HomeMy WebLinkAbout20- 2019 Annual Report - Bozeman Fire Department2019
ANNUAL REPORT
MISSION
Problem Solving Through Professionalism
and Compassionate Service since 1884
VISION
We will provide exceptional service as a unified team to promote
a professional department that grows with the community
MESSAGE FROM FIRE CHIEF JOSH WALDOThe Bozeman Fire Department completed its 135th year of service in 2019 and the members of the fire department are as proud to serve our community as those firefighters were in 1884. There have been a tremendous number of changes in the department as the community has grown and we know there are many more changes to come. The following report will show that 2019 was another year full of growth and progress for the fire department. The department saw a new record number for call volume, accomplished new training benchmarks, and continued our work towards excellence within our service. We continue to use the 2017 Fire Protection Master Plan and the 2019 Fire Department Strategic Plan as our guiding documents in meeting the needs of the community. The department has made good strides in accomplishing several of the objectives outlined in these plans and looks to continue this implementation in 2020. I am proud of the accomplishments made in the last year and look forward to continuing to serve our community in the upcoming year. On behalf of the men and women of the Bozeman Fire Department, I am happy to present you with our 2019 Annual Report. Yours in service,
Joshua L. Waldo, CFO, EFOFire Chief
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The Bozeman Fire Department is comprised of 50 members, 49 sworn and 1 civilian, who provide the following services to the community:• Fire Suppression• Emergency Medical Services• Hazardous Materials Response• Technical Rescue Response (confined space, trench, rope, ice, and collapse)• Wildland Fire Response • Fire Protection Systems Plans Review• Car Seat Check and Installation• Fire Inspection• Fire Investigation• Public Education• Emergency Planning and Preparedness
Fire (2%)Fire (2%)Fire (2%)
Number of Apparatus Used for All Runs Total Calls Overlapping Incidents
Vehicle Accidents (9%)Vehicle Accidents (8%)Vehicle Accidents (8%)
Good Intent Calls (9%)Good Intent Calls (11%)Good Intent Calls (11%)
EMS (53%)EMS (53%)EMS (57%)
Service Calls (7%)Service Calls (7%)Service Calls (5%)
Hazardous Condition (7%)Hazardous Condition (7%)Hazardous Condition (5%)
False Calls (11%)False Calls (12%)False Calls (13%)
2017 2018 2019
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5567
4319
6264
4696
5798 5823
4589 4896
806
1682 1642 1991
2016 2017 20192018
INCIDENT NUMBERS
RESPONSE BREAKDOWN
TOTAL RUNS: 6,264 TOTAL RUNS: 5,798 TOTAL RUNS: 5,823When a request for fire department response is made, an incident is created in the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. Depending on the type of incident, the number of fire department apparatus / units that respond will vary. Incidents are different from runs, as each incident can create a number of different run totals. For most EMS type events, a single apparatus would run the incident, whereas a fire alarm at a nursing home would trigger three fire apparatus to run on the incident. It is important to track the total number of runs that a department makes as it is a more accurate reflection of the workload on the emergency response system. The fire department has made multiple adjustments in our deployment plans to ensure a response to incidents that is in line with industry standards and best practices. On the facing page are the total number of runs each primary unit made in 2019.
OVERLAPPING INCIDENTS 2019 — 1,991 (41%) 2018 — 1,700 (37%) 2017 — 1,682 (36%)Overlapping incidents occur when the department has more than one incident response going at the same time. This is an im-portant data point to track as some incidents require more than one fire department unit to respond. Having two or more calls overlapping at the same time could result in a situation where not enough units are available for response or units experience extended response times as they are responding across town to cover additional calls.
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645 678 678
753 766
698 680
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
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182 151
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81 91 77 105
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241 233 272 254 255 218
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CALLS FOR SERVICE BY DAY OF THE WEEK
CALLS FOR SERVICE BY HOUR OF THE DAY
TOTAL NUMBER OF RUNS OF EACH PRIMARY UNIT
Does not include all apparatus, only the primary in service units.
Engine 1 – 1,967Engine 2 – 1,959 Truck 3 – 1,189Battalion 1 – 448 5
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Alarm Processing Turnout & Travel
RESPONSE TIMES An emergency response can be broken down into numerous segments or intervals of an event. To measure emergency response times, the fire department uses two standards from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for benchmarking and evaluating emergency response times. • NFPA 1221, 2019 Edition: Standard for the Installation, Maintenance,
and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems • NFPA 1710, 2020 Edition: Organization and Deployment of Fire
Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and
Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire DepartmentsThese two standards allow the fire department to measure the time from a call being answered by the 911 center until a fire department unit arrives on scene to provide service. To measure our performance, the department evaluates the following time intervals of an emergency call.
Alarm Processing Time: The time interval from when the alarm is acknowledged at the communication center until response information begins to be transmitted via voice or electronic means to emergency response facilities and emergency response units.
Turnout Time: The time interval that begins when the emergency response facilities and emergency response units notification process begins by either an audible alarm or visual annunciation or both and ends at the beginning point of travel time.
Travel Time: The time interval that begins when a unit is enroute to the emergency incident and ends when the unit arrives at the scene.
0 100 200 300 400 500
2019
Response
Times
Response
Time
Goals
101 348
60 300
AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME IN SECONDS
Heat map showing
call distribution for 2019
ALARM PROCESSING
60 secs >
90% of the time
TURNOUT TIME
60 secs >
90% of the time
TRAVEL TIME
240 secs >
90% of the time
NFPA provides the following recommendations for emergency response times:Alarm Processing from NFPA 1221 states, “emergency alarm processing for the highest prioritization level emergency events shall be completed within 60 seconds, 90 percent of the time”. NFPA 1221 goes on to define the highest prioritization level calls to be the following:• Trauma• Neurologic emergencies• Cardiac-related events• Unconscious / unresponsive patients• Allergic reactions• Patient not breathing• Choking• Fire involving or potentially extending to a structure(s)• Explosion• Other calls as determined by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)For 2019 the average call processing time for calls that the department responded emergent on was 1:41 or 101 seconds. The 90th percentile for this same period was 3:12 or 192 seconds. Once a call has been answered, processed, and dispatched, NFPA 1710 states that • The fire department should have an 80 second turnout time for fire and special operations response and 60 second turnout time for EMS response”. • The fire department should have a “240 seconds or less travel time for the arrival of the first engine company at a fire suppression incident”. • The fire department should have a “240 seconds or less travel time for the arrival of a unit with a first responder with automatic external defibrillator (AED) or higher-level capability at an emergency medical incident.For 2019 the average combined turnout and travel time for calls that the department responded emergent on was 5:48 or 348
seconds. The 90th percentile for this same period was 8:57 or
537 seconds.
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NEW RECRUIT
FIREFIGHTERSThe fire department brought on 6 new members of the fire department in 2019. These positions were to fill existing vacancies from retirements and to add one member to each shift as part of a change is the department work schedule. This represents the largest number of employees brought on by the department at one time in the department’s history.
STATION ALERTING SYSTEM The department implemented the use of the Phoenix G2 Station Alerting system for notification of responders of an emergency. The system replaced the use of alpha numeric pagers and provides faster and more reliable means of notification. Additionally the system offers notification of specific stations for calls which improves the overall response time of crews to emergencies.
CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLANNING (COOP)
WITH MSUThe fire department, along with other city departments, joined MSU in a joint partnership to develop a continuity of operations plan (COOP). As the City of Bozeman and Montana State University have a long standing relationship, it made sense to develop a plan that could continue this relationship and leverage existing partnerships and resources for this planning effort. COOP plans address how organizations will continue to provide mission critical functions in the event of an emergency.
UTVAs the needs and circumstances of emergency response continue to change in our community, the fire department continues to look for new ways to answers those requests. From large public events on main street to responses occurring in natural areas of the community, sometimes a fire engine is not the best tool for these responses. The department has implemented a utility vehicle (UTV) that can be used to answer emergencies where a fire engine may not be able to. The UTV can be used for a number of applications including EMS and wildland fires.
WILDLAND TRAINING PROGRAMSThe department implemented new personnel protective equipment in 2018 as part of a FEMA grant and spent 2019 training with this new equipment to ensure that members meet the minimum standards of the National Wildland Coordinating Group (NWCG). NWCG standards establish common practices and requirements that enable efficient and coordinated national interagency wildland fire operations.9
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Training Hours Per Firefighter National Standard (240 Hours)
TOTAL TRAINING HOURS
2016 2017 2018 20190
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268
The Bozeman Fire Department strives to ensure that its members are trained to meet or exceed consensus national standards and best practices. In 2019 the department logged 11,553 hours of
training total or 268 hours per member. The 11,553 hours exceed the required minimums set by the Insurance Service Office and the National Fire Protection Association by over 1,200 hours. Some key components that contributed to our training numbers for 2019 were the completion of several key training programs by our members,• Acquired structure training• New recruit firefighter academy• Wildland Firefighter • Enhancements to our Technical Rescue training
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The department has several training goals for 2020 as members will have the ability to move on to Fire Officer II and will begin the process of obtaining national certifications for all of our Engineers via the Montana Fire Service Training School. The department continues to pursue professional certifications and professional credentials for our members and currently has 11 members who hold professional designations via the Center for Public Safety Excellence. The department’s goal is to ensure that each member receives 240 hours of training per calendar year to meet the requirements of the Insurance Service Office (ISO) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS (2016 2019)Firefighter I – 62% 100%Firefighter II – 38% 100%Fire Instructor I – 9% 100%Fire Officer I – 9% 100%
PLANNED TRAINING EFFORTS FOR 2020Fire Officer II – 9% 100%Pumper Driver / Operator – 0% 100% Aerial Driver / Operator – 0% 100%
The Bozeman Fire Department has a full service fire prevention and community risk reduction division that provides services such as plans review, inspections, fire investigation, public fire education, car seat installation, and many other public programs. The fire department prevention and risk reduction programs are under the supervision of the Deputy Chief – Fire Marshal, who is assisted by three full-time fire inspectors and support from firefighters assigned to emergency response. The department conducts plans review of all new commercial buildings constructed in the city and completes onsite inspections of these buildings to ensure code compliance during construction.
NUMBER OF PLANS REVIEWED2016: 4152017: 383 2018: 7702019: 694
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NUMBER OF INSPECTIONS COMPLETED2016: 1,7342017: 2,678 2018: 2,3482019: 5,083
NUMBER OF CAR SEATS INSTALLED OR
CHECKED: 92
NUMBER OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH
EVENTS: 118
PHASE I — IMMEDIATE (Within 6 months of plan adoption)
During the remaining term of the current labor agreement,
the city and the fire union should consider an amendment or
side agreement that formalizes the Kelly Day arrangement.
(Recommendation 1, p.9)
In future negotiations with the IAFF, the city should pursue the
elimination of the Kelly Day and move to a 56-hour workweek for all
line fire personnel. (Recommendation 2, p.9)
Bozeman should review its interpretation of “in paid status” when
considering overtime eligibility for 53-hour fire personnel and
consider the exclusion of any leave time as hours worked when
calculating overtime eligibility. (Recommendation 3, p.12)
BFD should consider the expansion of program management
duties for field personnel and utilize these assignments for
career development and consideration in promotional testing.
(Recommendation 4, p.13)
BFD should institute a periodic meeting forum (weekly/monthly/
quarterly) to discuss departmental initiatives and new directives.
The forum should include all on-duty members of the organization
and chief officers and should be conducted through an internet
based conference calling or video conferencing application.
(Recommendation 5, p.14)
BFD should improve and expand the use of the employee
performance appraisal process in the career development of all
personnel. (Recommendation 7, p.15)
The Fire Protection Master Plan was updated in 2017 by the Center for Public Safety Management. The plan resulted in 42 recommendations that were broken down into 3 phases for implementation. An implementation guide was created from the master plan to provide quick reference to recommendations from the plan. The entire plan can be viewed by visiting our website at www.bozeman.net/government/fire. The following shows the status of recommendations from the master plan,
GREEN — Complete Yellow — In Progress White — Not Started
BFD should work with the city’s Human Resources office to
institute periodic and post-accident drug testing for all fire
personnel. (Recommendation 8, p.15)
The City should consider a restructuring of supplemental
pay for EMT-Basic, EMT-Advanced, and Paramedic in future
negotiations with the IAFF Local 613. (Recommendation 9,
p.54)
Bozeman should consider the relocation of Fire Stations
1 and 2 to address the significant structural and design
issues related to these aging structures and to better
position these resources to serve the burgeoning growth
that is occurring in the southwestern areas of the city.
(Recommendation 12, p.18)
The Bozeman Fire Department should continue its
efforts to implement a prefire planning process for all
target hazards and ensure these documents are stored
in the onboard mobile data terminals (MDTs) for ease
of accessibility by company and chief officers during a
response. (Recommendation 19, p.42)
BFD should work with the 911 dispatch center to develop a
monthly report that identifies the distribution of emergency
and nonemergency response activities for both fire and
EMS responses. (Recommendation 25, p.51)
BFD should continue to work with the 911 Dispatch Center
to implement a pre-alerting system for fire and EMS
notifications. (Recommendation 28, p.67)
BFD and the 911 Dispatch Center should work
cooperatively on efforts to improve dispatch handling and
turnout times for emergency responses. (Recommendation
29, p.74)
The 911 dispatch center should institute a regular program
that tests the transfer of its operations to its alternate
911 center located within the City/County Emergency
Coordination Center. (Recommendation 31, p.91)
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BFD should pursue, through its contractual arrangement with
AMR, expanded joint training activities and cooperative purchasing
agreements for medical equipment. (Recommendation 33, p.55)
The Fire and Building Departments should re-assess their
coordination of work assignments of the two Building Fire Life
Safety Specialists to insure the clarity of direction and prioritization
of assignments. (Recommendation 34, p.80)
The BFD should establish a training steering committee composed
of Battalion Chiefs, Captains, Drivers, Firefighters, and EMS staff
to conduct a training needs assessment, develop priorities, and
provide direction regarding the training efforts of the department.
(Recommendation 38, p.85)
BFD should consider assigning a designated rank to the Training
Officer that is consistent with the authority and duties assigned to
this position. (Recommendation 39, p.85)
BFD should designate a Fire Captain on each shift to serve as
the shift training coordinator to help facilitate in-service training
activities, both for fire and EMS. (Recommendation 41, p.86)
BFD should continue in its effort to institute online training
software to assist in the coordination and monitoring its training
efforts. (Recommendation 42, p.86)
PHASE II — SHORT TERM
(Within 6–18 months of plan adoption)
Bozeman should establish a practice that institutes the
regular scheduling of promotional testing processes for
Driver Engineer and Captain. (Recommendation 6, p.14)
BFD should implement a series of performance measures
that enable ongoing review of service outcomes. The process
of developing these measures should utilize input from BFD
members, the community, the Mayor and City Commission,
and city administration. (Recommendation 10, p.77)
The City should officially designate an alternative
Emergency Management Director and ensure that this
individual is fully trained and well versed in the duties of
the Emergency Management Director. (Recommendation
11, p.88)
The City and Montana State University should explore
the option for a joint fire station / training facility on the
university campus. (Recommendation 14, p.29)
The City should adopt a fire apparatus replacement schedule
that includes an evaluation process that takes into account
vehicle age, miles/hours of usage, maintenance records, and
historical repair costs. (Recommendation 15, p.32)
The Bozeman-Gallatin County Emergency Management
Plan should include department and agency critical action
checklists. (Recommendation 21, p.88)
The Bozeman-Gallatin County Emergency Manager should
lead an effort for every city and county department
to develop a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
(Recommendation 22, p.88)
BFD should expand the effectiveness of its interagency
cooperation with mutual aid partners through increased
joint training activities, annual multi-agency drills, and
move-up operations. (Recommendation 23, p.45)
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BFD should work with the 911 dispatch center and the EMS
ambulance provider to develop methodologies that improve
the call screening process in order to alter response patterns
when calls are determined to be minor or nonemergency.
(Recommendation 24, p.50)
BFD and AMR should evaluate options for jointly staffing a peak-
period ambulance squad to supplement both the city’s and AMR’s
current deployment of resources. (Recommendation 26, p.55)
The 911 Dispatch Center should adopt dispatching performance
measures and these should be reported to both fire and city
administration on a monthly basis. (Recommendation 32, p.91)
BFD should expand the fire loss determination and damage
assessment training for its company officers and fire investigators.
(Recommendation 37, p.83)
The Bozeman Fire Department should institute written and
practical skills testing as part of the department’s comprehensive
fire training program. (Recommendation 40, p.86)
PHASE III — LONG TERM
(Within 2–5 years of plan adoption)
Relocate Station 1 north to N. Rouse Ave. and E. Oak St.
(Recommendation 13, p.26)
BFD should consider the assignment of vehicle apparatus
maintenance and recordkeeping to an existing Driver
Engineer as a project management assignment.
(Recommendation 16, p.34)
BFD should consider the relocation of its fire training
structure to a more appropriate location and a possible
colocation at a fire station site. (Recommendation 17, p.87)
Continue to use the VISION product to conduct a
community risk assessment and analyze/utilize the results
in the planning of fire station locations, apparatus needs,
and staffing requirements. (Recommendation 18, p.38)
Bozeman should pursue CPSE fire accreditation in the
future. (Recommendation 20, p.42)
BFD should move to a permanent cross-staffing model for
the operation of its ladder truck with the AMR medic unit
assigned to Station 3. (Recommendation 27, p.58)
The City of Bozeman should work through the 911
Dispatching Cooperative to take the steps necessary to
ensure that the 911 Dispatch Center operates with a
dedicated 911 Call Taker. (Recommendation 30, p.90)
BFD should develop an integrated risk management plan
that focuses on structure fires throughout the community.
(Recommendation 35, p.49)
The City should redesign and update the business licensing
system so that information regarding each occupancy is
correctly listed and retrievable through this data base.
(Recommendation 36, p.80)
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RETIREESCaptain Sean Grabbe 1998 -2019Captain Ray Johnson 1999 - 2019Fire Inspector Jack Coburn 2001 - 2019
PROMOTIONSCaptain Josh CharlesCaptain Joe CapriEngineer Dillon Smith Engineer Jason Frounfelker
NEW HIRESFirefighter / Paramedic Cameron GallegosFirefighter / Paramedic Samantha ShepherdFirefighter / Paramedic Ryan GreenwellFirefighter / EMT Gabrielle Walker Firefighter / EMT Forrest VogelFirefighter / EMT Thomas Bates
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STATION 2
410 S. 19th Ave.
STATION 1
34 N. Rouse Ave.
STATION 3
1705 Vaquero Parkway
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34 N. Rouse Ave.Bozeman, MT 59715(406) 582-2350