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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 Chief's Report for May Meeting finalCHIEF’S REPORT (05/13/2015) I. Budget • FY 2014/2015 o Working with Finance Department on FEMA reimbursements for Pahoa Lava Flow expenditures • FY 2015/2016 o Budget Hearing April 22nd at 1:30pm. Hilo Council Chambers. II. Alternative Funding and Grant • No updates from last month’s meetings. All grant projects continue. III. Human Resources Division 1) Recruitments Open-competitive recruitments • Fire Fighter Recruit – Interviews scheduled May 19 – June 9, 2015. • Human Resources Assistant – Recruitment and Selection process to be conducted. • Fire Radio Dispatcher – Four new hires effective April 16, 2015. • Water Safety Officer I – Two new hires F/T effective April 16, 2015. Performance assessment exercise scheduled on May 11, 2015. . Currently two (2) vacancies – one (1) ½ Time position and one (1) temporary position not to exceed Dec. 9, 2015. Targeted hire date June 1, 2015. Recruitment process for WSO I (Temp) positions (summer hires) initiated Internal within department recruitment • Fire/Emergency Medical Services Specialist II – Internal recruitment within department to be conducted May 8 – 17, 2015. • Fire Rescue Specialist – One promotion to be effective May 16, 2015. • Fire Captain – Internal recruitment within department conducted April 15 – 24, 2015. Pending interview and selection process. • Fire Equipment Operator – Internal recruitment within department conducted April 15 – 24, 2015. Pending interview and selection process. 2) Administrative Services EUTF Open enrollment conducted April 1 – 30, 2015. Flexible spending plan open enrollment will be conducted May 18 – June 17, 2015. IV. Emergency Operations Division OPERATIONS: West Hawai‘i 1) April 6, 3 acre Brushfire. Waikii Ranch. 2) April 15, HAZ MAT Spills. Battery, Sulfuric Acid spill on Makala Street caused by an unsecured pay load (#7256). a. 8 gallons Muriatic acid spill reported at the Waikoloa Marriott Loading Dock (#7270). Investigation revealed only 2 gallon containers were damaged/spilled. b. No injuries reported in both incidents. 3) April 19, A/BC P. Austria attended the Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) meeting Kailua-Kona. a. April 24, AFC1 attended the BIWCG and HWMO meeting in Waimea. Led discussion on challenges we face while firefighting in areas without adequate water supplies. Identified the top 3 Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) communities and its future development concerns. 4) April 21, Structure Fire – Makalei Golf Course maintenance shed Incident #7664. Cause of the fire is undetermined per fire inspectors. $160,000 loss to structure and $200,000 loss to machinery. 5) April 29, HAZ MAT Release. 1600 gallon underground propane leak- Mauna Kea Bluffs (#8158). No injuries reported. East Hawai‘i 1) Demobilization of station 10A, Pāhoa Village Fire Station on April 16 due to the decreased lava threat. 2) Special service events/ meetings/ classes: a. Provide EMS standby at the Merry Monarch Festival resulting in no significant incidents. b. Standby at Laupāhoehoe Point for Tsunami memorial on April 1. c. Civil Defense Multi-Hazard stakeholders meeting April 2; Dating violence seminar April 6; BIWCG/ HWMO quarterly meeting in Waimea April 24. 3) Fire Fighter recruits assigned 24 hour status to various Fire stations to gain experience, complete their minimum driver qualifications, and minimum EMT calls/transports. 4) BC Hayashida attended the Vigilant Guard Exercise's final planning workshop on Oahu April 1-2. The Hilo event will take place June 4-6 at KMR and will include other government agencies such as CD, State CERF-P, CST, and HANG teams. a. Scenario will be a post category 4 Hurricane resulting in a partial collapse of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and an overturned Chlorine tanker truck nearby. 5) Significant emergencies: a. Amaulu road Structure Fire on 4/11/15. b. Fixed wing Cessna airplane crash at Hilo Airport on 4/14/15. c. Search and Rescue mission for missing hiker on Mauna Loa on 4/12/15. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Hazmat: 1) We received Tyvek hazmat suits and chemical resistant boots from HPD. We will use these suits for training purposes but will be able to use the boots for response since there is no shelf life expiration. 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. LEPC will fund HFD personnel to attend this year’s Hazmat Continuing Challenge in September. Will determine who will attend from the HFD. 4) We are preparing for the upcoming Vigilant Guard exercise in June. BC Kosaki met with the CST from Utah who will be assisting us with this exercise. 5) The DOH radiological team came over to assist us the drills with the CST and also calibrated our Canberra radiological meters. They found a few monitors that needed to be sent in for repair due to the inability to calibrate. Rescue: 1) We received funding from the Sayre Foundation donated by the Ironman Foundation for our swift water training that will be held in August. We will train 15 of our rescue personnel to be instructors so that we would be able to do our training in-house in the future. 2) Along with the CST Vigilant Guard exercise in June, the National Guard will also be conducting an urban search and rescue type drill scenario. We will determine the level of our involvement as we receive more information on this. 3) We have put the monthly rescue drills on hold for now due to the lack of funding this fiscal year. We hope to resume this in July. Ocean Safety: 1) The new RWC, trailers, and pickup vehicles arrived in April. We needed to register these and perform other modifications in preparation for the training in May. We conducted the skills assessment for the prospective candidates and all 8 successfully completed it. We are completing the “break in” of the RWC and working on the operational plan. There is still some vital equipment that has not arrived due to shipping delays. 2) A revised supplemental agreement and consultation letter was submitted to HGEA and although got a verbal agreement, has not gotten anything formal. The MOA between UH WCC and the County of Hawai‘i was signed and put through resolution. 3) We replaced the Carlsmith lifeguard tower and now are in use. 4) We are holding the Jr. Lifeguard program again this year in Hilo, Puna, Punalu‘u, Kahalu‘u, and Hāpuna. The island championships will be held on July 25 and the state championships will be held on August 1 at Hāpuna. 5) The 2015 Drowning Prevention Ocean Safety conference will be held on July 30, 31, 2015. This conference will be held at the Hāpuna Beach Prince Hotel. This conference will run in conjunction with the state Jr. Lifeguard championships. Flyers and invitation letters are already being sent out. V. Support Services Division TRAINING: 1) The 43rd Fire Fighter Recruit class has each completed 40 hours of initial Driver Training. All but one recruit have also completed the Driving Audit and received a Type 1 license. This is the last certification required for completion of Recruit Training. At this time, all 22 recruits are set to graduate on May 9, 2015. 2) On April 11, The 43rd Recruit Class conducted their community service project. They performed a Child Passenger Seat clinic at Target in Hilo. They had a drive through inspection station with activities and balloons for kids. A total of 37 seats were checked and most of those had some sort of fault. All in all, the event provided the public with good information and was a great step towards injury prevention 3) AFG for Driving Simulators status: The Bid was awarded to FAAC Inc. However, they are not currently compliant with the State of Hawai‘i. At this time, we are trying to file an extension for the grant while we wait on the status of FAAC Inc. It is unknown if an extension will be awarded. 4) On April 23, the Hawai‘i Fire Department hosted an Emergency Medical Responder Refresher. FMS III Chris Honda was the instructor. The class consisted of 10 HFD personnel, as well as, 18 individuals from DOFAW and 6 from Ocean Safety. 5) Captain David Soo continued transitioning into the role of Training Captain with direction and assistance from Captain Okinaka. Captain Okinaka will assume his new position at Pāhala Fire Station on May 14, after the Recruit Graduation. VOLUNTEER TRAINING: 1) Updated vehicle inventory list. 2) Updated all company rosters. 3) Created company roster radio call signs 4) Staff meeting held on April 20, 2015 5) Change over vehicles. PREVENTION BUREAU: 1) Fire Prevention Inspector Clinton Baybayan attended a two week Fire Investigation course at NFA. 2) Continuing maintenance inspections of restaurants and Hotels island wide. 3) Continuing the smoke detector/home inspection program island wide. 4) Conducted two public education events at schools. 5) Conducted five fire investigations, the Arson K9 was used on one. AUXILLIARY SERVICES Dispatch: 1) Four FRD hires, April 16, 2015. 2) FRD I – (July 2014 hire) working independently. 3) Updating Mapflex and Intrado systems Maintenance Shop: 1) Received 4 water crafts, 2 Ford F250 vehicles and 2 trailers for Ocean Safety. 2) 91 total repair/ service 20 service calls or trouble calls 11 contracted out and tows Warehouse: 1) Attended Teen Dating Violence Seminar. 2) Decommission of Pāhoa Village Fire Station. 3) Carbon Monoxide sensor procurement with Purchasing. 4) Haix Fire Structure boots delivered to personnel. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES Report not available. Updated report will be provided on May 13th. VI. New Projects/Business • Working in collaboration with Hilo Medical Center on initiative to improve survival of cardiac arrest through the deployment of Automatic Defibrillators in County vehicles and places of business. VII. Employee/Public Relations • Attended the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai‘i luncheon event to provide information on Fire Department activities to business representatives.