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Home My WebLink About2015-03-18 Fire Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION MINUTES OF MARCH 18, 2015 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI STREET, HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: David De Luz, Jr., Chair Kimo Lee, Vice Chair Carol Ignacio, Commissioner Byron Moku, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Absent: Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner Toby Taniguchi, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, Deputy Police Chief Gantry Andrade, Assistant Chief Glen Honda, Assistant Chief Gerald Kosaki, Battalion Chief Robert Perreira, Battalion Chief Paul Lakin, Volunteer Commander Belinda Castillo Hall, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Ignacio motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None) APPROVAL OF MINUTES • December 10, 2014, executive session: Commissioner Moku motioned to approve. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. January 21, 2015, regular session: Commissioner Waipa motioned to approve. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. • January 21, 2015, executive session: Commissioner Ignacio motioned to approve. Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of March 18, 2015 Page 2 FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items from his written report: BUDGET STATUS ➢ FY 2014/2015: Chief Rosario reported that they are working with the Finance Department on FEMA reimbursements for the Pahoa lava flow expenditures. ➢ FY 2015/16: Accountant Melanio reported that they submitted a $45 million budget. They are requesting a 15% increase which is primarily due to collective bargaining increases in salaries and wages. The budget accounts for $15 million from the State for EMS. Their budget hearing is scheduled for April 22 at 1:30 p.m. in the County Council Room. ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS Chief Rosario reported that grant projects continue. They have not received notifications of awards or non -awards. Work on the new Haihai fire station continues. They are looking at improving the HPP and Kea`au fire stations. Assistant Chief Honda reported that architects are working on the design of the new Haihai station. They continue to work with DLNR. PRESENTATION OF KA`IMI, HFD'S ARSON INVESTIGATIVE CANINE BC Perreira presented Ka`imi, an 8 -year old yellow lab who has been working as the fire department's investigative canine since 2008. Ka`imi was funded by a State Farm grant. He is the only arson canine in Hawaii and is available for service where ever there is a need. Ka`imi has worked 200+ fires. Twenty percent of fires are possibly arson related, and they pass the information to the police department. Ka`imi has to be recertified every year. BC Perreira explained and demonstrated how Ka`imi is trained and works. With his assistance, they can find out in minutes if evidence is there. Previously, it would take hours. This past year they did demonstrations at 20 elementary schools. • HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION ➢ Recruitments ✓ Open -competitive: A Fire Fighter Recruitment is being conducted. A Fire Equipment Mechanic was hired in February. ✓ Internal within department: Three EMS Specialist II promotions were made. A Fire Rescue Specialist assessment was completed, and they are awaiting final scores and recommendations. A Fire Prevention Captain assessment was completed, but no candidate met the minimum score for promotion. Recruitment for BC of Emergency Operations continues. ➢ Classification and Pricing: One Water Safety Officer I was reallocated to WSO II. • EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION ➢ Operations Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of March 18, 2015 Page 3 ✓ West Hawaii: Two children perished in a fire and two people were doused with gasoline. Ka`imi has been very busy with these and brush fires. The Hawaii Wildlife Organization worked with communities to clear brush and create preventative fire breaks. ✓ East Hawaii: A lot of brush fires were caused by the lava flow. Right now there are no surface breakouts, but they continue to be diligent as things could change. They created the foundation for a Type 3 All Hazmat Incident Management Team. ➢ Special Operations ✓ Hazmat: Personnel assisted the Combat Support Team (CST) with drills on Maui. A full scale exercise is scheduled for July. ✓ Rescue: Monthly off-duty rescue training continues to upkeep skill levels. ✓ Ocean Safety: Replacement of the Carlsmith lifeguard tower will be completed in March. Big swells caused significant damage to the Hapuna beach area, and they almost lost the tower. They are planning for the July 30-31 Drowning Prevention Ocean Safety Conference. This will run in conjunction with the State Junior Lifeguard Championships on August 1 at the Hapuna Prince Resort. SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION ➢ Training Bureau: The 43rd Fire Fighter Recruit class will graduate on May 9. A new training documentation form has been implemented. The driving stimulators were approved and request for bids was posted. Personnel received training for injected fire fighting foam appliances. ➢ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Paul Lakin reported having good community support. Through their website, people are asking to volunteer. Two companies in the Pahoa area have been responding to the brush fires. New recruits were sized for boots. The next captains' meeting will be on May 16 in Pahala. ➢ EMS Bureau: They are working closely with the State Legislature for a Puna Medic Bill to fund additional 24 hours of Advanced Life Support Ambulance service for the District of Puna. Recruits continue with EMS training. Hands on CPR continues at Waiakea and Hilo High Schools. They met with the American Heart Association Regional Account Manager on the training center and the role and responsibilities of the training coordinator position. The Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program continues to move forward. It was activated multiple times in February. ➢ Prevention Bureau: They had five fire investigations this month. The smoke detector project continues. They did home inspection and smoke detector installations in Ka'u. They had excess grant funds and were able to purchase 850 more smoke detectors. Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of March 18, 2015 Page 4 ➢ New Projects/Business: Chief Rosario distributed the Fire Department's Strategic Plan. He also distributed his Goals and Objectives which will be updated quarterly. Fire services continue to grow and change with new technology. ➢ Employee/Public Relations: Although they demobilized the new -old Pahoa fire station, the community was so very appreciative of them standing it up. The ALS ambulance will be kept in Pahoa until it is defunded. Fire Prevention Inspector I Kyle Vares was recognized at the Aloha Exchange Club's annual dinner as its East Hawaii Fire Fighter of the year. Commissioner Ignacio stated that she sees a lot of collaboration that goes on with multiple agencies and partnerships and the Chief's acknowledgement of staff and others. COMMITTEE REPORTS/UPDATES • Budget and Finance (De Luz) • Office Management and Staffing (Taniguchi) • Rules and Policies (Kitaoka) • Public Relations (Lee) • Training and Education Waipa) • Rules and Regulations Review Committee (Kitaoka) (There were no reports.) ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair De Luz announced that he next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in the West Hawaii Civic Center, Building G Conference Room, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:27 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: DAVID DE LUZ, JR., CHAIR