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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 Chief's Report for December meetingCHIEF’S REPORT December 9, 2020 I. Budget • FY 2020/2021 • Our team has been working the State EMS Director Dr. Bronstein and his administrative staff on the FY 20-21 budget. As of this week we are possibly looking at a 2.5% reduction from the general funds portion of our budget. (This shortfall is $956,155.10) • FY 2021/2022 • County Funded Budget ▪ Budget kickoff held by Finance ▪ Directives are; • No new positions • 5% budgetary reduction shall be submitted • State Funded Budget items ▪ Legislative approval for DLNR Funding needs to be realized for funding of Water Safety Officers at Hapuna and Kua Bay ▪ State EMS anticipating Budgetary cuts as well. II. Alternative Funding and Grants • Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation Funding assistance o Working with SalesForce on providing County with Covid-19 related protective equipment. • USFA FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Covid-19 o Received award of $380,000 for Covid-19 PPE and disinfecting equipment o Received notice that FEMA did not award enough funding and that we are eligible to submit an additional grant application for more funding. • USFA FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Operations o Grant Committee submitted projects for FF Safety for items dealing with the proper cleaning of Gear and clothing to minimize cancer risk. o AFG awards and disbursement postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19. III. Human Resources Division 1) Recruitments a) Internal Recruitment within Department • Fire/HazMat Specialist – We have 13 applicants scheduled for the written exams on December 17, 2020. • Battalion Chief (Emergency Operations) – request for recruitment was sent for approval by Mayor’s office and DHR. Tentatively targeting an open date in late December. b) Open-Competitive Recruitment • Account Clerk – Candidate selected with hire date of 12/01/20. • Fire Fighter Recruit– Referred list received from DHR. PAE is next phase of recruitment. Logistics and coordination are pending. 2) Employee Development and Training a) Training schedule for County sponsored courses have re-opened: 3) Labor Relations a) None to report. IV. Emergency Operations Division AC-1 1) Apparatus Updates: • KME Apparatus E-7 and E-17 have arrived, they were inspected, accepted, and registered. Conducting In-Service training and will be placed in service upon completion of Fire radio programming. • Pierce Apparatus (E-20) also arrived, inspected, accepted, and registered. In- Service training and Fire Radio installation and programming needed prior to being placed in service. • Rosenbauer build (BT-17), the build process continues, upon requests no additional updates were provided at time of report. Expected completion of Jan 2021. 2) The Hawai‘i Fire Department Continuity Of Operations Plan (COOP) team met and discussed the revisions of the COOP and Pandemic Annex. Also planning for various training scenarios to test the effectiveness of the COOP. 3) AC Okinaka participated in a Peer Support defusing for personnel that responded to a pediatric cardiac arrest. 4) FLIR thermal Imaging cameras from manufacturer rewards program were received. 4 units received and 2 each were assigned to Prevention Bureau and HazMat companies. BATTALION 1, East Hawai‘i Incidents: 1) 10/27 Inc# 20522; Structure Fire: Dist. 18, 4 bdrm. dwelling with substantial damage from a trespasser. Undetermined if set accidentally or was arson. Home was unoccupied for 8 months prior to fire. No injuries 2) 11/1 Inc #20855; Structure Fire: Dist. 10, 900 sq ft dwelling completely engulfed upon arrival of HFD units. Undetermined cause. No injuries. 3) 11/7 Inc #21270; Rescue: Person down a ravine, Dist 17. 69 male fell down a steep ravine. Retrieved prior to Co2 arrival by Co17 and M01 using ½” rescue line and improvised harness for ‘mid’ angle rescue. No injuries. 4) 11/10 Inc #21460; Structure Fire: Dist. 8, Small dwelling fully engulfed upon HFD arrival. Undetermined cause, no injuries. 5) 11/10 Inc #21478; Structure Fire, Dist. 10, Larger dwelling, largely involved when HFD arrived. Owner occupied, possible cause from a malfunctioning chest freezer. Substantial damage, no injuries. 6) 11/16 Inc #21883; Structure Fire: Dist. 18, 1600 sq ft dwelling heavily involved upon HFD arrival, multiple fire origins within dwelling. Per neighbors, squatters have been a problem in the home since owner died prior year. No injuries. 7) 11/17 Inc #21924; Structure Fire: Dist. 5, Fully engulfed dwelling known to be occupied by squatters, total loss/collapse. No injuries. 8) 11/18 Inc #21996; Search for Missing Person: Mauna Kea Ranch / Keanakolu- Mana Rd. Dist. 8, 44 male missing, bizarre circumstances, conflicting information, HPD suspended search after 1st day. HFD searched 3 days and then suspended without further information. No injuries to search personnel. Unknown/No updates as of this writing. 9) 11/21 Inc #22218; Rescue: Missing Hikers, DKI MM16, Dist. 4, Hikers found, no injuries. 10) 11/26 Inc #22533; Structure Fire: Plumeria St, Dist. 5, Fully engulfed smaller dwelling. Extinguished, no injuries. 11) 11/29 Inc #22828; Rescue: Missing Hunters, Tree Planting Road, Dist 3. 1 of 2 hunters lost, found by Co2. No injuries BATTALION 2 West Hawai‘i Incidents: 1) 11/3 Inc# 21006; Brushfire: Pu’ukapu Homesteads DHHL Company 9, Tanker 14, Tanker 16 2) 11/6 Inc# 21220; Rescue: Missing Hiker at PuʻuWaʻaWaʻa Ranch. Co7 able to locate missing female at 1900 hours. 3) 11/9 Inc# 21410; Structure Fire: Island Gourmet in Queen Shops Waikoloa. Co14, Co16, Co9, BC2. Solar Panel fire extinguished and contained. No injuries reported 4) 11/21 Inc# 22224; Search and Rescue: missing child in HOVE. Co20, Co7, BC2, C2. Child located 11/22/20 at 1100. Special/Services: 1) 11/12 Waimea Community Association First Responders Appreciation Dinner and Virtual meeting. BC2C, Company 9, Vol Alpha, Vol 9 Bravo, Vol 14 Alpha, PTA, Ocean Safety, HPD all recognized. 2) 11/19 Sealegs Donation and Demo from Sayre Foundation, F-1, FRS Freschette, BC W. Bergin attended. Looking to have the vessel placed at Kailua FS or in West HI as an added resource for Rescue incidents. SPECIAL OPERATIONS Hazmat 1) Gas Monitors update: In-Service training have been completed and units have been placed in service, replacing our old and unserviceable units. 2) Haz-Mat Technician Basic Training Course: The class has ben completed and all 16 personnel have sucxcesfully completed the course. 3) Baseline and Annual Medical Monitoring for all Haz-Mat personnel update: Completed. Requisitions have been sent out to personnel who required testing, and they are in the process of getting tested. 4) Replacement Tyvek suits and gloves have been approved, contracts awarded, and are slowly being received. Ocean Safety 1) Storage container for Hāpuna Beach has been delivered and installed. A few Oceans Safety personnel volunteered their time and tallents to build ramps for the ATV/UTVʻs to access the container. Container is now in use. 2) iPad’s for all towers and Officers have been approved and send out for bids. 3) WSO transfers and 1 new hire set to happen on December 1. This brings Ocean Safety to full staffing aside for the WSO III position at Hāpuna, which is still in progress. 4) AC Okinaka has been working with the Ocean Safety captainʻs and Rescue Water Craft operators to spec out new Waverunners and rescue sleds to replace our aging units. We hope to get the Specs completed and sent out for bid in December. Hoping to replace 1 unit for each SKI team. Rescue 1) AC Okinaka continues to work with HFD Instructors on planning for Confined Space Training for Rescue and Hazmat personnel. 2) We continue to look for supplemental funding opportunities to conduct upgrades to RB7-7 (Force). Needed upgrades and repairs are for fuel tank leak, motor replacements, and hull extension. Upon completion of work, we are planning on decommissioning RB2-2 (Boston Whaler) which has passed its ideal service life for a Rescue Boat. Sayre Foundation 1) Our department is still awaiting the 2 new off-road tanker apparatus. Expected completion date is January 2021. 2) Laura Mallery-Sayre just informed us that they had recived enough donations to at least purchase the items that were listed as our highest priority. This is great news for the economic situation that we are all in right now. We are so greatful for their donations. Items that will be purchased include: aged rescue equipment and gear, Thermal Imaging cameras that will complete the outfitting of all of our departments remaining Fire Engines, replacement UTV for Pohoiki to replace the unit that was stolen, PA systems for Lifeguard towers, rescue boards, CPR automated compression devices, and a UTV for Capt Cook FS to access a highly used trail in South Kona that weʻve had numerous rescues on. V. Support Services Division TRAINING: 1) Attended the Pohakuloa Training Area live burn training conducted by PTA Fire Training Officer Dennis Nardo. Through completing the training, I’ve been certified to “Live Burn Instructor” for their freight container burn room prop manufactured by Draeger. 2) Attended the new E20 training held by Pierce representative at Hilo ARFF 3) Took care of all the logistical needs for the 2 week long Hazmat technician class that was held at Hilo ARFF. 4) Completed and submitted the new driver training proposal draft to AC2. 5) Began conducting Type I DCC driver audits for the 49th recruit class. VOLUNTEER TRAINING: 1) All East-side volunteer companies had their PPE inspected and PPE drills were done followed by a class on how to clean and maintain their PPE, which was followed by a wet drill wearing bunker gear. 2) One Volunteer Fire Fighter at company 19A Volcano successfully completed his driver audit and is now certified as a driver. 3) One new Volunteer Fire Fighter was added to Company 5C Fern Forest. 4) Volunteer Captain Paul Lankin of Company 19A in Volcano will be stepping down on December 4, 2020 and will be moving to the mainland to be closer to family. Volunteer FEO John Moraes will be serving as the acting Captain until such time as he, or one of the other FEOs feel comfortable to take over as permanent Captain. EMS BUREAU: 1) Training and Education • AHA training center agreement approved – November 11. o Normally, TC agreements are done biannually. AHA has changed their policy where the agreement does not need to be renewed unless there are TC changes. • CME webinar: Comprehensive Understanding of Traumatic Brain Injury • Second CISM training completed in the past month • Coordinating and assisting next MICT class candidates o We have apporx. 10 personnel interested in going • MICT prep classes have been scheduled • Working on state and national certifications / licensing reimbursements • Heartsaver CPR and First Aid classes done for HPD recruits o HPD will now operate as a training site under our CTC o Capt. Domingo and Hara coordinated a train the trainer class o HPD now has their own certified instructors. 2) Meetings: • Hawai‘i Stroke Coalition Meeting on November 12. Per SDOH, EMS will provide LVO data to the coalition for data gathering. • Meet and greet with HFD’s new AHA representative, Sara Duckett on November 13. Discussed 2020 guideline changes. Went over HeartCode training and how our department can utilize it. • Quarterly EMSC advisory meeting on November 19, set up by State DOH. Focusing on improving pediatric care, training and awareness to pre- hospital and in-hospital providers. • Quarterly meeting with Kohala hospital on November 25 to discuss operations and general communications. • Hilo Medical Center Trauma meeting • CAN meeting for CP program • Multiple dispatch meetings with American Medical Response on issue with emergency call transfers to our dispatch. 3) Community Education / Injury Prevention: • Community Paramedicine - COVID outreach at multiple locations Island- wide. Did 8 CP visits. • Working with family of recently deceased individual in district 16. Family donating DMEs to HFD. • Meeting with social worker at Kamakana Villages in District 7; drafting MOA to assist with their kupuna residents. • Homeless outreach with WHCHC. • Assisting with resident in District 12, who is a high utilizer for special service (fall) incidents. • CP Captains have been following up with multiple requests from dispatch. These were high utilizers and patients with special needs for assistance. 4) Budget/Operations: • FY 20 contract is almost complete and ready to move forward with signatures. • FY21-22 budget request has been submitted. We are working closely with the State Department of Health on this request and future increases. • Our new ambulance for this fiscal has been awarded and we are in the pre- con stage. • Our 3M 1860 N95 masks are being distributed to operations. • We have received N95 decon machines – the 13 machines will be sent to the stations shortly. • Chopper 2 contract has been extended to 02/2021. • Supply bid has been awarded and vendors have received their NTP letters. • Assisted with 4 days of Finance interviews. • State ambulance aeromedical license applications and audits have been submitted. We have verified with SDOH that all proper documents have been completed and submitted. • The EMS Bureau will be assisting with COVID vaccination program. • Received a donation of 60,000 surgical masks. These will be distributed throughout Hawai‘i Island through our department. • Submitted COVID vaccination counts to Department of Health. PREVENTION BUREAU: 1) The Fire Prevention Bureau assisted with the Covid 19 task force and community outreach. 2) The Fire Prevention Bureau assisted with the Covid 19 testing sites. 3) The Fire Prevention Bureau continued the 24 hour schedule and saw many benefits and continued interest from our Operations personnel. 10 letters of interest to participate in the program in the coming months was received. 4) We have three TA Inspector participating in the program currently. 5) The Bureau produced and distributed a video to the schools to recap fire prevention month. The video covered safe cooking in the home, stop drop and role, smoke alarms, and Covid-19 safety through the Keiki Hero’s program. 6) The Fire Prevention Bureau Investigated 6 fires. AUXILLIARY SERVICES: 1) New Mobile Data Terminal project for Hawai‘i Fire Department (50% complete) • Purchased 53 Panasonic FZ55 mobile data terminal laptops, mounts, cradlepoints, and installation. • Thanks to the efforts of finance and our chief officers, we have secured $403k in CAREs funding to provide laptops that will connect our field personnel to our computer aided dispatch system while responding. Product to arrive in December for installation and deployment. 2) Bullard Care Kits Project (100% complete) 3) Purchase finalized, product is now being offered through online ordering system POE Switch Project (100% complete) 4) Electronic WMS System Project (70% complete) • EMS products are being loaded into system. PPE orders now going through online system. (no progress) 5) Warehouse Re-organization Project (100% complete) 6) Radios firmware and codeplug are being updated through light duty personnel and county radio shop, project on hold due to firmware issues. 7) SCBA Maintenance (100% complete) • Fit testing team will be taking Posicheck 3 out to stations to do annual testing for SCBAs and masks. Posicheck being sent in for calibration first. 8) Chief Todd and Chief Smith have started the Executive Fire Officer program with the National Fire Academy. 9) Projects on hold/no progress • Stn 3 & 21 Oneshot project • Volunteer Website Pages • Contract to add Bullard wipes for after scene decon • Plymovent Repairs Project. DISPATCH: 1) Cheryl Brzezowski is retiring after many years of excellent service. MECHANICS: 1) Implementing a new vehicle status tracking board through Trello. • Board is being built, website is: https://trello.com/b/QL8xm9ie/vehicle- board VI. New Projects/Business • Continue to Work with DPW, Council, and Finance to replace the roof at the Pāhala Fire Station. Received word that the Fire Department cannot apply for the funding grant. Application needs to come from County as a whole. • Working with DPW, HPD, and Mayor’s office for new Civil Defense, Police, and Fire Radio Communications Center. • Continual Coronavirus assistance. VII. Employee/Public Relations • As indicated above in Section Reports.