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3b. Fire Department ReportMEMORANDUM CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT Station i PO Box 97 7610 Laredo Drive Chanhassen, MN 55317 Station 2 6400 Minnewashta Pkwy. Excelsior, MN 5533 TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager FROM: John Wolff - Fire Chief Ed Coppersmith - 1 St Assistant Chief Rick Rice - 2 °a Assistant Chief Mark Littfin - Fire Marshal DATE: September 15, 2011 SUBJ: Monthly City Council Update Fire Department Overview: Staffing is at 49 active firefighters as of July 29, 2011. There is one firefighter currently on leave and five new members attending probationary firefighter training. A total of four firefighters have retired already this year. We anticipate that three to four firefighters may retire or resign in 2012. Year to date (YTD) there have been 391 calls for service. At this time last year we were at 441 calls for service. The primary driver for the difference is the high number of EMS /medical calls we saw last year. Looking at the data over the past 7 -8 years, call activity this year is on par for what we would expect. Staff for call response is down from 8,177 YTD in 2010 to 7,001 hours YTD. There were 49 calls in August. There were four calls for mutual aid during the month of August. We had one house fire during the month and called Eden Prairie and Excelsior for mutual aid assistance. Station 2 was broke into on September l st . A portable hydraulic "jaws of life" extrication tool was stolen. The replacement cost for this item is approximately $14,000. This matter is in the hands of the Carver County Sheriff's investigators. Safety & Training: We have completed the hiring process for a new position, Assistant Chief of Training & Safety. This position will be responsible to ensure that our safety and training programs are the best they can be given our resources and ensure we meet minimum OSHA, NIOSH, and NFPA standards. This position will take effect October 1, 2011. We are rolling out new Standard Operating Guidelines to enhance command and control, firefighter safety, and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations. We are also cross training our staff in the various fire companies to be able to use all of the apparatus and equipment. For example, our engine companies are training on ladder operations and vice versa. Fundraising: We are conducting our annual direct mail fundraiser to the residents and businesses in the City. We use these funds to supplement our safety and training programs, equipment needs, and firefighter retention efforts. This year we are also supporting a statewide effort to raise money for the Minnesota Fallen Firefighter Memorial. Firefighters are donating their time and treasure as we have committed to raising a minimum of $10,000 for the fund. You may see our firefighters at Chanhassen retail establishments on weekends starting September 11 th . Community support has been outstanding. Staff Time (not call related): Our staff time for community events, fire education, duty crew standby, department meetings and training we are at 4,974 hours year to date. At the same time last year we were at 4,479 hours. Members attended and participated in two September 1 l events. One of these regional events was hosted by the City of Eden Prairie and the second one was a county -wide event in Waconia. Fire Prevention Week is October 10 -14 The Fire Department Open House will be held on Sunday, October 16 from 1 -4 p.m. Fire Marshal Fire Prevention: Final arrangements are being made for the annual Fire Prevention week activities. As in years past our firefighters will be donating their time for fire safety training with our elementary school children. Schools participating this year are Chanhassen Elementary, Chapel Hill Academy, Bluff Creek Elementary, and St. Hubert's Catholic School. Children will walk or be bused to the station for the weeklong events. The firefighters who are helping generally take vacation time from their jobs or rearrange their work schedules. For this we are very grateful. Many hours are donated to this worthwhile event to teach children about fire safety. We are anticipating reaching approximately 1,500 kids from pre - school thru 3 rd grade. In addition to the schools we are also scheduling time at our larger day care centers with visits by our firefighters. Open house activities are being finalized as we are anticipating a large turnout. We hope to see you there. The date of our open house is Sunday, October 16 Fun, food, and fire trucks will be provided. Fire Investigations: The only structure fire we responded to was at 7020 Red Wing Lane on Friday, August 19 at 11:49 p.m. The fire was contained to a family room being added to the house. The cause of the fire, which was determined by a private fire investigator from the insurance company, was spontaneous combustible from the spray foam that was applied by the home owner. Fire Inspections: Current commercial projects at various stage of construction include the downtown parking ramp, Autobahn Motorplex garages, K. Hovnanian Townhomes, and a few small tenant remodel projects. We will be starting up inspections of our schools and daycares in the next few weeks. We are also conducting our annual inspections of apartment buildings. This licensing inspection has been very successful and we have a very good working relationship with all our apartment managers and owners.