3b. Fire Department Update
~b
,~
:'J::~ .,,_...-.-~->
CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT
PO. Box 97 · 7610 Laredo Drive · Chanhassen, MN 55317
Bus. Phone 952-227-1200 · Minnewashta Station NO.2. Phone 952-474-7094
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
FROM:
Roger Smallbeck - Fire Chief
Ed Coppersmith - 1 st Assistant Chief
Rick Rice - 2nd Assistant Chiefit.1 A
Mark Littfin - Fire Marshal 66"
February 9,2010
DATE:
SUBJ:
Monthly City Council Update
Fire Department Overview:
Staffing is at 38 active firefighters and five probationary firefighters as of February 11, 2010.
Current allocation is 45 PTE's.
Year to date there have been 79 calls for service. There were 57 calls in January and as of
February 9th we have responded to 22 calls.
There was a residential structure fire on February 7th. The fire caused substantial damage to the
attached garage. Two vehicles were totally destroyed along with other items that were stored in
the garage. There was a very small amount of water damage and limited smoke damage to the
living space ofthe home.
Training: Training for February is scheduled to be a CPR refresher on February 8t\ and
OSHA's required annual Right to Know training on February 15th.
Fire Marshal:
Fire Prevention: Nothing new to report at this time.
Fire Investigations: No major fires to report on. The Fire Department however did respond to a
small chimney fire on Friday, January 15th at 7:56 p.m. to the 200 block of Chan View. The
homeowner had been using a wood burning fire place at the time. The fire burned a small portion
of the roof around the flue. Firefighters on the scene quickly extinguished the fire and checked
for fire extension.
Fire Inspections:
New construction: Current projects include Westwood Church addition, and numerous tenant
finishes at Autobahn Motorplex. Plans are being reviewed for the downtown parking ramp and
Haskell's liquor store.
Existing building inspections: Both Ed and I are continuing inspections of existing buildings in
the city. We have started on the western half and are gradually heading east. Most of the larger
industrial and commercial buildings in the city were inspected in December 2009. Weare
finding most, if not all, businesses welcome our visits and are very cooperative. There are a
number of businesses that automatically get fire inspections every year. They include day care
centers, schools, restaurants, apartments, hotels, service stations, and high hazard businesses. The
goal for 2010 is to inspect all businesses in the city. One of the key issues while conducting
inspections is to insure all fire alarm systems and fire sprinkler monitoring equipment is working
properly in order to reduce the number of false alarms. I am continuing to follow up on all fire
alarm calls, both commercial and residential alarms, in order to reduce our number of false
alarms. The reduction of calls leads to reduced payroll expenses and cutting down of the "cry
wolf' syndrome. The main component in reducing false alarms is proper installation, and more
importantly proper maintenance of equipment. In follow-up phone conversations with
homeowners they fully understand the problems and are very willing to cooperate in properly
maintaining their . alarm systems.