidential visits. We here at the Department wish her a long and healthy retirement. WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT Planning to Protect...Acting to Save 325 N 8th Ave. West Bend, WI