2013 Chief Steven Shaw Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department Annual Report January 1 through December31, 2013
Fire Chief Personal note: Calendar year 2013 closed as the driest year in recorded history for many areas of California, and current conditions suggest no change in sight for 2014. On January 17, Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. declared a drought state of emergency and directed state officials to take all necessary actions in response. January 31, the Department of Water Resources announced several actions to protect Californians health and safety from more severe water shortages. These conditions have left the grass and brush across California tinder dry and ready to burn including the foothills surrounding Yucaipa. The prognosis for 2014 fire season is not good. The dryness of the fuels available for wild land fire consumption is at a record a low. This fact coupled with potential hot temperatures and strong winds set the scenario for conflagrations in our foothills. Based on these conditions CAL FIRE has continued staffing levels normally seen in mid-summer within the Department and the San Bernardino Unit. These resources include all assets of CAL FIRE including firefighting air tankers, helicopters, engines, crews, bulldozers and personnel. These resources are strategically placed throughout the Unit in order to reduce the effects of wild land fires. In addition, CAL FIRE has the ability to reach out and access resources from adjacent Units including Riverside, San Diego and more. These resources along with aid provided by our cooperators enhance the ability of the Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department to mitigate the wild fire threat to our City. Update for the June 28, 2013 "Mills Fire" that burned 534 acres and caused damage to four properties, including two homes in Yucaipa: On February 11, 2014 a Banning man was indicted by a criminal grand jury and charged with 13 felony counts in connection to nine arson fires. Authorities said Rutherford was connected to the arson fires following a lengthy investigation by Cal Fire and police officers. They caught up with him after monitoring surveillance cameras and following the suspect's movement through legallyplaced GPS trackers on his vehicles. As you know medical emergencies make up the majority of the departments total responses. Our fire and paramedic personnel arrive on the scene on an average of five minutes or less. History has shown that early intervention by paramedics with advanced life support medications, along with civilian use of available automated external defibrillators and early cardio pulmonary resuscitation increase the survivability of our patients and lead to positive outcomes. We will continue to get the word out and educate our citizens on these life saving measures. I am extremely proud of the work done by our men and women of the CAL FIRE/Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department. They are dedicated to the protection of life, property and the natural resources both locally and abroad. They stand ready to respond regardless of the emergency - wild land fires; structure fires; automobile accidents; medical emergencies; swift water rescues; lost hikers; hazardous material spills; floods; earthquakes; and even terrorist attacks. They serve our citizens and answer the call to over sixty eight hundred calls for service each year. Steven Shaw Fire Chief Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department 1
Accomplishments: The fire and paramedic department continues to meet or exceed national standard regarding response time for service delivery, averagingg just over a five minute response time anywhere in the city including Oak Glen. Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department has been very fortunate to maintain our existing fire and paramedic service levels all the while experiencing a continued economicc downturn. During this time the fire and paramedic department has continued its operations within budget. Goals: Completee the Insurance Services Office review of the Fire and Paramedic Department. In an effort meant to reducee our citizen s fire protection insurance costs, with the assistance from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), we recently conductedd an in-depth analysis of the Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department for public fire protection capabilities. The results of this surveyy are expected in late spring 2014. Facilitate an independent evaluation of the Fire and Paramedic Department service provided. This process will enable the fire and paramedic department to complete our strategic plan addressing existing and future fire and paramedic services provided, staffing, equipment and facilities. Grant update: The City of Yucaipa Fire Department has submitted a grant application through the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program - to construct seismic retrofit components in the engine bay of Fire Station 2. Invitations are extended to communities and projects that have exhibited a long term commitment to mitigate risks associatedd with local and regional hazards. Award of this grant will provide a level of disaster resilience to this critical facility and offer long-terwill address inherent structural problems with the building including ADA standards. The department has submitted a grant application to the FEMA Fire Act Grant program in order to replace our 1996 Mack Fire Engine. This application is pending. The department has submitted a grant application to the FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grant program in order to implement a smoke detector program. The program will give our less fortunate seniors an financial and social benefits to the community. In conjunctionn with grant approval we opportunity to obtain these life saving devises. Paramedic Program: Our paramedics continue to assist the Crafton Hills College paramedic program in order to preparee new paramedics for the future. In 2013 the department took on five EMT-Paramedic interns, in addition we took on six Emergency Medical Technician s as part of our ride out program with Crafton Hills College. 2
We will continue working with Crafton Hills College, with a goal of offering joint classes, training additional Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedic students, participating in lectures. Fire Department Training: The department career staff spent over forty three hundred training sessions both field and in clinical settings. and sixty four hours of formal and informal Reserve firefighter staff spent over one thousand five hundred and fifty hours on responsess and completed over nineteen hundred and twenty hours of trainingg both field and in clinical settings. Our reserve firefighter staff also spent over five hundred hours volunteering for City events including the Music and Art Festival, Market Night, Oktoberfest, Winterfest, Toy Drive. Emergency calls, trends: For the period of January through the end of December 2013, there were a total of 6894 responses for an average of 18.9 responses per day in the City. For the period of January through the end of December 2012, there were a total of 6611 responses for an average of 18.1 responses per day in the City. In total, calls for servicee are trending upward by 4.3% Total Response es by Call Type: 3
Response time: Currently response times average 5.03 minutes to all corners of the City.. This is slightly lower than the last report when the average response times were 5.05 and still well within industry standards. The highest response times are calls for service into the furthest East portion of the City at Wildwood Canyon and Oak Glen Rd. Average Response Time by Fire Station: Fire Prevention activities/ programs: Fire station personnel inspected seven hundred and six businesses in order to bring them in to fire safety compliance. Fire station personnel inspected five hundredd and fifteen properties in Oak Glen and surrounding areas for defensible space compliance. Fire Station personnel conducted forty school programs and sixty two station tours. Fire Marshal wrote forty seven permits and reviewed one hundred and sixteen plans. 4
Structure Fire Causes: Local trends for structure fire causes tend to be in line with thee National averages. Wildland Fire Causes: Local trends for wild land fire causes tend to be in line with thee National averages. 5