2006-08-09 Fire Commission Minutes

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Wildland Fire Control, Incident Command & Disaster Control, Essentials of Fire Suppression, and Fire Hydraulics. This will be the first semester that these courses will be open to the public, and they will begin on August 21, 2006. The tuition continues to be waived, utilizing grant money, and the department will be working with the media in order to inform the public. This will allow people in the community to get the career exposure and get the fundamental certifications prior to employment. Ocean Safety: Continuing to meet with the Department of Parks and Recreation and HGEA to discuss incorporating/integrating the Ocean Safety lifeguards into the Fire Department. In the process of developing a project plan. Once the unions concerns are addressed, feedback from the members will be surveyed. One concern is regarding uniform and grooming (hair length). The Fire Department requires grooming standards, which will apply to the lifeguards, because there are safety issues involved. This type of requirement is necessary because the individuals will be working with equipment, which increases the possibility for potential injuries. Employee/Public Relations th 4 of July Pool Splash: Appreciation to Captain Ted VanGelder and the Station 2 personnel who arranged the annual event at N.A.S. pool. Annual Fire Department Fishing Tournament: Held on July 15, 2006. Over 30 boats entered. Fire Fighter Vern Hara won the tournament. Appreciation to Captain Lester Inouye, and FEO Garret Komatsu for coordinating the event. Relief Association East/West Family Get Together: Thanks to the Relief Association and coordinator Fire Fighter Darren Shimaoka, on July 16, 2006, a fellowship get-together and softball tournament was held at the Kona Airport. th 5 Annual KTA/HIUW Bag Brigade:Currently, scheduling the event with the stores. Over the past four years, the Fire Department, in partnership with the Police Department, has raised over $18,000 for Hawai'i Island United Way. Per the Fire Commissions request for the statistics/figures of the Fire Department’s salaries and overtime, Chief Oliveira distributed the information to the Fire Commission.(See Attachment “A”) Commissioner Okabe questioned whether the Fire Department still participated with the Dream Come True program for terminally ill children. Chief Oliveira replied that the Fire Department has not participated with this program for the past three years. When former Fire Chief Nelson Tsuji retired, the baton was passed to other members of the department. Since then, it has not been pursued. He is unsure why, but can only conclude that it is due to a great number of other ongoing projects, as well as the amount of overtime going 8