HomeMy WebLinkAbout050613 MAY MEETING - ReportCHIEF’S REPORT (05/08/2013)
I. Budget
II. Alternative Funding and Grant
• FY 2012 CDBG Grant for Pahoa Tanker
o Chassis being completed by Atlanta Peterbilt and will be delivered to
Freedom Fire Equipment this month.
• FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant application
o Grant was awarded for FF Safety training course and equipment
• FY 2013 CDBG Grant for Waiakea Quint
o Awaiting final funding amount
o Bid specifications being worked on
Capital Improvement Projects: A current overview of ongoing projects may
include but not limited to:
• Kawailani Fire Station replacement
o Continue to work with Councilmember Onishi and DLNR for land
acquisition
• Hapuna Water Safety Tower
o Received approval from State to place tower on beach
III. Goals and Objectives update
o Continue to visit personnel at Stations, Visiting Kona, North and South
Kohala.
o Continue to meet one on one with Councilmembers
IV. Human Resources Division
1) Recruitments
a. Internal recruitments
• Fire Captain – Blanket requisition approved until June 30, 2013.
• Fire Equipment Operator – Blanket requisition approved until June 30,
2013.
• Fire Rescue Specialist – Blanket requisition approved until June 30, 2013.
• Fire Hazardous Materials Specialist – Blanket requisition approved until
June 30, 2013.
• Fire Emergency Medical Services Specialist II – Blanket requisition
approved until June 30, 2013.
• Fire Fighter – Blanket requisition approved until June 30, 2013.
• Fire Prevention Inspector I – written examination scheduled on May 21,
2013.
• Battalion Chief (Auxiliary Services) – Assessment Center scheduled on
May 24, 2013.
b. Open-competitive recruitments
• Fire Fighter Recruit (Temp) – Thirteen (13) Fire Fighter Recruits will be
hired for the 42nd class. Hire date is May 1, 2013.
• Water Safety Officer I (Temp) – Awaiting referral list from Department of
Human Resources. Performance assessment exercise will be scheduled in
early May. Targeted employment period is May 16 – August 15, 2013.
• Accountant IV – Received referral list on April 25, 2013.
2) Labor Relations
• Arbitration – WSO II arbitration hearing (Termination) currently
scheduled from May 14 – 16, 2013. Rescheduled to latter part of June
2013 due to scheduling conflicts.
• Arbitration – WSO II (Suspension of 10 work shifts or 80 hours)
• Arbitration – WSO II (Suspension of 15 work shifts or 120 hours)
Ratification Meetings
• Island-wide meetings scheduled for UPW (Unit 1) and HGEA (Units 2,
3, 4 & 13) during latter part of this month.
V. Emergency Operations Division
OPERATIONS:
1) Firefighter recruits EMT interns completing Clinical skills on medics
2) First Responder and Dive Rescue Instructor Training
3) Incident Management Team for All Hazards recruitment
SPECIAL OPERATIONS:
Hazmat
1) Still awaiting for the revised the Hazmat SOGs that was submitted to Corp.
Council.
2) Working with Civil Defense Administrator to procure sensors and monitoring
equipment in response to PGV incidents. We will be using funds from a
previous DHS grant.
3) Looking into upgrading our equipment to identify unknown materials
including explosives and also equipment that uses spectrometry. Our current
equipment is rapidly becoming obsolete. Due to the high cost of these items,
we are looking toward alternative funding sources.
Rescue
1) We have depleted the bulk of our supplies for the Project Lifesaver program
and will have to decide what future course of action to take regarding
continuance. Working with the HCOA to address this issue.
2) We had 1 of our personnel who attended and completed the instructor diver
training program on Oahu. We will be meeting with him to decide how we
will begin implementation for this training.
Ocean Safety
1) We received the letter from HGEA acknowledging concurrence for the HFD
ACC program for our WSOs. We have begun implementation.
2) Senate SB 883 with regard to the creation of a new bargaining unit 14 within
HGEA is now with the Governor. Three things can happen at this point, 1) he
can sign the bill into law, 2) he can allow the bill to become a law without his
signature (he has until July 9 for this), or 3) he can veto the bill. If he decides
to veto the bill, this would have to be done by June 24. The new BU would
include our Water Safety Officers and the State Law Enforcement including
DOCARE and the Sheriffs.
3) Working on adding a new lifeguard tower at the Hapuna Beach north end.
This would allow us to view the beach area fronting the Hapuna Beach Prince
Hotel. We have gotten the necessary permits and are waiting to hear back
from Conen’s on when they would be able to transport the tower. Due to the
remote location on the beach, there is an additional charge to move the tower
along the beach.
Safety Committee
1) Meeting held on April 5 and some concerns brought up were; PPE cleaning
and selection, the respiratory protection program status, AAR at all multi-
company incidents, review of all IA and accident reports, staffing and EMS
safety concerns.
VI. Support Services Division
EMS BUREAU:
1) The Community Hands Only CPR project is well on its way with over 370
people trained thus far. Kealakehe HS Senior Class is targeted for early May
and the Summer Youth Academy in June. Feedback has been very positive
and has been embraced by the HS Faculty. The perpetuation and
sustainability of this project looks favorable.
2) The annual Hawaii EMS Information System (HEMSIS) Conference was held
in Kona from April 23rd to the 26th. All of the States EMS Providers,
Physicians and stakeholders collaborated to discuss EMS related topics and
issues. Nationally recognized EMS Leaders headlined as conference speakers.
HFD conducted an excellent presentation and demonstration to open up the
conference. The focus of the presentation was to highlight the strength of our
Fire Based EMS system inclusive of Ocean Safety and our ability to work
collaboratively with our EMS partners.
3) (9) personnel have received their permanent MICT License and are awaiting
the reallocation and assessment process. This pool of personnel puts us at
even par with the number of FMS vacancies. The next class of is scheduled to
start August 2013 with applications due in by May 15th, 2013.
4) (14) FF/R’s are wrapping up their Clinical phase of EMT training. This is a
new 360 hr curriculum focused on developing a strong basic EMT foundation.
This basic curriculum is in line with the Board of Medical Examiners (BME)
and DCCA licensing as well as with the Administrative Rules and State EMS
regarding minimum qualifications to work on an ALS Ambulance.
5) North Hawaii Community Hospital was officially deemed a Level III Trauma
Center. During the validation process, compliments were given to our EMS
personnel’s chart writing, treatment and documentation of mechanism of
injury.
TRAINING BUREAU:
1) The 41st Recruit class is in the Clinical portion of EMT training. They are
rotating between a few medic units, ER, and L&D. They are scheduled to
finish EMT on May 10th and return to training for 1 final week of preparations
before graduating on May 18th. The will be transitioning to 24 hour duty on
the following week.
2) Final preparations have been completed for the start of the 42nd Firefighter
Recruit class. We held their orientation meeting on April 22 to issue all of the
H/R paperwork and go over class expectations. The same Recruit Training
Officers from the 41st class were brought in again to assist with the 42nd class
also.
3) We have our training calendar up and running utilizing Microsoft Outlook.
Any and all scheduled training and appointments will be inputted into the
calendar for all personnel to be able to access and view at their leisure. This
has been something we’ve wanted to do for a while to make it easier for our
personnel to access information.
4) Captain Okinaka has been continuously working on finding the ideal system
to manage electronic document filing. He’s been trying to utilize the Adobe
system of PDF files which has been working out okay but is still looking for
other options. We’ve been introduced to the Laserfiche system that has been
in the county for a number of years and that seems to be a more efficient and
effective method of document storage. We are currently exploring the
possibilities of acquiring a license for the training Bureau to provide them the
opportunity to utilize this program.
VOLUNTEER TRAINING BUREAU:
1) Puuanahulu received a new, 2nd hand 4x4 engine on Monday, April 29, 2013;
then Puuanahulu engine will be transferred to Kona Village. Kona Village has
been w/o a truck for 2 yrs. +.
2) Fern acres, Naalehu, HOVE also received trucks from forestry this month.
Glen Maesato and his crew worked very hard to gets these trucks out.
PREVENTION BUREAU:
1) Conducted/ enforced the fire, life safety, and emergency plan for the Merry
Monarch. April 3-6, 2013.
2) Completed securing of the remaining 1,277 aerial luminary devices.
3) Attended the bi-ennial Western Region Fire Code Development Committee
meeting of which Hawaii submitted 5 code revisions successfully.
4) Started the process of inspecting the 40+ Fireworks retail, sites for Fire code
compliancy. Inspections required annually for all retail site in order for them
to sell Fireworks here in Hawaii County. Licenses expire March 31 of every
year.
5) Inspected a local hotel for fire and life safety issues. Failed inspection. HFD
continues to work with partnering departments and the owner to meet
compliance. The Final decision to allow them to remain in operation is
pending notice from the Fire chief, legal council, and Mayor.
DISPATCH:
1) Training of three new dispatchers continues with trainees on the consoles
monitoring calls and getting the chance to call-take and dispatch with a
supervisor listening in and providing guidance.
2) AC 2 is part of a committee reviewing the Request for Proposal for the County
Wide Mobile Radio System Upgrade. Making sure that the Fire Departments
Communications needs is addressed.
AUXILLIARY SERVICES/WAREHOUSE
1) The FASO position continues to be filled utilizing TA personnel. All three,
Captains Farias, Komatsu and Lee, have submitted applications for the
recruitment assessment scheduled for May 2, 2013
2) Over the past two months, the Warehouse has been moving forward with
maintenance and clean up. Making room to store Fiscal and Personnel records
that were moved from storage at the County Building. Additionally, Capt. Farias
and Storekeeper Eldred Kalehua managed to destroy 80 bankers boxes of dated
records that met the Guidelines for the Retention and Destruction of County
Records Schedule.
MAINTENANCE SHOP
1) Glenn Maesato and his crew found time to prep 4 of the 5 brush trucks that
we received from California Department of Fire and they have been assigned
to Puuanahulu, Ocean View, Naalehu and Fern Acres Volunteers. The last
truck is awaiting pump repair and when completed will be sent to Paauilo
Volunteers.
2) Award to build the next two new pumpers for Waimea and North Kohala
Stations has been given to KME Manufacturing. We will be moving forward
with a contract to proceed.
New Projects/Business
Employee/Public Relations