2005–2006 Annual Report

Sedona Fire District
Annual Report for
Fiscal Year 2005/2006
Brins Fire
June 18, 2006
Safe…
Friendly…
Dedicated...
Message from the Fire Chief
FY 2005/2006 will be remembered as the year
of the wildland fire in the Sedona area. On
June 1st, a worker’s grinder spark in the
Village of Oak Creek caused the worst
Sedona
wildland fire the Sedona area had ever
Marathon
experienced up until that time… The
LaBarranca Fire charred 836 acres and one 2/9/06
home; four out-buildings were damaged or
destroyed. Then, two weeks later, on June 18th, the
Brins Mesa Fire warmed up Father’s Day and quickly
turned into an even bigger wildland fire than LaBarranca.
These two fires seriously tested the mettle of Sedona Fire
District; total damage report for the two fires included:
Nearly 6,000 acres of charred forest.
1 residential structure and 4 out-buildings.
No loss of life or injuries.
Fires like these will continue to impact our region in the
years to come; now is the time to prepare our homes and
businesses for the next potential fire. The men and
women at SFD are well-equipped, trained, and prepared
to meet the challenges posed by these fires and other
natural or human-caused disasters. We are honored to
serve the great community of the Sedona area.
2005/2006 Fire Board
Board Chairman:
Caryn Maxwell
Board Clerk:
Thomas O.Wells
Board Members:
Ian Cameron*
Charles Christensen
Joy Moore
*Mr. Cameron retired in 11/05 & was replaced by Ralph Graves.
Statistics
District Information
Land Area: 168 Square Miles covered
by four staffed stations and three
reserve stations.
Population: 20,000 +/Full-Time Operational Personnel: 67
Administrative/Support Personnel: 32
Reserve Personnel: 22
Safety-Related Community Events: 36
School Children Instructed on Fire and
Life Safety Topics: 4,600
Plans/Permits Reviewed: 505
Fire Investigations conducted: 15
Media Articles/Programs: 210
Operations
Total Calls: 3,780
Fire Calls: 147
Emergency Medical Calls: 2,770
Hazardous Condition Calls: 334
Special Duty/Service Calls: 529
Budget
2005/2006 Operating: $10,058,367
2005/2006 Non-Operating: $387,522
2005 Award Recipients
These SFD Award winners were
announced on January 21, 2006:
Fire District Services
Administration provides Leadership, Long-Range Planning, Budget
Development, Financial Management, Human Resources, Payroll,
Contract Administration, Grants, Liaison with the Fire Board, and
General Customer Service to ensure the efficient daily administrative
functions of the fire district.
Communications is responsible for Computer Aided Dispatch
Firefighter of the Year:
Jarrett Tarver
Employee of the Year:
Gary Johnson
Reserve of the Year:
Jim Miner
Customer Service:
Charlie Allen
Citizen of theYear:
Bashas’ Sedona
Unit Citation:
Critical Incident Stress
Management Team
Bronze Boot:
Jayson Coil
coordination; 9-1-1
Dispatching and Regional
Communication services;
Computer Technology;
Radios and Pagers;
Maintenance of
Telecommunication Towers;
Microwave Communication
System functions.
Community Risk Management provides Construction Plan and
Development Review; Fire, Home, Engine Company, Wildland and
Construction Inspections; Fire Suppression System Reviews and
Inspections; Investigation of Complaints of fire hazards and nuisances;
Public Information; Public Education; Hazardous Materials and Fire
Investigation; Records & Files of fire losses, Construction Activities, Area
Growth, Fire Hazards, Building Information, Liaison to and Assisting of
outside agencies concerning fire investigation and inspection; Special
Projects such as Annexations, Fire Code Development, Fire Hydrant
Installation.
Sedona Fire District
Mission Statement
Our people provide a valued, professional, and dynamic
response to the needs of the community we serve through…
Safe fire suppression, prevention, and support services
Emergency medical, life safety, and rescue services
Rapid and reliable emergency response
Vigilant pursuit of ourValues, Mission, andVision
Integrity in everything we are and do
Caring, compassionate, and committed attitudes
Education, efficiency, ethics, and excellence.
Operations offers comprehensive service delivery of
traditional and creative Fire Suppression, Prevention,
and Education; Wildland Fire Protection and
Suppression; Emergency Medical Services; Hazardous
Materials protection;
Special Operations—
High Angle Rope,
Swiftwater, Trench
and Confined Space
Rescues; Training;
Peer Fitness
facilitation. Service is
accomplished through
daily staffing and
response of four
Paramedic Engine
Companies and four
Paramedic Ambulances.
Accomplishments
During the 3rd Quarter of 2005:
During the 1st Quarter of 2006:
Crews provided coverage for the inaugural Sedona
Marathon on 2/9/06; 10 SFD personnel participated.
Promotions this quarter included: Jim
SFD hired new Fire Mechanic Paul Scott,
Elmer to Division Chief; Terry Keller
and New Administrative Clerk Carla Dufort
to Battalion Chief; Pat Ojeda to Fire
began on February 6th.
Captain; John Moran to Engineer.
SFD conducted highly successful community
Chief Shobert attended part 3 of the 4brush/tree trimming clean-up in March with
phase National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer
15 roll-offs of flammable vegetation collected; this means
program.
over 500 cubic yards of material was removed; Coconino
SFD answered the call to assist in our nation’s worst
County disposed the material at no charge to SFD.
natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, by
Hired 10 firefighters from last Fire Academy
sending 10 operational and support
hiring list due to attrition/replacement.
personnel to help with recovery
Meet and Confer for 2006/07 concluded.
efforts. SFD Fire Board worked with a
Testing for Phase II wireless E 9-1-1
local relief effort, Beyond the Storm, and
continued;
implementation makes Sedona and
donated an outgoing ambulance to a
Verde Valley the third area in Arizona to
Mississippi fire department in the hurricane-stricken area.
determine caller location on wireless.
SFD received Homeland Security grants of $146,960 for
exhaust systems, and $475,200 for base stations,
During the 2nd Quarter of 2006:
repeaters, and portable radios for all Verde Valley fire
LaBarranca Fire, 6/1/06: Fire quickly spread threatening
agencies, as well as $7,000 from Coconino County.
homes. Local, Federal, and
Finance Clerk Margie West retired after 13 years.
State agencies worked to
manage/mitigate this fire. A
During the 4th Quarter of 2005:
home and outbuildings were
Ian Cameron retired as a long-time SFD
lost, but 150 were saved.
Board member.
Brins Fire, 6/18/06:
Public Automatic Defibrillator program
Human-caused fire on Wilson Mountain and Oak Creek
provided 26 Automatic Defibrillators to the community.
Canyon threatened all area residences and businesses. Over
4,000 acres burned without loss of a structure! SFD crews
Reserve Captain Virgil Trout retired after 29 years of
cooperated with Federal and State agencies on this largeservice; a retirement luncheon was held.
scale operation.
Tad Coyner was promoted to Technology Manager.
Community Open Houses were held
SFD received approval of the Annexation Resolution and
at Stations #1, 3, and 4 in April.
Boundary Change on 10/26/05; the County made
Every 15 Minutes anti-drinking
mapping changes, and recording was completed.
campaign was presented to Sedona Red
Captain Buzz Lechowski received
Rock High School students.
the 2005 Masonic Lodge Firefighter
Asbestos removal project at Station #4 was completed.
Award.
As a result of wildland fires, Community Risk Management
Regional Communications’ staff
fielded more than 100 calls for weed and debris complaints.
Terry Schleizer and Jeff Jennings
attended the National Fire Academy financial management
Implemented, tested, activated, and
class to improve creative application, strategic budgeting,
used Oak Creek Canyon siren system.
and money management techniques.
SFD took 1st Place in the Phoenix-based
2005 fire dollar loss totals $3,763,760 (due to the
Swiftwater Rescue Rodeo.
Lumberman’s fire). Property saved through suppression
A retirement luncheon was held to honor
efforts, automatic systems, or other means is $4,241,000.
long-time volunteer, Heinz Paetzold.
For more information, please see our website at www.SedonaFire.org.