2016-08-17 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes August 17, 2016 Page 2 • Alternative Funding and Grants: The 2015 CDBG Pahoa Brush Truck is expected to arrive on August 31. The 2016 CDBG for a Wildland Pumper Apparatus should be going out to bid in a couple of weeks. They received notification of award for the 2015 AFG replacement of Self -Contained Breathing Apparatus. This is a $1.5 million FEMA grant, 90% funded by the Federal Government and 10% by the County. This grant is for 211 units, and they will bid for an upgrade. They continue to work on the 2016 Office of Aging Grant for a new position that identifies people of need who call them often for non -emergencies. Vice Chair Becker suggested they look for fire equipment grants through the Department of the Interior. • Human Resources Division: They are moving forward on the temporary Fire/EMS Specialist Ill position for West Hawaii. They have been busy working on documentation for pay adjustments for all employees. • Emergency Operations Division ✓ Operations: They responded to smoke in a cockpit at the Hilo International Airport. They did an aircraft rescue of two adults who were swept to sea from the Hakalau River. They participated in the Volcano Village Independence Day Parade. They responded to eight brush fires in West Hawaii. ✓ Special Operations: Two Hazmat personnel will attend the Response to Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies training in Nevada and the Prevention and Response to Suicide Bombing Incident training in New Mexico. Three personnel will attend the Hazmat Continuing Challenge Conference in California. ✓ Rescue: They held the Jr. Lifeguard Island Championships on July 30th with 80 participants. They will take 12 participants to the State Championships on Maui on August 6th • Support Services Division ✓ Training: They had 100% recruit graduation. Twenty-four out of twenty-five recruits completed the National Registry EMT testing. ✓ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Paul Lakin reported that training continues. They have been very busing fighting fires on the west side. Recruitment is going good. Equipment is aging, but the Chief does his best. The batteries for their new radios drain quickly. They would like to have a spare battery and charging system for their vehicle. Chief Rosario stated that this would be new equipment, and it has to go through their supplemental budget. Their concerns have been referred to AC Honda. The next captains' meeting will be on November 19.