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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 Chief's Report for February MeetingCHIEF’S REPORT (02/18/2015) I. Budget • FY 2014/2015 • FY 2015/2016 II. Alternative Funding and Grant • Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Programs • Community Development Block Grant Programs • State Highways Grant Programs • Other Federal Grant Programs • Community Grant Programs • Capital Improvement Projects III. Human Resources Division 1) Recruitments Open-competitive recruitments • Fire Fighter Recruit – Recruitment to be conducted February 1-10, 2015. • Fire Equipment Mechanic – To be hired February 2, 2015. Internal within department recruitment • Fire/Emergency Medical Services Specialist II – Pending assessment center results. • Fire Rescue Specialist – Performance Assessment Exercise scheduled on February 9, 2015. • Fire Prevention Captain – Assessment Center scheduled on January 30, 2015. • Battalion Chief (Emergency Operations) – Recruitment to be conducted February 1-10, 2015. 2) Classification & Pricing • One Water Safety Officer I reallocated to Water Safety Officer II effective January 16, 2015. IV. Emergency Operations Division OPERATIONS: West Hawai‘i 1) Kaupulehu Shipwreck four day search and rescue in conjunction with USCG and volunteers. 2) Training: Foam Pro Class x 2days in District 9 and 15. 3) Brush Fire on Aloha Kona Drive in District 7, Structure fire on Bamboo lane in dist 20, Hōlualoa Structure fire with two fatalities. 4) High surf conditions starting Jan 22 and lasting approximately one week resulting in multiple rescues and high surf damage. 5) Participated in three HWMO community meetings in W. Hawai‘i East Hawai‘i 1) Ongoing Lava event. Due to severe December - January drought conditions, brush fires have plagued the Pāhoa area. Fire Breaks both reactive and pro- active have been established. Continuing to maintain emergency services while managing staffing shortages. 2) Created the foundation for a type 3 AHIMT team. 3) Developing 1st quarter recertification and retraining cycles for all personnel. 4) Completed 2014 incomplete RMS incidents. 5) C1 assisted CD with Lava flow flights, Iolehaehae assessment, and West Hawai‘i High surf event. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Hazmat: 1) Equipment status – still working on funding for the replacement of obsolete equipment. Looking to possibly obtain DHS funding for this. 2) Identified specific locations near PGV to deploy our Area Rae monitors in the event of an incident at PGV. Awaiting approval and implementation of our proposed guidelines. 3) Addressing our equipment and training issues with the LEPC to request for assistance with this. 4) Captain Lyle Loyola and I assisted the CST with their drills on Maui in January. We will be having a similar type drill here in March and we will be working together with the CST personnel for this. 5) There will be a full scale multi-faceted all hazards exercise on July that will be conducted by the CST. We are having the mid-planning conference for this exercise in February. Rescue: 1) We are reviewing our response protocol for extended incidents due to some concerns during that last two major incident in west Hawai‘i. 2) New supplies and equipment just arrived for our Project Lifesaver program. We will be distributing tracking devices to other companies Island-wide and will provide training for them prior. We have begun to sign up new clients requesting this service. 3) Monthly off-duty rescue training is still continuing to upkeep the skill level of our personnel. Documentation of these drill are imperative so we are addressing those who may not have participated in a drill or have not completed their documentation. Ocean Safety: 1) The new RWC and other equipment are scheduled to arrive in February or March. We will be conducting the skills assessment for the prospective candidates as soon as our equipment arrives. 2) We are continuing to pursue the implementation of our PWC program. We have begun the training with two classes held by the UH WCC giving our personnel the necessary certification and licenses to operate a thrill craft. 3) A revised supplemental agreement and consultation letter was submitted to HGEA and is awaiting a reply. 4) We have created a plan for the last lifeguard tower to be installed at Carlsmith Beach Park. This is the last of our towers to be replaced in east Hawai‘i. 5) We had significant damage to the Hāpuna Beach area due to the last big swell. We almost lost the tower fronting the Hāpuna Beach Prince Hotel but were able to save it by pulling it back against the tree line. The north tower was also spared but needed to be moved to another more secured location. We are hoping that most of the sand that was lost during this big surf returns to the beach in the coming months. V. Support Services Division TRAINING BUREAU: 1) The 43rd Fire Fighter Recruit class has commenced with EMT Training and EMS evaluations. The 7 EMS licensed personnel have been showing great progress with their evaluations and are set to complete it and return to the Training bureau on Feb 16. At that point they will be finalizing their driver training and requirements for reallocation to Firefighter. The group that are attending EMT class are finishing up their classroom portion of the class and are set to start clinical rotations at various Ambulance units and Hospitals. 2) The Training Bureau has implemented a new Training Documentation Form that will provide for better documentation of the various training sessions that our personnel complete. 3) AFG for Driving Simulators status: The final approvals for funding have been approved and our County Finance Department has posted the Request for Bids. We are on track with our progress for the Simulators. 4) The Fire Apparatus Training Division has started a quarterly assigned training sessions for our operations Personnel to complete. This will provide for consistent training throughout the department as we continue to strive for that goal. 5) Our personnel from Waiakea, Waimea and North Kohala Fire Stations received training from FoamPro. FoamPro is the company that was selected to provide their equipment (Injected firefighting foam appliances) on our newly acquired KME apparatus’. VOLUNTEER TRAINING: 1) Continued boot sizing. 2) Distributed volunteer recognition award checks. 3) Completed and submitted updated Company rosters. 4) Completed and submitted Vehicle list. 5) Attended Officer meeting 01/27/15. EMS BUREAU: 1) The FMS II Assessment Center was held on January 13th at the Fire Administration conference room. Three qualified candidates participated in the all-day exercise. 2) Worked closely with State Legislatures to submit a Puna Medic Bill to fund additional 24hr Advanced Life Support ambulance service for the district of Puna. Call volume, response times, unit hour usage as well as the impending June 27th Lava flow were all listed justifying this much needed resource. 3) Received notification of award for the Shippers Warf’s Grant in the amount of $31,000 for Fall Prevention equipment and Street Sense software to help manage our Incident Reduction program. 4) Fire Recruits holding state EMS licenses entered the HFD EMT and MICT evaluation period in January. Four FF/Recruit EMT’s and three FF/Recruit MICT’s were assigned to various medic units in east and west Hawaii working and performing EMS skills and assessments under the close supervision of the Fire Medical Specialist. The rest of the Fire Recruit class entered the Kapi‘olani Community College EMT Class on January 5th. The class will wrap up the didactic portion of training Feb 6th and is scheduled to start their clinical training and internship on February 8th. 5) Specialized vehicle extrication tools - eDraulic and telecribbing specs were submitted to purchasing and placed out to bid. Funding for this $181,000 purchase is through the department’s 2014 State Highways Department of Transportation grant. 6) Our Medical Director approved our department’s High Performance CPR skills sheet for all of our Basic Life Support (BLS) providers. The plan is to roll out HP CPR for our entire department in the month of Feb and March. PREVENTION BUREAU: 1) Fire Prevention Bureau had five fire investigations this month; unfortunately we had two fatalities at these fires. Arson K9 Kaimi was used at two of the fires. 2) Continuing to conduct maintenance inspections Island-wide. 3) The smoke detector project is continuing, a home inspection and smoke detector installation was conducted in District 11, Kau. 4) Through excess funds available in the smoke detector grant fund we were able to purchase 850 more smoke detectors which have been ordered and we will receive shortly. AUXILLIARY SERVICES Dispatch: 1) Map Flex training conducted, awaiting cutover. 2) Three FRD-I continued training 3) Three FRD-I tendered resignations 4) Vacation Policy and MOA for 2015 finalized. 5) Update: Text to 911 implementation targeted for end of 2015. Maintenance Shop: 1) Re-roof project completed. 2) Received 2 remounted ambulances. In service at Sta. 3 and 7. 3) Received 3000 gallon Peterbuilt Tanker from Maui Fire Department. 4) Interviewed candidates for Fire Mechanic Position. 5) Mechanics attended Foam Pro repair and maintenance training conducted by Dave Roll of Foam Pro. 6) 111 total repair/ service 33 service calls or trouble calls 9 contracted out and tows Warehouse: 1) Purchase and Replacement for equipment that is worn or un-repairable. 2) Continued Reroofing of Dispatch and Warehouse. 3) Attended Officer’s Staff Meeting in East and West Hawai‘i, listing and addressing concerns. VI. New Projects/Business VII. Employee/Public Relations 1) Battalion Chief Lance Uchida awarded the County of Hawai‘i Supervisor of the Year award for 2014.