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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-13 Fire Commission Minutes HAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION - MINUTES August 13, 2003 Liquor Control Conference Room CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Neil Brazier at 10:00 am. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Stephen Bowles Neil Brazier Rudolph Hart Louis Kaoiwi Karen Maedo Laura Ward Terry Wallace A quorum was present. Excused: Dale Fergerstrom Natalie Flattes Laura Ward ALSO PRESENT: Martha Rodillas Darryl Oliveira Laurie Kaneta Joe Whitney Noni Sanford th 29 HFD Recruit Class STATEMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS None APPROVAL OF MEETING PROCEEDINGS Commissioner Maedo moved to accept the July 9, 2003, regular & executive session minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hart and unani TH INTRODUCTION OF 29 RECRUIT CLASS th Glen Honda introduced the 29 HFD recruit class, which consisted of 11 recruits. The Fire Commissioners welcomed them. APPROVAL OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Kaoiwi moved to accept communication numbers 03-52 through 03-55. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Maedo and unanimously carried. . HAZMAT PRESENTATION The Fire Commission members proceeded to the outside parking lot Street Bank for a demonstration of the HAZMAT unit by Captain George Van Gieson, W. Sumida & A. Hogan. The demonstration ended earlier than expected due to a structural fire that the HAZMAT unit needed to respond to. Chief Oliveira stated that Hawai`i have large quantities of chlorine, pesticides & insecticides that would need HAZMAT attention. Chemicals are potent and dangerous. Most products are in liquid form; some liquid oxygen. Ammonia leaks occur. Dumpsters are prone to HAZMAT. It was recommended that you not mix household cleaning products. Melathion is part of the same family that the military uses as nerve agents. CHIEFÓS REPORT Chief Oliveira stated that the recruit class was introduced this morning. Chief Oliveira stated that he was attending the introduction at the HFDÓs RMS (records management system) class this morning. The RMS is making significant progress for the HFD. Appreciation and thanks go out to Data Systems and the Honolulu Fire Department for technical expert. This computer system will be able to gather better information re incidents in the field and better record keeping. Budget: Chief Oliveira reported that he received a letter from the State EMS stating that they may have to consider a 10% budget cut ($880,000) for the Big Island. $7.9 million of the HFDÓs budget is salaries & wages. Chief Oliveira is working on a letter to Governor Lingle to reconsider this budget cut. Chief Oliveira is asking the HFC to send a letter to Governor Lingle in support of not cutting the EMS funding. Every unit and every community is essential. This may cut back servic 2 responses. There are no luxuries on this island. On July 17, 2 was notified by the State EMS of this cut. Chief Oliveira will provide a copy of this letter to the HFC. With the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement award, we are stuck with trying to meet the award, and yet faced with this cutback of 10%. Only the Big Island was cut. Commissioner Kaoiwi recommended that HFC write letters to the Governor and Finance Committee Chairman Dwight Takamine. A tremendous impact will be felt if this budget cut occurs. Representative Ed Case will be in Volcano on Saturday and Senator Dan Inouye will be there on August 25. A letter should be sent to Senator Kokubun as well as all legislators from the Big Island. A follow-up correspondence to the communities that are affected should be notified of this also. Chief Oliveira would like to see if the County would be able to come up with the difference if the cut becomes a reality. The HFC needs to go to the Legislature and keep them abreast of our concerns. The Ways & Means Committee needs to be kept updated. Also need concerns of moving the fire station from KMC to Volcano. The neighbor islands continue to be the first ones to get cut. Chairman Brazier will work with Chief Oliveira on drafting a let the legislators regarding the concerns expressed. Chief Oliveira will meet with the Mayor and Chairman Brazier at a later date. Grants: Working on an action plan regarding CDBG $150,000 award for the design and planning of a new Pahoa station. The current station is not built to withstand disasters. Looking at County property in Pahoa also looking at an area by the bypass road. All new fire stations will desire 2.5 acres for construction. This area includes training area, equipment testing, etc. A sizable, visible and accessible property is desired. A grant of $45,000 was received from the Department of Transportation Safe Community Highway Program. This grant will be used to purchase extrication tools for the Kawailani & Kaumana stations. Every station on the island will now have itÓs own extrication tools. Submitting an application for a public education trailer designed to teach the community safety (hurricane, fires, etc.) This education tool is built on a trailer. This will promote better public education and awareness. CIP: status quo on the Kalaua project. Continuing to work on making the project fit on the property. Will continue to keep the HFC updated. Fire Administration Building update Î there is only 39,000 square feet of land available on the lot next to HPD. The recommendation is NOT to use the land next to HPD due to the limited space and due to HPDÓs needs. Other properties 3 being considered are a piece of property by the airport, and one on Ponahawai Street. As soon as the property is identified, the HFC will be addressed. A training facility will accommodate the lots located on Ponahawai Street and on the lot by the airport. Working with the developers of Kukio for a West HawaiÒi training site. Promotions & hiring: met recruit class early on in this meeting. The first class is in EMS training. Chief mechanic was promoted which created another opening. There are two firefighter vacancies. The testing is scheduled with the Department of Civil Service. Working on Battalion Chief positions. Dates for the Fire Rescue exam have been identified. There is several recruitment for promotions scheduled within the next two months. The HFC was encouraged to sit in on the promotion interviews if desired. Please inform Chief Oliveira. The entrance exam for firefighter recruits shows a 10% of repeat applicants. There were 519 applicants for last weekÓs exam. Applications fo recruitments were 815. 5% female; 95% male. Applications for police officer were 194. Operations division: conducting quarterly meetings with division heads, which ties into the HFDÓs Strategic Plan. Short and medium goals for EMS are being established. A request to Colonel Anderson has been submitted to request an extension until January, 2005. This will allow HFD time to train, hire and fill positions. There will be a meeting with Representative Ed Case and Senator Dan Inouye. The HFC is welcomed to attend the meetings to be held in Volcano. HOVE: met with a private foundation that wants to donate an ambulance to the community. The HFD does not have the personnel to staff the ambulance and will not have additional monies to fund these positions. The vehicle and equipment are worth $150,000 and we donÓt want to loose this funding. Would like to see if they can provide funding for the first year and the State supplementing the funds thereafter. The function would be limited to drug administration, intravenous therapy, electric cardiac, etc. These live saving treatments are critical. The Foundation said they would probably pay for training. The lady making the donation is from New York and she is the foundation. The HFC has received a leadership development graduation invitat recently promoted captains. These are scheduled for August 20 & August 25 in Kona at 1:30 p.m. All HFC members are invited to attend. Prevention bureau: Richard Kihara is still retained on contract and continuing to train the other two inspectors. The HFD is limited on number of people being submitted 4 to the Fire Academy. Honolulu Fire Department has been helpful for training, teaching, etc. HonoliÓi Fire Î discussion on-going between the inspector and the insurance company. Both sides feel different points of origin; still identifying exact point of origin. Volunteer division: Volcano Fire ChiefÓs held a meeting on July 19. HFC members were thanked for attending this meeting. The Volunteer groups wants to encourage more volunteer participation. Enthusiasm is high with a high level of training to protect the community. Will keep the HFC informed of its next meeting, which may be held at Fern Forest Community Association. Fire Auxiliary Services Division: There are two new dispatchers on an internship. Will work to hire more dispatchers. May bring dispatcher to a HFC meeting to inform the HFC of their facilities, staffing, etc. Encouraging the dispatchers to see the volunteers as the Ðfirst lineÑ responses instead of Ðback-upÑ. Internal improvement is necessary. New projects: RMS (Records Management System) Î encourages HFD to see what is going on; working towards a paperless system. EMS Division: recruits are in training. Partnership with HCC being considered. Would like to give an ÐoldÑ ambulance to the school for better hands on training. Public Relations: Moonlight Madness - American Cancer Society - raised $831 dollars. Commissioner Ward participated at the Hilo event. The HFD would like to work more with the youth on civic projects. On going Î bag-brigade; firefighters and police officers will participate in this event at KTA to solicit funds for HawaiÒi Island United Way. The first event held on August 1, raised funds of $771 within four hours. October 11 Î fire prevention week - more information to follow. UNFINISHED BUSINESS NONE COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget & Finance (Bowles/Hart) Commissioners Bowles & Hart may meet with Representative Dwight Takamine to discuss the budget situation. Office Management and Staffing (Fergerstrom/Wallace) None. 5 Rules and Policies (Kaoiwi/Flattes) None. Public Relations (Ward) None. NEW BUSINESS None. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is to be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. in Kona. Exact location to be announced. Set agenda for September 10, 2003 meeting. Dispatch presentation to be held at October meeting. Meeting recessed for 5 minutes at 11:25 am. Meeting reconvened at 11:30 am. A video was shown to the HFC on what the HFD is about. Compliments went out to the people who participated in and produced this exceptional video. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 11:52 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ MARTHA A. RODILLAS Secretary B&C:Fire Commission:Regular Session Minutes 8-22-03 LSA/mr 6