2022-07-21 Fire Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes July 21, 2022 Page 6 ✓ Meeting is scheduled for August 26, 2022. They meet with the volunteer captains every quarter. ✓ The topic for June's training was fire hose, hose streams, and hose operations. Volunteer companies were given classes and performed wet drills as part of their monthly training. Fire Prevention Branch: Investigated 2 structure fires during the month of June. Conducted a lot of public education, plan reviews, and conducted 211 inspections. Chief Todd mentioned the fire code, as it's been brought up to the commission in the past. They have been working with Council Services and drafted the replacement for chapter 26 within Hawaii County Code with the new fire code. This should be sent to County Council by August, but the review won't happen until September to establish that they are running off the 2018 NFPA 1 fire code. They will work on the 2021 code a year or two after that because this is a three-year cycle. Chair Kosaki stated that he received a couple of comments and complaints from the community regarding inconsistencies. Certain requirements were needed by contractors, while others weren't required to do the same. They were going to make a formal complaint to the commission or administration but decided not to. Chief Todd stated that if the community shares concerns, he wants to know about them. He further stated that everyone is held to the same standard. All inspections should be on the same page. The code is the code, it's black and white and isn't up to interpretation. Chief Todd encouraged the commission to advise people in the community, that if at any time they have an issue with any aspect of the Fire Department, the door is open, they do listen no matter what it is it's important to them and they will address all issues. • Logistics, Emergency Communication Section, and Vehicle Maintenance Sections: ✓ They have been running into issues with overall staffing in the Fire Communications Section. They're supposed to have a staff of sixteen, but they are down to seven. Out of the five initial trainees, HFD has only one remaining Fire Communications Officer I. ✓ Normal repairs are continuing pace in the mechanic shop, with a total of 69 repairs and a variety of other DOT inspections. ✓ The warehouse has shifted small engine repair and other small miscellaneous work over to the mechanic. Keeping the work in-house has resulted in significant cost savings for the department. Chair Kosaki stated that he knows HFD is short on MICTs and asked how often does HFD downgrade ALS stations to DLS stations? Chief Todd stated he doesn't