Overview ABOUT US The history of the Tokyo Fire Department (TFD) began in June 1880 when the Fire Service Headquarters was established in the Ministry of Interior as a full-time public fire department. In March 1948, with the Fire and Disaster Management Organization Act enacted, each local government organized its fire department, and naturally the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Tokyo Governor) organized the TFD to provide fire services for the 23 special wards in Tokyo. Local governments in Tama had had their own fire departments, however, in 1960, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began to undertake their fire service duties. At present, the TFD protects 25 cities, 23 special wards, three towns and one village in Tokyo by providing firefighting, rescue, and emergency medical services as well as taking disaster safety measures including earthquake preparedness and flood protection. Headquarters in Otemachi, Tokyo Personnel and Apparatus The Tokyo Fire Department consists of one Headquarters (including the Fire Academy and the Maintenance Shop), 10 District Headquarters, and 81 fire stations. Number of Personnel 18,408 Number of Personnel by Personnel Category Uniformed Personnel (Firefighters) 17,984 Non Uniformed Personnel 424 Number of Uniformed Personnel (Firefighters) by Rank Fire Chief 1 Deputy Fire Chiefs Senior Assistant Fire Chiefs Assistant Fire Chiefs Battalion Fire Chiefs 21 407 Fire Captains 1,507 Fire Lieutenants 4,495 Fire Sergeants 4,933 Assistant Fire Sergeants Firefighters 6,620-1-
Number of Apparatus 1,974 Number of Apparatus by Vehicle Type Fire Engines 489 Water Rescue Trucks 4 Ladder Trucks 86 Mountain Rescue Trucks 5 Chemical Fire Engines 48 Special Incident Trucks 18 Fireboats 9 Special Rescue Trucks 1 Ambulances 251 Fire Motorcycles 20 Rescue Trucks 29 Fire Helicopters 7 Rescue Trucks (for Earthquake) 4 Heavy Vehicles (for Rescue) 8 Small Rescue Trucks 2 Heavy Vehicles 6 Budget Fiscal Year 2016 Budget 249,101,000,000 (JPY) Department Policies 2016 In December 2016, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) drew up the New Tokyo. New Tomorrow. The Action Plan for 2020 with the first priority on citizens. The TMG initiated this plan to make three Cities come true for Tokyo (i.e., Safe City, Diverse City and Smart City ), hoping for the success in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. The TFD established six major policies, considering the TMG s strategy and preparing for the Tokyo 2020 events. For these six items, the matters to be promoted for 2017 were clarified. Major Policy 1 Creating Greater Safety for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Before the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Safe City needs to be realized. The TFD thinks it important to further the project for the Safe City with its life safety promotion HQ for the Tokyo 2020. The TFD promotes the introduction of ICT technology like the image system to indicate locations for the overall safety of Tokyo including the Tokyo 2020 venue. At the same time, in a multilingual modern society, foreign culture learning sessions and communication tools also need to be focused on to cope with a lot of non-japanese people visiting the Tokyo 2020. Meanwhile, fire stations have been working at prior consultation, as their quick public service, for the facility creators/constructors for the Tokyo 2020 to establish greater fire safety as immediately as possible. Furthermore, fire safety inspections need to be -2-
elaborately pushed forward for a lot of prospective foreign tourists to the Tokyo 2020. the safety of the Tokyo 2020. Enhancing Tokyo s safety by establishing a comprehensive guarding system. Enhancing buildings safety by promoting fire prevention measures. Major Policy 2 Enhancing the Fire Department Strategy to Cope with Disasters Tokyo might also fall victim to terrorism any moment now like other countries with their large event venues (ex., international conference halls and Olympic event arenas) damaged by simultaneous explosion attacks. Anti-terrorism fire rescue strategy needs to be enhanced in cooperation with other related bodies. Meanwhile, a new fireboat system (i.e., a tug boat type) will be brought in at the end of 2017 for greater maritime safety. So, fireboat operations reviewing and special education sessions are also definitely needed. Responding to abrupt weather changes, the TFD needs to increase its flood control strategy and deal with localized heavy rains, typhoons, serious inundations (like those in other prefectures), etc. In response to large hazmat facility fires and metal fires, firefighters are required to undergo training and work with private sectors for greater safety and less damage. There is actually an about 70 percent chance of a devastating earthquake attacking Tokyo within 30 years from now on. In this situation, effective emergency operations can be carried out with appropriate fact-finding, after new equipment skills training and teamwork training, and also with the developed abilities to manage every possible disaster. Repeated training and expertise enhancement are necessary for emergency responders to tackle disasters quickly and properly. In addition, efforts need to be continued to let no accidents happen during training and on-scene activities. Water sources are also important. In the small areas with wooden houses closely built, earthquake fires can easily develop with few firefighting water supplies. A lot of wooden construction areas need more water facilities. In the meantime, volunteer fire corps need to keep playing their leadership role for community fire safety, urge local people (including female residents and students) to join, promote local life safety education, and bring in additional equipment for enhanced disaster preparedness. the enhancement of fire department strategy. -3-
Enhancing anti-terrorism fire rescue strategy. Enhancing maritime fire service. Enhancing flood control strategy for dealing with localized torrential rains and others. Enhancing safety measures for large hazmat facilities. Enhancing fire department abilities to deal with a series of huge disasters. Enhancing fire department abilities to deal with disasters quickly and properly. Promoting safety management for on-scene firefighters. Enhancing an earthquake fact-finding system. Enhancing earthquake safety measures and improving emergency water sources systems. Enhancing volunteer fire corps abilities. Major Policy 3 Enhancing EMS Strategy for Dealing with the Increasing Demands for Ambulance Service In 2016, the TFD ambulance units responded to emergencies more than 770,000 times. It is actually the all-time high EMS responding in the TFD s history. In this aging society, there will be more demands for the ambulance service for the elderly. For the quick transportation of victimized people, the fire department needs to arrive at incident scenes as immediately as possible, work in advance with hospitals for the quick acceptance of victims, and continue calling on people to use ambulance service only in emergencies. To cope with daily challenging situations, training sessions are needed for the paramedics specially certified as the experts on expanded treatment. A shift work system also needs to be reconsidered as labor management for the increasing ambulance service demands. It is also necessary for the TFD Emergency Telephone Consultation Center to make itself better known to a lot of people, reduce nonemergency phone calls, give more improved medical advice, etc. Furthermore, there have been more EMS incidents involving foreign tourists. Foreign language measures are still needed for people from abroad. Simultaneously, the fire department needs to call on them to use ambulance service only in emergencies. In the meantime, bystanders first aid is substantial. Extensive first aid education is necessary for companies, schools, shops, etc. to enhance community first aid systems. the enhancement of EMS/ambulance service system. Enhancing EMS strategy. Calling on people to use ambulance service only in emergencies. Promoting first aid treatment advice/education. -4-
Major Policy 4 Developing Community Disaster Preparedness for Greater Safety Enhancement of communities disaster preparedness is necessary to continue making society stronger against disasters like earthquakes. The TFD promotes fire and life safety training with the following as goals: having more than two million trainees every year; having repeater trainees; giving training to every community; and offering easy, exciting training to a large group of people at a time. In addition, life safety education needs to be furthered overall for every school in cooperation with PTA and volunteer fire corps members. Actually, about 30% of the households in Tokyo have no safety measures for furniture against earthquakes. Therefore, other measures are also needed to raise people s interest in the safety steps to stop furniture from overturning, falling or moving. Meanwhile, a lot of elderly people actually lose their lives in home fires. The Fire Department needs to work with other related bodies to keep on reducing the damage caused by home fires. Specifically, it is necessary to keep aged residents houses safe from fire and urge communities to have and maintain ordinancestated home fire alarms. overall fire and life safety. Enhancing residents disaster preparedness through fire and life safety training. Promoting indoor safety against long-period earthquakes. Promoting home fire safety for the elderly, the disabled and other infirm people. Promoting the reduction of the damage caused by home fires and daily life accidents. Promoting life safety measures through overall education. Major Policy 5 Developing Building Safety with the Promotion of Fire Prevention Measures In the welfare facilities for the elderly, daily training is needed for a limited number of nighttime workers to cope with fires successfully. In the buildings connected to railroad stations by underground passages, safety measures are needed for both stations and their neighboring facilities to keep people safe from earthquakes and others. In the meantime, the fire-safe building information needs to be widely open to the public. Buildings posing great fire hazards need to receive elaborate inspection as well as legal -5-
technical checking with training given to their private fire brigades. Some social welfare facilities are required to have additional fire protection equipment after the amendment of fire service laws and regulations. Importantly, the Fire Department urges them to install or modify equipment for the safety of facility users. Recently, private house lodging and other new styles of inn have been increasing behind the scenes. It is important to know in what way those new dwelling places are operated and used from the viewpoint of the fire service. The Fire Department needs to share information and work with public health centers and others to give safety advice and guidance to lodging business groups. In addition, the Fire Department needs to direct its efforts to the prevention of fires based on fire investigation outcomes. At the same time, hazmat facility workers need to develop their safety management system. the safety of buildings. Promoting private fire brigade training in the welfare facilities for the elderly. Promoting overall fire safety measures. Extending fire-safe building information. Promoting fire inspection and urging independent fire protection. Promoting retroactive management for social welfare facilities. Promoting fire prevention measures for new dwelling houses. Promoting safety measures for hazmat facilities. Promoting fire prevention measures based on fire investigation outcomes. Major Policy 6 Educating TFD Members, Promoting TFD Management/Operation, and Meeting People s Demands PR activities need to be conducted from the new viewpoint of the first priority to the public. The activities therefore need to be well organized and correct to meet the possible demands for information disclosure, too. Fire and life safety information needs to be provided by way of various means also to foreigners. Importantly, the safe operation of fire vehicles and the careful use of equipment without accidents are also needed to maintain people s trust and continue daily work uneventfully. The TFD is actually faced with immediate human resources problems. Specifically, the workforce structure has been greatly changing with a lot more younger members at work after the wave of a mass retirement. In addition, the TFD needs to enhance itself to meet new administrative demands with the 2020 Tokyo events in view. It is important to push forward various human resources measures for the four main items shown in the TFD s third basic lines for personnel development, namely Educating Fire -6-
Lieutenants, Presenting More Opportunities to Female Workers, Preventing Human Error- Initiated Accidents, and Responding to Actual New Situations. Maintenance and improvement of organization abilities are definitely needed for excellent public service. For that purpose, educational measures and system rearrangements are needed with the problems of each rank group s members and each generation reviewed. The personnel themselves are then required to be alert with a spirit of participation and cooperation. Meanwhile, job abilities need to be developed by education personnel and part-time civilians with extensive in-house educational programs, dayto-day guidance, and self-enlightenment schemes. In the field of fire prevention service, with younger members on the increase, job abilities need to be enhanced as immediately as possible to avoid improper office paper work. Furthermore, the safety testing outcomes produced from scientific experiments need to be made widely known to people for greater safety. personnel education and efficient management. Promoting impressive, practical PR activities. Promoting safe driving measures for fire vehicles. Offering more job opportunities to female FD members. Understanding workers opinions and requests. Educating each task/rank group s members and providing them with the right job. Educating fire prevention service members and promoting proper fire prevention administration. Developing further educational systems. -7-