2017 Pottstown Fire Department Annual Report MICHAEL LESSAR JR FIRE CHIEF Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chief s Message 3 Mission Statement 4 Our Vision 4 Core Values 5 Organization Chart 6 Allocation of Funds 7 Our Community 8 Insurance Services Office (ISO) 9 Fire Companies 10 Fire Responses 11 Fire Prevention 12 Fleet Services 13 Quint 69 (Borough Owned) Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation
CHIEF S MESSAGE It is my pleasure to present the Pottstown Fire Department 2017 Annual Report. This report provides updates on what our department accomplished during 2017 and I have listed a few of them below. I would like to thank all residents of the Borough of Pottstown, Borough Manager Mark Flanders, and Borough Council for their continued support for the fire department. This has been an eventful year for the Pottstown Fire Department. In May of 2017, the Borough replaced long standing Chief Richard Lengel who retired after serving 24 years with the Fire Department. Also in June, Donald Stiteler was appointed Fire Marshal for the Borough. During 2017, I am pleased to report that there were no fire deaths. Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement: In addition to inspections our fire prevention personnel provided fire education to 1600 children in the Pottstown School District. Emergency Management: The Borough participated in the annual nuclear power plant emergency plan. The fire department was evaluated by PEMA for our Emergency Operations Center. We continue to live by our core values (Accountability, Integrity, Respect, Professionalism, Safety and Innovation) and look forward to achieving our goals in 2018. I would like to extend a thank you to all the men and women of the Pottstown Fire Department. Respectfully, Michael Lessar Jr. Fire Chief Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Pottstown Fire Department is the protection of the community from all hazards through fire suppression, fire education, fire prevention, code enforcement, emergency disaster planning, and the response of highly-trained personnel. OUR VISION The continued excellence of the Pottstown Fire Department is largely dependent upon the ability to attract, develop, and retain highly skilled, talented and motivated volunteer firefighters and career firefighters. An essential element in maintaining this quality of service is the recognition of the value of a diverse volunteer force. This understanding strengthens the efficiency and productivity of the Pottstown Fire Department, whose primary objective is to prevent harm in our diverse community while maintaining the public trust. Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation
OUR CORE VALUES Accountability Take ownership and responsibility for individual and team actions and remain focused on the priorities of Pottstown Fire Department. Integrity Model honest and trustworthy behavior through an inclusive and customer-oriented government. Ensure that actions are based on an ethical character and a positive reputation both on and off duty. Do the right thing, the right way. Your actions and words reflect your thoughts and your values. Respect Treat all with dignity and courtesy by listening, empathizing and valuing opinions and perspectives. Treat others fairly and equitably. Harassment in any form is unacceptable. Professionalism Obtaining, maintaining and enhancing personal knowledge, skills and abilities to ensure the delivery of the highest quality service at all times. Safety Continuous regard for the welfare of self and others through commitment and compliance with department orders and safety standards. Innovation Support continuous improvement and demonstrate a civic entrepreneurial attitude by generating new ideas, advancing best practices and effectively operating as a team Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 5
ORGANIZATION CHART Fire Chief Michael Lessar Jr Fire Marshal Donald Stiteler Deputy Fire Marshal Richard Lengel Deputy Chief Operations Joseph Groff Deputy Chief Rescue Kevin Yerger 1st Assistant Chief David Ondik 2nd Assistant Chief Matthew Burfete Battalion Chief 1 Chad Quinter Battalion Chief 2 Duane Brady Battalion Chief 3 David Saylor Jr Battalion Chief 4 Mark Gibson Captain 1 Captain 2 Captain 3 Captain 4 Robert Orr Carlton Gillis Justin Cole Vacant Members of the Pottstown Fire Department participate in a smoke detector installation program. Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 6
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS POTTSTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING BUDGET $1,742,638 Finance Legal Public Fire Safety Fire Operations Support Debt Service Pension Paid Drivers Insurances Health & Other Employee Benefits 2% 6% 1% 7% 77% 10% 7% 0% The fire department budget consists of 3.2% of the overall Borough operating budget. While the operating funds for the fire department come from the fire tax, the fire department is pursuing state and federal grants to help subsidize funding. 2017 Operating Budget Finance $900 Legal $5,000 Public Fire Safety $122,00 Fire Support Operations $151,665 Debt Service $1,297,734 Pension Paid Drivers $27,000 Insurances $8,761 Health Insurance and $116,955 Other Employee Benefits Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 7
OUR COMMUNITY Pottstown is made up of 22,377 residents, which includes a rich diverse make up. Since 2000 there has been a 2.3% increase in the population. Below is a breakdown from the last U.S. Census: Gender Members riding in Ladder 69 52% 48% Male Female Persons over 65, 3,007 AGE GROUP Persons under 5, 1,716 Persons 6-19, 4,170 Persons 20-64, 13,484 Ethnicity AMERICAN INDIAN 0.3% WHITE 69.7% BLACK 18.8% ASIAN NATIVE HAWAIIN 0.8% 0.1% HISPANIC OR LATINO OTHER 2.6% 7.7% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 8
INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE (ISO) A community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. ISO evaluates our community and assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC). Our community s PPC depends on: emergency communications systems, including facilities for the public to report fires, staffing, training, certification of tele-communicators, and facilities for dispatching fire departments the fire department, including equipment, staffing, training, and geographic deployment of fire companies the water supply system, including the inspection and flow testing of hydrants and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires community efforts to reduce the risk of fire, including fire prevention codes and enforcement, public fire safety education, and fire investigation programs After the evaluation, the department is assigned a Public Protection Classification. 1 is the highest and 10 is the lowest. The better the classification, the better it will help lower fire insurance premiums for our community. The Pottstown Fire Department holds a Public Protection Classification of 4. Much or our strategic plan will be to address those identified areas that would improve our ISO rating. * Source: Verisk, ISO Mitigation Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 9
FIRE COMPANIES The Pottstown Fire Department consists of 4 volunteer fire companies housed in 3 fire stations strategically located throughout the borough to provide rapid response to emergencies. Each station is equipped to provide housing for the apparatus assigned, Good Will Steam Fire Company #1 crew living quarters which include eating, sleeping, recreation and workout facilities. Each station is owned, maintained and operated by the individual volunteer fire companies. The Philadelphia Steam Fire Company #1 was formed in 1871, and has been at their original location at 240 Chestnut Street since. The Phillies operate Ladder 69, Engine 69-4 and Special Service 69. The Good Will Steam Fire Company # 1, was formed 3 days after the Phillies in 1871. Their current fire station is located at 714 High Street. Goodwill houses and operates Rescue 69, Squad 69, and Special Operations 69. In addition to providing rescue services to the Borough, they also provide Emergency Medical Services at no cost to the tax payers. The Empire Hook & Ladder Company #1, which was formed in 1876 originally as the Sun Rise Fire Company, and in 1877 was renamed the Empire Hook and Ladder Company. They operate Quint 69 and are stationed at the Good Will Fire Company. The North End Fire Company #1, was formed in 1950, and is located at 301 Prospect Street. They operate Squirt 69 and Air 69. Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 10
FIRE RESPONSES While the number of calls continues to rise each year, the fire department continues to provide the same level of service without seeing an increase in funding. In 2017, the fire department responded to 960 calls. This Ladder 69 (Borough Owned) is an increase of 0.8% or 8 more calls over 2016. The department is averaging 2.6 calls every day. Fire Department Quick Facts 2017 2016 Total Number of Fire Department Responses 960 952 Building Fires 33 31 Busiest Month July (96 responses) December (94 responses) Slowest Month March / November (71 responses) June (70 responses) Busiest Day of the Week Friday Thursday Busiest Hour of the Day 7:00pm 8:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm Average Response Time 4:41 3:28 Total Fires 175 182 Total False Alarms 252 278 January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Fires 10 16 22 22 21 10 14 16 15 6 10 13 175 Rescue & EMS 6 14 8 14 9 12 19 17 10 19 12 10 150 Explosion 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Hazardous Condition 17 10 8 21 14 16 17 15 6 11 8 12 155 Service Call 9 7 4 9 6 11 2 4 9 5 13 8 87 Good Intent 2 5 8 4 5 15 15 17 20 13 11 23 138 False Alarm 28 21 20 23 19 12 28 18 23 21 17 22 252 Special Incident 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Monthly Total 72 73 71 93 74 76 96 87 83 76 71 88 960 Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 11
FIRE PREVENTION & CODE ENFORCEMENT The fire code enforcement and fire investigation is conducted by the Fire Marshal. Fire Prevention is overseen by the Fire Marshal as well. The volunteer fire companies have a very interactive fire prevention program that they conduct as well. Some fire prevention activities conducted by the fire department include but are not limited to: Pottstown School District fire safety education Community fire safety education Smoke detector installations Fire extinguisher training FF Pyles and BC Saylor install detector Every October is Fire Prevention Month. During October, there is a big push to visit the Pottstown School District to provide fire prevention training. The combined effort of the volunteer fire companies allowed them to reach out to approximately 1600 students. Plus the countless others who they have reached through the ongoing involvment in the community events that the fire department participates in. In 2017 their were 161 fire inspections performed. These inspections generated $19,490 in revenue. As we move into 2018, there will be an increased effort to visit all commercial properties to verify compliance with the International Fire Code. Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 12
FLEET MAINTENANCE Fire Apparatus and Maintenance is critical for the success of the fire department. The Department currently operates 10 vehicles. The Borough owns 2. The borough owned vehicles consist of a 75-foot and a 79-foot combination ladder / engine. While the 2017 Ford Interceptor SUV Borough owns the vehicles, the agreement with the volunteer fire companies is that they will equip and maintain the vehicles. In 2017, a new vehicle was purchased to replace the 17-yearold former vehicle used by the Fire Chief. A 2017 Ford Interceptor SUV was purchase. The acquisition of this vehicle came in $8,000 under budget. Prior to October 2017, fire department apparatus was sent to an outside vendor for typical truck maintenance. An agreement was reached that will now allow the fire companies to send the Borough fire apparatus as well as company owned apparatus to be serviced at the Borough garage. The Borough garage will perform light truck maintenance, while still allowing the fire companies to maintain agreements with outside vendors for work that cannot be performed at the Borough garage such, fire pump and aerial ladder maintenance. This will provide thousands of dollars in cost reduction to the fire companies. Accountability Integrity Respect Professionalism Safety Innovation 13