2022-12-07 Fire Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes December 7, 2022 Page 5 on the volunteer side. Some of them have been volunteers for 20-30 years and have responded to more brush fires than paid personnel. There's a wide disparity on the volunteer side with guys that have almost no experience and have no idea what they're doing out there to guys that have worked 300 fires. It's a problem, which they are trying to tackle and figure out how to provide the training that the volunteers need to be able to be effective and safe in how they integrate with paid personnel. Chief Todd stated they'll create positions that they eventually want to be funded on the volunteer side and then push for that position to get funded. He explained that some fire stations around the island were originally volunteer stations, that were later funded. Chair Kosaki stated to the commission that HFD is the only department in the state that has volunteers, which is a combination department with volunteers. They are also the only department in the state that is fire-based EMS, they run the EMS system with fire. Every other island is separate. Commissioner Magsalin stated that the Laupahoehoe community is getting bigger. She asked if she could invite one of the volunteer captains to talk at one of the North Hilo community meetings. Chief Todd stated it's not a problem, just email him, he'll pass it on to Assistant Chief Bertsch and he can get one of his volunteers in that area to attend a meeting. • Fire Prevention Report: Chief Todd reported that the average plan review time is two hours per plan and the average calendar review time is 14 days. The Fire Prevention Branch investigated 4 structure fires during the month of November. He noted that they have been looking to input reports online, cloud-based, away from the county servers. The 2018 NFPA 1 Fire Code passed the first hearing with the County Council. There are two more hearings scheduled on December 21, 2022, and a final hearing on January 5, 2023. Chair Kosaki asked during special events such as Ho`olaule`a where roads are blocked with tents, etc., they need to submit a permit for the road closure, but when they set up tents, do they need to submit a fire permit. Chief Todd explained that part of the park permit submitted goes over to fire. During the event, personnel inspects the tents. • Auxiliary Services Report: An 89-day temporary hire was offered and accepted by Lene Labrador, who will be helping as a clerk III. Captain Domingo has been working under Auxiliary Services to deal with issues in dispatch. They are looking into bringing temporary firefighter dispatchers into the center because they are short- staffed, currently down to seven. They have gone to both unions, and generally, everyone is on board. They're currently working on the paperwork to get this done.