2013-09-11 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

Home

Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Minutes of September 11, 2013 Page 3 Open-competitive recruitments: The temporary WSO I summer hires ended on August 15. The Accountant IV hire date is September 1. Labor Relations: The termination of a WSO II was sustained. Arbitration of a WSO’s two suspensions is pending. A Step 3 grievance for a Fire Fighter is pending. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION Operations: The Daniel Sayre Foundation dinner was held on August 31 at the Fairmont Orchid. It was a sold-out event that honored numerous personnel for various incidents throughout 2012 and 2013. The Foundation gifts equipment to the Fire Department. Special Operations Ocean Safety: Two WSO summer hires ended in August and another will end in September. Recruitment of two full-time WSOs for Punalu’u is being processed. HGEA’s new BU 14 for Ocean Safety passed. The procurement process has begun to purchase five new lifeguard towers for Hilo and Puna. st Training: The 41 Fire Fighter recruit class is finishing its criteria for nd reallocation to Fire Fighter status. The 42 Fire Fighter recruit class finished their fire essentials curriculum, driver training, and swimming requirements. FEO Chris Carvalho is the new driver trainer and is working on updating the training program. The First Responder recertification was completed for West Hawai’i, and additional classes will be conducted in Hilo. Volunteer: Chief Rosario reported that they received the 5-ton truck for HOVE volunteers. Chief Mechanic Glenn Maesato is working on retrofitting it for the department. Public Works checked the Volcano water tanks for safety concerns. Volunteer Station 7A notified them that they will be shutting down their operations on September 17. 7A’s tanker will be transferred to another location where it is needed. The volunteer SOGs and district boundaries are being reviewed. Volunteer Fire Chief Krug reported that the meeting in Pahala was well- attended. He thanked Chair Taniguchi for his attendance. A number of topics were discussed. The use of cameras was clarified. Problems with the pagers have improved, but it is still not quite right; calls are being cut off. It could be a programming issue. They are still working on brush boots. They are doing driver assessment training.He is working on a volunteer call-out log. Chair Taniguchi stated that having a volunteer incident call-out log would help the department when making decisions on providing equipment.