Fire Department The Chilliwack Fire Department is commi ed to community safety through public educa on, code enforcement, fire suppression and rescue services. Second Quarter Report, 2015
Administration Personnel Career Staff: Retirement: Promotion: Ben Fryer Eric Davies Captain Captain May 31, 2015 June 17, 2015 Promotion: Promotion: Keith Corbett Wade Meeres Lieutenant Acting Lieutenant June 12, 2015 June 17, 2015 The department mourns the passing away of retired Captain Don Van Beest. Don began as a paid-on-call member with the department in 1978, became a career firefighter in 1990, a Public Educator/Fire Inspector in 2003 and retired as a Captain of Fire Prevention in August 2014. Don passed away on June 12, 2015. Exemplary Service Medals / Long Service Awards The department presented federal exemplary service medals and British Columbia Long Service medals at their Annual Appreciation & Awards Banquet to the following members in recognition of their dedication and selflessness in serving their community, province and country in the protection of life and property. BC Long Service Awards: 35 years of service: Captain Mark Collins, Firefighter Barry Anderson 25 years of service: Captain Gary Goll, Firefighter Richard Grosvenor, Firefighter Jeff Martin Federal Exemplary Service Awards: 30 years of service: Firefighter Tim Bolan 20 years of service: Fire Chief Ian Josephson, Captain Eric Davies, Firefighter Shawn Burke Retirements Paid-on Call Firefighters Appreciation plaques were presented from the City of Chilliwack to the following paid-on call members who retired during the year and provided ten or more years of service to our department and community. Stan Kroeker 22 years of service Eric Mueller 24 years of service Jake Wiens 21 years of service Firefighter of the Year was presented to Captain Mark Collins for his dedication and commitment to the Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society. Page 1
Operations Incident Responses Incident Responses The Chilliwack Fire Department responded to 671 calls for service in the second quarter (1,202 year to date). This was an increase of 269 calls compared to this time in 2014. The increased calls for service can be attributed to outdoor fires such as bark mulch and brush, burning complaints including campfires, public service calls to assist BC Ambulance, RCMP, and mitigating incidents related to public hazards. The calls for service were particularly high for June 2015 during the hot, dry conditions experienced in the Fraser Valley. Hall 1 - Downtown Hall 2 - Rosedale Hall 3 - Yarrow Hall 4 - Sardis Hall 5 - Ryder Lake Hall 6 - Greendale 17 36 76 64 212 316 0 200 400 2015 Paid-on Call Responses by Fire Hall Year to Date 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 1081 1073 Incident Responses January - June 1037 933 1202 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Public Service 406 34% Incident Responses - Year to Date Public Hazard 34 3% Burning Complaints 146 12% Rescues 11 1% Hazmat 30 2% Medical Aid 43 4% Fires 216 18% Alarms Activated 219 18% MVA 94 8% Structure Fire Mary Street June 2015 Nonresidential Structure Fire Blackburn Road, June 2015 Page 2
Operations Incident Responses Monthly Summary April May June 2 nd Quarter 1 st Quarter Year to Date FIRES 25 39 84 148 68 216 Structures 11 6 9 Vehicle 3 1 1 Outdoor; Tree, brush, grass, bark mulch; Other 11 32 74 ALARMS ACTIVATED 38 46 34 118 101 219 Single family residential 21 15 11 Multi&family residential 6 11 11 Non&residential 11 20 12 MVA (NO FIRE) 15 11 21 47 47 94 Auto Extrication 1 2 2 Provide Medical Care 5 6 4 Cancelled/Fire not required 9 3 15 EMERGENCY MEDICAL AID 11 6 11 28 15 43 BURNING COMPLAINTS 16 27 34 77 69 146 PUBLIC SERVICE 69 84 69 222 184 406 Investigate safety complaints and hazards 21 38 23 Assist other agencies (BCAS, RCMP etc.) 45 44 43 Home smoke alarm/carbon monoxide alarm 3 2 0 Other 0 0 3 PUBLIC HAZARD 2 4 4 10 24 34 Electrical line down 2 4 4 Grow Operation 0 0 0 Structure collapse 0 0 0 Bomb threat/explosion 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 RESCUES 1 3 3 7 4 11 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 7 4 1 12 18 30 MUTUAL AID 1 0 1 2 1 3 P.E.P. ROAD RESCUES 0 0 0 0 0 0 SERVICE AGREEMENTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 185 224 262 671 531 1,202 Previous Years: 1 st Qtr YTD 2014 488 445 933 2013 558 479 1,037 2012 521 552 1,073 2011 569 512 1,081 2010 521 513 1,034 Page 3
Fire Prevention Public Education & Code Enforcement The Chilliwack Fire Department is proactively working to reduce fire losses and injuries through education, engineering, code enforcement, and fire investigations. Fire & Life Safety Education A total of 171 fire and life safety sessions were delivered to the community thus far in 2015. This includes 92 sessions held at the Chilliwack Safety Village for local school children. In 2015 to date, 5,413 residents have been educated or trained in fire and life safety, and emergency preparedness. Fire hall tours have allowed firefighters to proactively educate children and their parents on the hazards of fire, and how they can better prepare their family if a fire occurs in their home. 2015 Public Education Activities # of Events Persons Educated Juvenile Fire Setter Interviews 4 8 Fire Safety Classes 16 1,382 Fire Extinguisher Training 10 198 Fire Hall Tours 46 1,305 Chilliwack Safety Village 92 2,289 Fire Prevention Week Other Public Education Sessions 3 231 Totals 171 5,413 Code Enforcement The department completed 274 fire and life safety inspections in this quarter including health and safety inspections with the Bylaw Department, RCMP, and BC Safety Authority. Engineering The department completed 52 plan reviews this quarter. Fire Department personnel also conducted numerous on-site inspections to ensure code compliance. 800 600 400 200 0 Fire & Life Safety Inspections January - June 641 2011 712 785 2012 2013 489 2014 553 2015 Investigations / Losses Second quarter fire losses were $1,480,854. Eight civilians and one firefighter suffered fire related injuries during this quarter. A total of 24 dollar loss structure fires occurred this quarter with 18 (or 75%) occurring in residential occupancies. Fire origin and cause investigations were completed to identify fire loss trends and focus our education efforts to prevent future losses. Burn Fund Awareness Presentation Mt. Cheam Christian School June 2015 Page 4
Training To ensure firefighters are safe and effective, they constantly train on their basic skills. In addition to focusing on basic skills they also accomplish the following: Technical Training: Vehicle Extrication: All career firefighters participated in a 40 hour accredited Vehicle Extrication Program delivered by our in-house Vehicle Extrication Instructors. Firefighter Survival Training: Using a donated structure, all Chilliwack firefighters received firefighter survival training on communications, and techniques that will assist them in calling for help, remaining calm, and thinking through a variety of situations, enabling them to begin the rescue process quickly and effectively. CN Rail Foam Trailer Training was hosted by a neighboring department. CN Rail has a foam trailer designed to assist any community in the event of an incident involving a rail car carrying flammable liquids. Twenty (20) firefighters and two (2) chief officers attended the sessions. NFPA 1001 Level II: This program has 10 Modules which can be delivered at an institution or delivered in segments by a fire department to its membership. Chilliwack Fire Department delivers the program as an additional training night. Twenty-one (21) paid-on-call firefighters completed 22 hours of theory and practical training. NFPA 1002 Apparatus Operator: Two (2) career firefighters completed 50 hours of Apparatus Pump Operations and Driver Training qualifying them to drive fire engines. Pre-Hospital Care is a large component of our mandatory training curriculum and includes regularly scheduled CPR, AED, and FR 3 classes that are taught by in-house instructors. Numerous classes were delivered to our career and paid-on-call firefighters. Educational Training: Conferences and seminars are vital networking platforms that promote innovation, growth, and support the attainment and adherence to industry best practices. British Columbia Fire Training Officers Association and Fire Chiefs Conferences were attended. Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) was held in Indianapolis and was attended by the Assistant Chief of Training and Operations. The weeklong conference saw approximately 31,500 attendees from 55 countries experience 200 classroom seminars, 80 hands on training sessions, and 830 trade exhibitors. Commercial Vehicle Extrication, three of our vehicle extrication instructors attended a 16 hour course on commercial vehicle extrication. Crude Oil by Rail is passing through our community in increasing quantities. One of our members attended a week long training session on how to prepare for and mitigate a rail incident involving crude oil. Auto Extrication Demonstration, Road Safety Day June 2015 Staff Page 5
Emergency Preparedness Personal and neighbourhood preparedness presentations were delivered to a total of 136 participants from 3 gated neighbourhood organizations. Two gated communities decided to get involved in the Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP) and have now received in-depth training in fire suppression, light urban search and rescue, rapid damage assessment, and emergency first aid. By joining the NEPP those community members will receive training designed to help them better prepare for an emergency and build their own ability to respond to and recover from an emergency or disaster. The Chilliwack Emergency Planning Committee continues to meet monthly to discuss upcoming training events, as well as emergency trends in emergency management. Emergency Program staff continues to work with other City Departments in the development of a Spill Response Plan and Program. The Emergency Communications group meets weekly and incorporates radio communications training into every meeting. The group has purchased a large enclosed utility trailer and is currently developing a mobile command centre and radio room. The trailer is designed to respond to large emergencies or disasters and support field operations with back up communications technology. The Emergency Social Services (ESS) team meets monthly to train and discuss past emergency incidents where they have provided shelter, food, and clothing to residents forced to evacuate their homes due to fires. In this quarter, the ESS team was called out two times and assisted 56 residents. The most significant call involved 48 residents having to evacuate their apartment building. A little more than half the evacuees were sheltered by ESS for six days and then the Red Cross for an additional eight days. All the evacuees found permanent rental accommodations and were assisted by ESS, Emergency Management British Columbia, Salvation Army, Red Cross and a new local relief organization (SPARKS). The Chilliwack Emergency Program conducted two functional exercises with City Staff and a major transportation provider. The purpose of these exercises was to train and test the readiness of City of Chilliwack staff members to coordinate the response and recovery to large scale emergencies or disasters in support of emergency responders in the field. Community Activities The fire department continues to be actively involved in many community events and fundraisers. This quarter, Chilliwack firefighters and the Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society contributed and volunteered in support of the following: o Chilliwack Bowls of Hope Society; o McHappy Day; o Chilliwack Firefighters Education Fund (provided ten postsecondary awards to high school graduates); o Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society scholarship presented to a graduate from School District #33; o Two pancake breakfasts at Mountain View Harley Davidson raised over $1,100 for the Charitable Society; o $500 donation presented to the Fraser Valley Health Care Society; o $500 donation presented to Matthew s House in Abbotsford on behalf of Yannick Rabu of Chilliwack; o Hosted a private dinner for eight in support of Chilliwack Hospice Society; o Donated a $500 Smart TV to the Chilliwack Society for Community Living, Matheson Center for Teen Program Bowls of Hope, Bernard Elementary School April 2015 Presentation to Matthew s House Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society Page 6