2012-02-08 Fire Commission Minutes

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Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes February 8, 2012 Page 3 Support Services Division EMS Bureau: The MICT class started with its largest class in HFD history with fourteen personnel. Fall Prevention training was conducted by the State DOH EMS Injury Prevention Branch for EMT and MICT students as well as the EMS Bureau and Prevention Bureau personnel. th Training Bureau: The 40 firefighter recruit class graduated on January 28. The newly promoted captain to the Training Bureau, Darwin Okinaka, started on January 16. Prevention Bureau: Their fire prevention fire code passed. Auxiliary Services: The mechanic shop employees have two furlough days a month. They are doing a remarkable job of repairing and keeping equipment running. They did anticipate furloughs to have a negative impact. Today they have the same number of mechanics as in 1990, but the number of stations have grown. When they have a full staff, they still have to work over time. There was a suggestion to work full time at lower wage, but the union felt they would rather take a day off instead of lower wage. Apparatus/Equipment Section: Chief Rosario briefed the commission on their vehicle inventory, age, and apparatus condition. The average age of their fire trucks is 17 years. The national average replacement age is 10-15 years. They don’t have a replacement when one is being repaired. He is preparing a fleet replacement schedule for 15-20 years. Mileage is also a consideration. Their process is to rotate apparatus. At age 25, they will retire from service and be auctioned off. They are looking to purchase two apparatus a year with county funds. The average cost of an apparatus increases about 3% a year. At the end of this 10-year plan, with 3% increments each year, it’s about $900,000. They have to plan for $2 million for each year’s budget. Volunteer Training Section: Volunteer Fire Chief Tom Brandt introduced the volunteer captains James Milar from Pa‘auilo and James Fritz from Pu‘uanahulu. He thanked the commission for having more meetings in Kona and Waimea. Commissioners Taniguchi and Moku participated in their quarterly meeting. A highlight was to establish a healthy safety committee. They are not going to do interior fire fighting. They are willing to work with the Chief to assist career personnel. The next volunteer meeting will be on April 28 at HPP at 10:00 a.m. There website is: hvfca.net. New Projects/Business: They have a new Arson Task Force with an arson dog. They work with the police to deal with any suspected arson. Employee/Public Relations: Grievances are continuing.