2019-08-21 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Minutes of 'August 21, 2019 Page 2 Chief Rosario stated, "Yes," and that the current overtime is coming out of their salaries and wages. Commissioner Yamada stated that they will recover the funds over the course of the year, so he doesn't see it as a major hindrance, just an added extra. Chief Rosario stated that it is an added layer, and they are hoping all their requests will be approved. • Alternative Funding and Grants ➢ 2018 CDBG: The Paradise Park Wildland Brush Truck arrived in Hilo and they need to do finishing work on it. ➢ USDA USFS Wildland Grant: Final approval $50,000 matching fund grant. ➢ County Council Contingency Fund AssistancE provided funding for equipment. ➢ USFA FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant is expected in September for this Various Council Members have They are awaiting notification. Emergency Operations Division: Coordinated response to the Mauna Kea/TMT started on July 15 and was terminated on August 1. ➢ Special Operations ✓ Hazmat: They are awaiting a DHS grant to purchase equipment mandated by OSHA ✓ Ocean Safety: The Kua Bay tower became operational on July 1. The Daniel Sayer Foundation paid for 30 Jr. Lifeguards to attend the State Championships on Oahu. BC Kim attended a State Ocean Safety conference on Oahu. Support Services Division ➢ Training: Recruit training continues. ➢ Volunteer Training: Commander Bertsch reported that they continue to work on the Active 911 system. He gave big thanks to the Ironman Foundation for their donations. Captain Perreira attended training on what to look for in arsonists. The next Captains' meeting will be on September 14 or 21 in Kohala Estates. Leadership training will start at 9:00 a.m., and the meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. In response to questions, Commander Bertsch stated that they have seen a decrease in volunteerism in the Fire Department. Key elements for this is that they need to do a better job in getting their message out. They tend to get more volunteers in areas where the demographics are younger. They also have demographics where community members have been doing this for a long time. For him, he has his own business, and this is very rewarding. Motivations for volunteerism is different. They have had discussions on what they can do to motivate people to volunteer such as credit when applying on the paid side and waiving property taxes.