2013 Annual Report - City of Urbandale

Urbandale Fire Department
Mission Driven—Customer Focused
Annual Report
2013
Our Mission Statement:
To preserve life, protect property, and
to promote safety through education.
Chief’s Message
Core Values
Urbandale Fire Department
Pride
3927 121st Street · Urbandale, Iowa 50323
(515) 278-3970 · Fax (515) 278-3972
Respect
Integrity
Duty
February 17, 2014
Unity
Compassion
It is a pleasure to provide you with the 2013 Annual Report for the Urbandale Fire Department. This
report includes statistical data on the services we provided and projects/actions taken during 2013.
This is our “report card” and I hope that you will find the information useful.
The men and women of our department are dedicated to being the best that we can be. We see this
report as a benchmark of our performance objectives and I am proud to present it to you for your review. While we did well in some areas, we continue to seek opportunities to become better in everything that we do. I am happy to say that our staff embraces this approach and the continued quest of
constantly striving to be better.
On behalf of the dedicated men and women of our department, I thank you for taking the time to review our report and I welcome your input as we continue to look to the future for the best possible service delivery models. We are your department – we exist to serve you, our customers, and we are
honored to be able to provide our services to the citizens and visitors in our community.
If you would like to see any of our performance measures, please do not hesitate to contact me and I
will be more than happy to provide you with all available information. In the interest of a safe and prosperous community, we are proud to be here to serve you.
With Warm Regards,
Jerry Holt, MA, CFO, EFO
Fire Chief
Page 1
2013: The Year In Review
We were very busy in 2013 as it proved to be a record year for the number of calls. But as you will see, we were busy with projects
other than calls. Two of the year’s highlights were an Insurance Services Office (ISO) evaluation and the City of Urbandale’s Citizen
Survey. Both resulted in high marks for our department including an improved fire insurance classification that began on February 1,
2014. Both of these were a reflection of the hard work put forth by our staff.
ISO Evaluation
Our ISO evaluation resulted in an improvement of our fire classification. ISO classifications range from a Class 1 to Class 10. In this
instance, the lower the number or classification, the better the classification. We have moved from a Class 4/9 to Class 3/9. The new
classification will become effective February 1, 2014.
The 3/9 “split” rating means that the first class (Class 3 in our case) applies to properties within five road miles of a fire station and
within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant. The second class (Class 9 in our case) applies to properties within five road miles of a fire station
but beyond 1,000 feet of a hydrant. ISO generally assigns Class 10 to properties beyond five road miles. This affects the northwestern area of Urbandale the most – in the area where a third station is needed and there are homes located more than five miles from a
fire station.
The improved classification is the result of improvements we have made. A quick reminder, ISO obtains a score based on three
things, Communications worth 10 possible points, the Fire Department worth a possible 50 points and the Water Supply worth 40
possible points. The improvement is largely due to system wide improvements.
 Communications was 7.5 and improved to 9.92 out of a possible 10 points.
 Fire Department was 28.02 and improved to 31.40 out of a possible 50 points.
 Water Supply was 35.21 and improved to 36.14 out of 40 possible points.
When there is a divergence between “water supply” and the fire department rating, a penalty is assessed. The penalty is on the theory that if the capacity to supply water is better than the ability of the fire department to deliver that water, there is an ability missmatch. (That works either way) All of this gives us the ability to identify ways in which we can improve.
Citizen Survey
The results of the Citizen’s Survey were very positive. The overall excellent/good rating of the fire department was 97% with EMS
being rated as 96%. A favorable rating yet we have much room for improvement with fire prevention and emergency preparedness
both receiving 88% excellent/good ratings.
While we had the very good news about our evaluations, we also had the absolute worse incident in 2013 in which there was a fire
fatality in 2013. This is the second home fire fatality in our community since 2011. The fire, which occurred in September, resulted in
the loss of life for the 88 year-old occupant of the 3:30 AM fire. The cause of the fire was undetermined.
There were three firefighter injuries in 2013 with only one resulting in lost time. One firefighter suffered a broken toe when moving a
table that fell on his foot. This was the first loss time injury in over a year. We had completed 421 days without a lost time injury before this incident. There were other safety incidents during the year but none that resulted in serious injury. Safety remains one of our
major goals and we continue to work diligently on improving firefighter safety and maintaining a healthy and safe work force.
We did lose two important part-time positions during 2013. Our part-time Emergency Preparedness (EP) Specialist accepted a job as
a County Emergency Management Director and our part-time Assistant Chief (AC) of Operations accepted a Fire Chief position. Both
of these positions are difficult to fill. We have conducted two rounds of applications for the EP position and haven’t identified a qualified candidate for the AC position. Our upcoming budget request includes a request to combine these two positions into on full-time
position.
As we look to the future, we do need to continually evaluate our performance and coverage issues. Our mutual aid partners were
called more than 57 times in 2013. Additionally, we have developed portions of our most western area of Urbandale that are more
than five miles from a fire station adversely affecting the ISO rating in those areas. As such, we need to continually monitor the need
for the addition of a third fire station and staffing to serve this underserved area. Our Capital Improvement Program (CIP) does include a third station with a projected date of 2018.
Page 2
2013: The Year In Review
Assistant Chief Reports
2013 Annual Report – Training: Assistant Chief Mike Cardwell
A/C Mike Cardwell
One way to measure the preparation of a Fire/EMS Organization to answer emergency calls is to look at
the depth of its training program. 2013 continued to demonstrate that UFD personnel are professionally
committed to both personal and organizational improvement. In a typical month UFD personnel attend
either two or three 2 ½ hour in-service trainings, which cover Fire, EMS or Rescue topics in depth. They
must complete three skills review, where they work individually or as a team to demonstrate competency
on their firefighting or patient care skills. They are assigned three different computer-based training assignments which must be viewed and then successfully complete a post-test. Finally each crew is assigned one complex or building to inspect and a complex for them to complete pre-incident planning.
Our goal is to complete some type of training daily.
In 2013, UFD personnel completed almost 7500 hours of training. That averages out to 178 hours per person. About one-third of those hours are in EMS while the remaining two-thirds are in Fire, Rescue, or Command training. While onduty, UFD firefighters completed almost 6000 hours of training. An additional 1500 hours was completed in training courses offered
by outside agencies. Often personnel completing this training did so on their own time. As in past years, almost half the department
and all of the command staff completed some type of outside training.
On average an Urbandale EMS provider completed an average of 65 hours of EMS-specific training in 2013. The national standard
for EMS recertification requires 36 hours of continuing education per year. By comparison, RN’s are required to complete only 12
hours of continuing education each year, lawyers just 15. Our EMS personnel take their commitment to saving lives seriously and
regularly work on their life-saving skills such as airway control and treating pediatric patients.
2013 saw the introduction of several new types of equipment. The department took delivery of new Drager self-contained breathing
apparatus, new Motorola portable radios, and new Zoll heart monitor/defibrillators. For each, UFD personnel were required to complete a multi-layered training program to ensure they were ready to use this new equipment. Each person had to complete an initial
orientation session, an on-line operations training, a skills use and review, and a post-course written test. In an emergency, equipment familiarity is a must and UFD goes to great lengths to ensure its personnel are well-trained on the latest technology.
As Urbandale prepared for the process of establishing a career FF/EMT eligibility list, the department saw it as an opportunity to expand opportunities for women to enter the fire service. Angie Gallagher, a personal fitness trainer, was enlisted to help develop a
fitness training program specific to women for them to use while preparing for the department’s physical ability evaluation. This early
effort spawned involvement by reporters Erin Kiernan and Sonya Heitshusen of WHO TV13, who participated in the process as a
news story. The end result was a multi-part story on women in the fire service which aired in October. UFD was prominently featured
in the story.
In addition completing their regular training and EMS continuing education, several UFD personnel completed significant milestones
in their personal education pathway. Driver/Engineer Eric Ennen completed his BS in Fire Science Administration. D/E Demir
Miljkovic also completed his BS in Fire Science Administration. Lt. Lance Routson completed his Masters in Public Administration.
Congratulations to these three on their achievements!
As we look ahead 2014 is setting up to be a year of new development and new challenge. The establishment of the new Driver/
Engineer position creates new opportunities for those individuals to take on a more active role in the mentoring of new UFD personnel. An Officer Development Academy featuring bi-monthly education sessions is being established and will provide personnel with
the opportunity to develop the knowledge necessary to function as a company leader. UFD will begin to incorporate the concept of
hybrid training, which incorporates individual learning, computer-based training/testing, and group skills evaluations. Finally, UFD
Training in 2014 will place an emphasis on developing technical rescue skills with an initial emphasis on rope rescue.
On the next page is a list of Training Events UFD Personnel Attended in 2013:
Page 3
2013: The Year In Review
Training Events UFD Personnel Attended in 2013:
Command/Leadership Training Events
EMS Training Events
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Iowa EMS Association Providers Conference
IEMSA Conference
Central Iowa EMS Topics Roundtable
Trauma Trends Conference
Difficult Airway Course – Mercy School of EMS
EMS Instructor Update – Iowa Dept. of Public Health
EMS Instructor Development Conference – Iowa Dept. of
Health
Advanced Medical Life Support
Fire Training Events
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Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Technician – Drager
Airpacks, IL
Training Officer’s Workshop – Fire Service Training Bureau
Fire Department Instructor’s Conference – Indianapolis
Preparing for Initial Company Operations
Traffic Incident Management – Iowa Dept. of Transportation
Car Seat Technician Update – Iowa CPS
Special Operations/Rescue Training Events
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Nuclear Materials Transportation - Dept. of Energy
Active Shooter A.L.I.C.E. Train-the Trainer – Polk County
EMA
Confined Space Awareness – Fire Service Training Bureau
Hybrid Vehicle Extrication – Fire Service Training Bureau
Training for Regional Collaboration
Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs Conference
The Bullet Proof Mind Training
NFPA State Fire Chief’s Conference – Boston*
Governor’s Safety Conference
Standards of Coverage Class by Center for Public Excellence, Kansas City
 Computer Security by City of Urbandale
 All Hazards Planning Section Chief by Polk County EMA
 All Hazards Incident Command by Polk County EMA
 IAFF Leadership Management Instructor’s Conference –
Phoenix
 Leadership Accountability & Culture – FSTB State Fire
School
 Fireground Playbook – FSTB State Fire School
 Incident Command I-300 and I-400 – Polk County EMA
 Mental Aspects of Emergencies – IA Professional Fire
Chiefs
 Command & Control of Incident Operations – National
Fire Academy – Emmetsburg MD
 Executive Leadership – National Fire Academy – Emmetsburg MD
 Health & Wellness Advocate Train-the-Trainer – Nat’l Volunteer Fire Council
 Promotions Assessor Training – Iowa Professional Fire
Chiefs
* = no cost to the City.
Fire Prevention/Emergency Management Training Events
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Fire Sprinklers – Chicago*
Understanding Weather for Critical Decision Making by
Nat’l Weather Service
Fire Inspection Principles – National Fire Academy, Emmetsburg MD
Enhanced Risk & Threat Assessment – Dept. of Homeland Security
NFPA 1600 Implementation – Story County EMA
NFPA 1033 for Fire Investigators – Fire Service Training
Bureau
Residential Sprinkler Plan Review – National Fire Academy outreach
Hawkeye Fire Safety Association Conference - HSFSA
Crews work to “overhaul” a fire on 61st Street in July. Overhaul is
the search for and extinguishment of hidden fires in the debris.
Page 4
2013: The Year In Review
2013 EMS Recap- Assistant Chief Rob Light
2013 EMS by the numbers:
31% of the patients we saw refused transport to the hospital by ambulance. The vast majority of
these patients were both treated and refused transportation by ambulance to the hospital or were
patients that just needed assistance in one way or another.
A/C Rob Light
Patients treated or attended=2008 patients. A 9.5% increase over 2012.
Patients transported to hospitals=1385 patients. A 9% decrease over 2012.
Of the patients that were transported to the hospital by our department, their destination hospital is
shown in the chart to the right.
The average age of our patient gained a year from last
year to 56 years old.
The year-end recap also gave us a better picture of
where our calls for service originated as follows, and how
they compared to the previous year:
2013
East of 100th Street
1382 patients
Between 100th St. &142nd 522 patients
West of 142nd Street
74 patients
Out of Urbandale
12 patients
2012
1485 patients
432 patients
81 patients
10 patients
The central part of the city had the biggest share increase again at 9.3%.
EMS Week 2013
We again held our EMS Week Open House at Station
41. Attendance was down this year from last year. It was
attributed to the cool and rainy weather.
We again partnered with Safe Kids Iowa and received 50
free bike helmets for our event. We added these to the
left over helmets from last year to provide a wide selection of different sizes for both males and females.
We also provided car seat installation and inspection
services again this year. Both the kids and parents loved
the picture opportunities as well as the refreshments. Big
Sky Bread was gracious enough to donate cookies again
this year. We also provided lemonade, popcorn and various public safety education items.
During EMS Week we also held several public education
events at various locations including the Senior Center,
Illahee Hills and The Reserve. These events involved
education in trip/slip/fall safety, fire safety, evacuation in
emergencies and medication education. Blood pressure
checks and vitals monitoring were also offered to the
residents and visitors to these facilities.
We plan to hold this event in May of 2014 as well.
Page 5
2013: The Year In Review
New 12-Lead Defibrillators
We purchased four new 12-lead monitors/defibrillators and they
were put into service on 12/1/13. These units are now located in
each of the four ambulances. Employees went through a series of
training evolutions to become proficient in their use. Training included an online class, a series of video instructions, a PowerPoint
class, a written test, a skills test, and numerous other “hands on”
scenarios” using these devices.
We can now transmit critical cardiac rhythm information directly to
the receiving hospital emergency department from the scene.
These units also gave each ambulance the capability to measure
carbon monoxide levels in blood as well as a means to record patient data for our patient care reports to be reviewed later as part of
our quality assurance reviews.
Medical Director
New Zoll 12-Lead Cardiac Monitor/Defibrillator
We worked on changing our Medical Director in 2013 and Dr.
Travis Kain from UnityPoint Healthcare System has agreed to take on those responsibilities. Dr. Kain is a former Urbandale
resident and former Urbandale High School graduate who currently works as an emergency physician at Iowa Methodist, Methodist West and Iowa Lutheran hospitals. During his residency, he was an Asst. Medical Director for two services in Pennsylvania. He expressed an active interest in our city and our department and is even interested in riding along with the crews from
time to time. He was a former Emergency Medical Technician and he has as a great interest in EMS.
There were a number of things that had to occur to facilitate this transition such as paperwork with the Iowa EMS Bureau, the
pharmacy agreements, the protocols updated, the DEA license, the drug audit for transferring control of our medications, etc.
All of this took place in 2013 so Dr. Kain could officially
take over the reins on January 1st, 2014.
Looking Ahead to 2014
We look forward to our new partnership and involvement of Dr. Kain. One of the initial things we will be
looking at is our airway protocols and possibly changing
some of the drugs we carry to better treat patients. Any
changes we make will be based on clinical data from
research and direct experience in the emergency setting.
The department has been involved with another system
change involving how we are dispatched. Department
representation worked with WestCom to identify a procedure to dispatch specific units for specific types of
alarms. This new dispatch system works in conjunction
with a WestCom software program called Emergency
Medical Dispatch and Emergency Fire Dispatch. Many
hours were spent identifying the units that will be dispatched for specific incidents to specific locations.
This system removes any questions to what apparatus
will respond to a specific type of alarm. This system Fire department staff prepared and served a meal for the Freedom for Youth
has improved the time it takes to get apparatus re- Ministries, UCAN, and Aldersgate Church’s Whiz Kids program.
sponding to alarms.
Page 6
2013: The Year In Review
2013 Fire Prevention/Public Education-Fire Marshal Jon Rech
Fire Marshal Jon Rech
2013 was another busy and productive year in the area of fire prevention. The
continued upward trend in residential and commercial construction led to another
busy year with plan reviews and fire inspections in the community. We continue to
see older adults in the community take advantage of our smoke detector battery
replacement program to help assure they have working smoke detectors in their
home. Efforts continue to educate the community on the importance and value of
home fire sprinklers in addition to many other safety items for the home.
We enjoyed another successful Citizen Fire Academy held in the spring and a full
Kids Fire Academy that took place in June. During Fire Prevention Week we provided home safety checklists to all elementary aged children at schools located in
Urbandale. We also continue to participate with the Human Services Team of the
Urbandale Community Action Network (UCAN). The public turnout for the UFD
Open House at Station #41 during Fire Prevention Week was one of the best ones
on record.
In addition to a residential fire death that occurred in September, we once again
saw more than one fire caused by a failure of CSST flexible gas pipe in a home due to an indirect lightning strike. We continued our efforts in educating the community on the dangers of this type of
piping. As with previous years, most of the fires that were investigated
during 2013 were preventable in nature.
Citizen Academy student gains experience using the “Jaws of Life”
during rescue training. The graduates are shown below.
Students of the Citizen Academy prepare to fight a fire in a side by side
demonstration. The compartment on the right is not protected by fire sprinklers.
The compartment on the left is protected and results in very minimal damage.
Page 7
2013: The Year In Review—Statistics
Total Calls for Service: 2,731
Fire:
Break Down of Services
612
EMS, 74%
EMS: 1,999
Other
EMS
Fire
Other: 120
Other, 4%
Fire, 22%
Hours of Training:
7,476
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
Page 8
2013: The Year In Review
Response Times:
Average response time – all incidents:
6 minutes and 20 second
Average Emergency response time – fire and EMS:
6 minutes and 13 seconds
Average response time – EMS:
6 minutes and 07 seconds
Average Emergency response time – EMS:
6 minutes
Average Non-Emergency response time – EMS:
6 minutes and 12 seconds
Average response time – Fire:
6 minutes and 50 seconds
Average Emergency response time – fire:
6 minutes and 35 seconds
Average Non-Emergency response time – fire:
6 minutes and 58 seconds
We received mutual aid 57 times—we provided mutual aid 36 times in 2013.
Page 9
2013: The Year In Review
Response Time Goal - Emergency Responses: 7 minutes, 90% of the time. We meet that goal 69.3% of the
time.
Page 10
2013: The Year In Review
Prevention Activities
Smoke Detector B atteries…
134
Smoke Detectors I nstalled
53
Car Seats Checks
48
Plan R eviews
183
Prepla ns
111
Prelim Walk-Thrus
9
Re-Ins pections
388
Ins pections
359
0
100
200
300
400
500
The three largest fire losses in 2013 were:
House fire with a loss estimated at $540,000
3,113
Number of Adults in PE/PR:
House fire with a loss estimated at $240,506
House fire with a loss estimated at $165,000
4,722
Number of Children in PE/PR:
Total Particpants in Public
Education/Public Relations activites:
7,835
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
Open House 2013
Page 11
2013: The Year In Review
Apparatus
Condition
Engine 411 – ‘96 1500 GPM Pumper
Fair
Ambulance 413 – ‘06 Type III Ambulance
Fair
Engine 421 – ‘01 1500 GPM Pumper
Good
Ambulance 414 – ‘11 Type III Ambulance
Good
Ladder 415 – ‘09 75' Ladder (Quint)
Good
Ambulance 424 – ‘10 Type III Ambulance
Good
Ladder 425 – ‘05 75’ Ladder (Quint)
Good
Ambulance 423 – ‘06 Type III Ambulance
Fair
Rescue 418 – ‘03 Heavy Rescue Truck
Good
Car 417 – ‘12 Chevrolet Tahoe
Good
Utility 419 – ‘14 Dodge Ram Pickup
New
Car 409 – ‘12 Chevrolet Tahoe
Good
Attack 427 – ‘07 Chevy brush truck
Good
Car 400 – ‘09 Chevrolet Tahoe
Good
Scenes from the Annual “Citizen Fire Academy”
Page 12
2013: The Year In Review
FY 12/13 Budget Information: Approved Budget: $3,483,852
(includes $467,397 in pension cost)
Cost to our customers: 23.8
cents per day
(Approved budget divided by population
(40,020) = cost per year per person ($87.05),
divided by 365)
Kids Fire Academy 2013
Page 13
2013: The Year In Review
FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF: February 2014
Full-Time Staff
Jerry Holt, Fire Chief
16 years
Craig Jensen, FF/Paramedic
6 years
Mike Cardwell, Asst. Chief
5.4 years
Derek Manser, D/E
4.2 years
Jon Rech, Fire Marshal
13 years
Josh Boyle, FF/Paramedic
3.6 years
Dan Birkett, Lieutenant
10 years
Bryce Landers, FF/Paramedic
3.6 years
Lance Routson, Lieutenant
7.8 years
John McCannon, FF/Paramedic
3.6 years
Mike Gentosi, Lieutenant
11.5 years
Demir Miljkovic, D/E
3.6 years
Brennan Burke, D/E
11.5 years
Andrew Stiles, FF/Paramedic
3.6 years
Stuart Wilson, Lieutenant
8.5 years
Cory Young, FF/Paramedic
3.6 years
Cory Macumber, Lieutenant
7.5 years
Rob Zahnd, FF/Paramedic
3.3 years
Eric Ennen, D/E
7.2 years
Brad Crookshank. FF/Paramedic
3.3 years
Kyle Bissell, Lieutenant
6.5 years
Rob Harris, FF/Paramedic
John Ouverson, D/E
6.5 years
Michael Kaduce, FF/Paramedic
Cody Thorne, FF/Paramedic
6.4 years
David Burns, FF/Paramedic
Jamie Erie, D/E
6.1 years
Lesley Olsasky, Billing Specialist
3 years
1.4 years
1 month
18 years
Part-Time/POC Staff
Medical Director: Dr. Travis Kain
Rob Light, Asst. Chief
26.2 years
Greg Glendy, FF/Paramedic
1.4 months
Paula Merfeld, Paramedic
25.4 years
Kyle Clark, FF/EMT
1.4 months
Julie Stuckle, Paramedic
22.4 years
Cody Nicely-Green, FF/EMT
(PE/FPS)
8 months
Craig Pope, FF/EMT
9.4 years
Ross Budden, FF/EMT
5 months
Jeff Gilchrist, FF/EMT
18.7 years
Karla Hogrefe, FF/EMT
2 months
Ross Frank, FF/EMT
5.5 years
Marty Smith, FF/EMT
2 months
Chad Jackson FF/EMT
3.6 years
Fabio Rivas, FF/EMT
2 months
Tim Malchow, FF/Paramedic
1 month
Tom Montgomery FF/EMT
Nick Heuer FF/EMT
3 years
2.4 years
Support Volunteers
Rev. Dr. Arthur McClanahan (Chaplain/Photographer)
Page 14
2013: The Year In Review—Thank You Notes
Page 15
2013: The Year In Review—Thank You Notes
Page 16
2013: The Year In Review—Thank You Notes
Page 17
2013: The Year In Review—Thank You Notes
Page 18
2013: The Year In Review—Fire Department Awards
Promotions 2013:
Jamie Erie—Driver/Engineer
John Ouverson—Driver/Engineer
Demir Miljkovic—Driver/Engineer
Derek Manser—Driver/Engineer
Eric Ennen—Driver/Engineer
Brennan Burke—Driver/Engineer
Page 19