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Home My WebLink About2014-10-08 Fire Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 8, 2014 NORTH HAWAII COMMUNITY HOSPITAL CALL TO ORDER Chair Taniguchi called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Toby Taniguchi, Chair Byron Moku, Vice Chair David De Luz, Commissioner Carol Ignacio, Commissioner Kimo Lee, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Absent: Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, Deputy Fire Chief Paul Lakin, Volunteer Commander Josie Pelayo, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None) APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner De Luz motioned to approve the agenda. Vice Chair Moku seconded, and it carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 9, 2014 Commissioner De Luz motioned to approve the minutes. Vice Chair Moku seconded, and it carried unanimously. FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report: BUDGET STATUS FY 2014/2015: Their budget proposals will be submitted at the end of the month. The Mayor wants a status quo budget. No new positions are in the budget request, although it will be in the supplemental request. They are not allowed to create new funding but are allowed to move funds around. The lava flow Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of October 8, 2014 Page 2 will definitely have an impact on their budget. A lot of money is being put into being proactive and being ready. Expenditures are at 35% of budget (YTD), but we are only 25% through the current fiscal year. ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS ➢ FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Fighters Prevention Grant Application: The smoke detector program for kupunas across the island has been so popular that they requested an extension until December. IBEW has been supportive, helping to install the smoke detectors. ➢ FY 2013 CDBG Grant for Waiakea Quint: This grant will end when the apparatus is delivered in October. It will go to the Waiakea Station in Keaukaha. ➢ FY 2013 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant: This tanker is for the Waikoloa Fire Station and is in production. ➢ FY 2014 CDBG Grant for Ka'u Brush Truck: The $175,000 grant application was accepted. The bid was $50,000 over; HUD will provide additional funding. The bid contract will be redone to establish the additional funding. ➢ FY 2014 State Highways Grant: The child protection seat program grant will be implemented shortly. They have been doing this program for many years, and the grant will allow them to continue and to purchase child restraint seats. Commissioner Ignacio asked about a partnership with the hospital for families in need of a car seat. She will ask Brandee Menino (Executive Director of HOPE Services) to contact the Chief. ➢ Capital Improvement Projects: The Kawailani Fire Station replacement continues. A public hearing was held, and the possibility of flooding in the area was a voiced concern. Engineers are addressing this, and the design calls for flood control measures to be installed. The current Kawailani Station is earmarked for use by existing municipal golf course operations. • HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION ➢ Recruitments: They had 100 applications for Water Safety Officer. Twenty five showed up for the performance assessment; twelve passed. They have eight vacancies, two full-time, and six for the water craft program. Dispatchers are in training, when fully trained, this should alleviate some of the overtime. • EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION ➢ Operations: Their biggest challenge has been the lava flow. The Mayor was provided a 3 -prong plan. Plan A is for the lava crossing the highway on the Kea`au side of the fire station. Plan B is for the lava crossing on the Pahoa side of fire station. Plan 3 is for the lava inundating the fire station. Parks and Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of October 8, 2014 Page 3 Recreation was asked to vacate the old fire station for HFD's use. HFD's plan calls for a minimum of 9 firefighters, two fire trucks, a tanker, and medic personnel at the old station. This proposal will cost about $200,000 a month. Commissioner Ignacio, whose husband is a retired fire fighter, said she comes from the (sic) "old school" of servicing the public first and family coming second. She asked if personnel are being prepared for this reality. Chief Rosario stated that at the end of the day, they have a job to do and to make the best decision for both the community and fire service personnel. The bottom line is they need to have their personnel safe. Vice Chair Moku stated that fire fighters and police are like the military, the commander has the authority to send the guys in harms way. Chief Rosario stated that a large majority of personnel know their duty. Chief Rosario further stated that they will have two stations in Pahoa. The old station needs to be fully staffed and equipped. The apparatus that is being replaced will be sent to Pahoa. The Mayor told the community that they will provide the services. Disaster for them is the isolation. They are hoping for FEMA reimbursement. The lava information center is being staffed 8 hours a day. They had positive feedback for the fire ground survival training. ➢ Special Operations ✓ Hazmat: Locations near PGV was identified to deploy the area Rae monitors in the event of an incident. It was noted, a hazmat team got trapped while responding to an incident at PGV during Tropical Storm Iselle due to fallen trees. ✓ Rescue: The Sayre Foundation held their awards dinner and recognized HFD rescue personnel and Ocean Safety WSOs. The community donated closed to $70,000 for equipment and training. ✓ Ocean Safety: They are in the process of replacing five lifeguard towers in Hilo and Puna. They will need an aircraft (helicopter) to install the Honolii tower. The aircraft is located on another island, and needs to be scheduled. SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION ➢ Training Bureau: The Training Bureau and the 43rd recruit class honored those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, by participating in a 9/11 Memorial Run from Hilo Bayfront to the County Building and back to Bayfront. This raised awareness of the terrible events of September 11th, and the importance of "never forgetting." ➢ EMS Bureau: Fourteen personnel attended the volunteer MICT class orientation on September 26 at the EMS Training Center. Two ambulance remounts were shipped to the Braun Northwest Ambulance factory for remounting. This project Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of October 8, 2014 Page 4 will have a savings of approximately $140,000 compared to purchasing two brand new ambulances. The remounts are expected back in 2015. They received notification for two State Highways DOT grants. $64,120 is for specialized extrication equipment for the Waiakea (#2) and Kailua Rescue (#7) companies and $97,390 is for vehicle stabilization equipment for all HFD engine companies. Ironman will be donating 25 high quality chainsaws. ➢ Prevention Bureau: The Smoke Detector Program continues in East and West Hawai'i with a partnership with IBEW. Approximately 200 smoke detectors were installed in September. The Downtown Hilo Hoolaulea went well with about 12,000-15,000 in attendance. During the Ironman event, they will have ground teams for extraction. They have done this for the Ironman for over a decade. Through the Sayre foundation, Ironman donates to the Fire Department. ➢ Auxiliary Services ✓ Dispatch: Training continues. ✓ Maintenance Shop: Roof deterioration and water leak in the maintenance shop has been reported. According to Public Works, walking on and working on the roof will cause more damage. This has become a safety issue. ✓ Warehouse: Bed replacements for Stations 1, 8, and 15 have been delayed due to the old Pahoa Station being reactivated. Beds for these stations were diverted to the old Pahoa station and new beds are being ordered. ➢ Volunteers and Training: Chief Rosario introduced Paul Lakin, the new Volunteer Commander who is also the Volunteer Captain of 19A Volcano Station. Lakin stated that the next volunteer meeting will be on November 8. He intends to maintain the volunteer website. Chief Rosario stated that they have about 175 volunteers. They recently shut down Pu Waawaa and Hawaiian Beaches stations due to a lack of volunteers. Captain Lakin informed that his chain of command is Training Captains, then AC II, then the Deputy Chief, and then the Fire Chief. On a fire ground, his commander is the Battalion Chief. • NEW PROJECTS/BUSINESS: The Strategic Plan is about 85% complete. It will be distributed to commissioners soon. • EMPLOYEE/PUBLIC RELATIONS: Attended the Kulani Prison Grand Re -Opening. Kulani does in-house fire fighting with prisoners. The Fire Department will provide training. Met with the US Forest Service Region Representative on their award of a $100,000 grant to HFD for Wildland Fire Fighting and Volunteers. Assisted the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association with the annual MDA Fill the Boot Campaign. Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of October 8, 2014 Page 5 COMMITTEE REPORTS/UPDATES • Budget and Finance (Committee Chair De Luz): None. • Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Taniguchi): None. • Rules and Policies (Committee Chair Kitaoka): None. • Public Relations (Committee Chair Lee): None. • Training and Education (Committee Chair Waipa): None. EXECUTIVE SESSION (None) ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Taniguchi announced that the next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: TOBY TANIGUCHI, CHAIR