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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-13 Fire Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII FIRE COMMISSION MINUTES OF JUNE 13, 2018 WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER, BLDG G CONF RM 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HWY, KAILUA-KONA, HI CALL TO ORDER Chair Becker called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Robert Becker, Chair Scott Susman, Vice Chair Greg Henkel, Commissioner Kyle Keamo, Commissioner Donna Payesko, Commissioner Marcella St. Ambrogio, Commissioner Ralph Yawata, Commissioner Absent: Denise Laitinen, Commissioner A quorum was present Also present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief John Bertsch, Volunteer Commander Jessica Yeh, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice Chair Susman motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Yawata seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 9, 2018 Chair Becker made a correction to the Chair's Report, S & W for other departments, from 60% to 62%. Commissioner St. Ambrogio motioned to approve the minutes as amended. Vice Chair Susman seconded, and it carried unanimously. FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report and events occurring: Department Organizational Orientation Presentation: Chief Rosario gave a Powerpoint presentation on the overview of the Fire Department. Commissioner St. Ambrogio commended the Chief for a very informative presentation. He will forward the file to Ms. Pelayo for distribution to the commissioners. Chief reported on the volcanic eruption in Puna. He stated that immediately after the eruption, they started an Incident Management Team. The team is made of 14 people, Hawaii Fire Commission Minutes of June 13, 2018 Page 2 and it takes the role away from the regular workers. The Maui Fire Department assisted in the beginning, and it was a blessing. General Hara is managing the Army National Guard. A North Carolina Incident Management Team is assisting them through FEMA. The Emergency Operations Center is at Civil Defense, and they have a commander there at all times. Ultimately, the Mayor is in charge. This eruption event is continually evolving. They moved two Ocean Safety towers out of the area with the help of a local trucking company. They could get 75% reimbursement of their costs from FEMA. Budget and Finance ✓ FY 2017/18: Their overtime had been cut significantly. They will probably be $250,000 in the red at the end of this month due to overtime, and will be short at the end of the year. They were told that the emergency fund will take care of the shortage. Overage will be for overtime. They have a special MGlauea Eruption Code for charges. ✓ FY: 2018/19: They received the Mayor's final budget. No supplemental budget requests were approved. Travel for training is being reduced or eliminated. Adjustments were made to fuel and other OCE costs. The Apparatus Replacement Program is not being funded. There will be funds for collective bargaining increases. The eruption incident has impacted the County's budget. They were told that if the GET isn't increased, the County will be $5 million in the hole, and cuts will be made. GET monies will only go to Mass Transit and roads Through the Sayer Foundation, they will be getting another tanker from an anonymous person. Training is being paid by organizations. Sometimes they pay their own airfare and hotel and only ask for registration fee. They have had reductions but have not shut down services. • Alternative Funding and Grants ✓ 2016 CDBG: Work continues on repairing the leaking roof of the Pahala Wildland Pumper. ✓ 2017 AFG Grant: Applications were turned down. ✓ 2018 State Highways Grant: They were awarded $16,490 for child protective seats and $96,943 for portable extrication tools for HOVE, Pahala, and Honoka`a. ✓ 2019State Highways Grant: Application was submitted for more extrication tools. Human Resources Division ✓ Internal Recruitment within Department: Ongoing for Fire Captain of Emergency Operations, Fire Equipment Operator, Fire/Hazardous Materials Specialist, and Fire Prevention Inspector I. ✓ Open Competitive Recruitment: Ongoing for Fire Equipment Mechanic, Fire Fighter Recruit, Fire Radio Dispatcher, and Water Safety Officer I. Emergency Operations Division ✓ Operations: They responded to numerous incidents in East and West Hawaii. Hawaii Fire Commission Minutes of June 13, 2018 Page 3 ✓ Special Operations ➢ Hazmat: Transitioning to take over the air monitoring of the lava flow. Honeywell will be donating gas monitors and sensors. ➢ Ocean Safety: Two towers were removed from Ahalanui and Isaac Hale and placed at the Paradise Park Station. Lava has since taken away access to the area. Kaenon is donating sunglasses for all WSO personnel. Support Services Division ✓ Training: The NFA Course Wildland Urban Interface course had 18 attendees. Tanker 9 training for Station 9 personnel was done in June. ✓ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Bertsch reported that the volunteer website is down. They had a few minor incidents under suspicious origins. If Station 19 in the National Park needs to move, they will move it to 19A, Volcano. The next Captain's meeting will be on June 23 at 10:00 a.m. in Volcano. They will conduct leadership training from 9-10 a.m. ✓ EMS Bureau: Personnel responded to the initial Leilani lava incident on May 3 and assisted with evacuations. They assisted the Incident Management Team in standing up two medic units. They have been monitoring and making regular visits throughout the sheltered population and Red Cross support, and assisting with air quality monitors. ✓ Prevention Bureau: Prevention personnel installed smoke alarms and conducted 20 home inspections. ✓ Auxiliary Services: They are reviewing AT&T phone charges to reduce costs. Other Departmental Activities: They are working on succession planning for potential key chief officer retirements. Deputy Fire Chief Victorino will retire on July 1St and Assistant Chief Andrade will retire on September 1St CHAIR'S REPORT ON MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION Chair Becker reported that he will be meeting with the Managing Director tomorrow. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Becker announced that the commission's next monthly meeting is scheduled for July 11 at 9:00 a.m. in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, Hawaii. Due to the Chief's absence, Ms. Pelayo will try to reschedule it to July 12, 13, or 18. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:02 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: ROBERT BECKER, CHAIR