MIN CHARTER 2018-08-10 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -2 August 10, 2018 We also have 64 temporary positions. These are positions where we hire into the Firefighter recruit positions, and also our Water Safety seasonal hire positions. So we don't normally hire 64 all at once. Generally, the classes are 20 or less, but these are the temporary positions that we're able to hire to do the classes, and then move them into permanent positions once they complete their probationary period. The Water Safety seasonal hire during winter months and mostly summer. We have a few beaches that we're allowed to hire a few more Water Safety Officers on a short-term basis. We basically have more major training modalities. As a new hire, you come into Firefighter recruit training. All of our Firefighters then have to do emergency medical responder. This used to be called first responder. It's the entry level of the pre -hospital medical training for all members of the department. Then all of our Firefighters must complete Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) basic course, basically about 14 weeks, to maintain employment in the Fire Department. That's our minimum standard of licensure to be a Fire Fighter in our department here because we run the emergency medical services. Then a Firefighter EMT can present an application to the Fire Chief to enter into the Mobile Intensive Care Technician course, that's the paramedic course, and that's about a one-year course for licensure in the State. Those are the personnel that actually are the team leaders of our ambulances and conduct advance life support care to our patients that we respond to on our incidents. The staffing once again, because of the large rural nature of our island, there's a lot of unprotected areas that we do not have career stations at. So we augment that with 20 volunteer stations throughout the island. Currently, we have about 130 active volunteers. We have more, but active meaning that they come to the monthly trainings, respond to the incidents that they're return dialed on. Volunteer response resources, we have about 37 voluntary apparatus across the island, which are 18 pumpers, or fire trucks; four tankers; and 15 brush trucks. They provide a great amount of help and service to our department. Currently we have some volunteers at the Keauhou reserve fire up in national park. A lot of volunteers have assisted us with the recent Waikoloa fire as well. So I just wanted to quickly show you a couple of pictures of the apparatus that we have so you get a better understanding. We have our two helicopters, Chopper 1 on the left which is primarily our rescue helicopter. It has a basket that's hinged on the right side that drops down into the ocean so the rescue men can get our victims either in the water or rivers; as well as our primary brush fire mitigation for water drops. On the right is our aeromedical helicopter, designed for transport of medical patients across the island. Our two primary fire apparatus is the pumper on the left which is what you normally would call a fire truck; and also our aerial apparatus on the right. So it's Page 23