08 FIRE CHIEFS REPORT February 2023

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TO THE FIRE COMMISSION Highlights The following are the top three issues for the last month: Hawai'i Fire Chiefs Association Meeting The Hawaii Fire Chiefs Association held a meeting on February 14 to discuss the current state of firefighting in Hawai'i. One of the main topics of discussion was the Hawaii Fire Chiefs Conference that was held in December. The fire chiefs discussed the successes, challenges, and the future of the conference. There was also considerable comment on the future of the HFCA and its direction. f Emergency Responder Resiliency Training On February 22, the Friends of First Responders hosted an Emergency Responder Resiliency training at the Aupuni Center. This training was geared toward first responders from the County, State and Federal agencies. The training presented ways to cope with the stresses of the job and brought awareness to the numerous resources available for helping with responder mental and physical health. Also discussed was the utilization of Critical Incident Stress Management teams following difficult situations. The training will have a positive impact on first responder health. Volunteer Captain Meeting The quarterly Volunteer Captain's meeting was held on February 25 at Station 913. The meeting focused on Executive Leadership and Management of the Division. A new portion of the meeting is a veneration of membership. This includes service awards, promotions, and recognition. It was a great opportunity to honor and recognize individuals that have gone above and beyond expectations. There were four Captains that received their official shirts and were pinned. One of the takeaways from the meeting is that there is a big void of equipment that is required for the volunteer companies. We will be addressing this issue this quarter. Firefighters in Dispatch Over the course of the past 10-12 years, there has been a steady decline in the retention of Fire Communication Officers (FCO) within HFD. Along with the decline in retention, there has been a significant decrease in the success rate of trainees completing the 12-month training. Currently, we are at a 19% success rate for completion of the training program. To alleviate the burnout and issues related to the shortage in staffing, the utilization of firefighters in dispatch is recommended to serve as a stopgap measure until additional FCOs can be hired and trained. The use of fire fighters within the FCCC will help ease call taking responsibilities which will greatly increase the ability of the FCO's to concentrate on more in- depth call handling while providing decompression time between successive calls. These fire fighters would be utilized to supplement the current vacancies. We are in the process of consulting with the unions for their input prior to the implementation of the plan. We anticipate being able to start the training for these firefighters by the end of the month. 2 2023 1 FEBRUARY