2b. Chanhassen Fire Dept. Montly Report CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT
FIRE DEPT.
Station i Station 2
PO Box 97 6400 Minnewashta Pkwy.
7610 Laredo Drive Excelsior, MN 5533
1111. 7 Chanhassen, MN 553
MEMORANDUM
TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
FROM: John Wolff - Fire Chief
Ed Coppersmith — Asst. Chief Operation
Rick Rice — Asst. Chief Administration
Jeff Siems — Asst. Chief Training & Safety
Mark Littfin - Fire Marshal
DATE: July 16, 2012
SUBJ: Monthly City Council Update
Fire Department Overview:
Staffing is at 50 active firefighters as of July 16, 2012. There are two firefighters currently on
leave. We held the annual "Black Hat" Ceremony on Monday, July 2 We swore in five new
firefighters in a ceremony to commemorate the completion of their one -year probationary period.
We also added six new probationary firefighters on the same night. The hiring process started
with 15 applicants and after the hiring process we offered six applicants a conditional job offer.
After only three weeks, two of the new rookies have resigned, so we are down to four
probationary firefighters that have entered their probationary training program.
Low call volume continues to be the norm for 2012. Through the first half of the year we are at
222 calls vs. 264 for 2011, we are down 16% for calls and 19% for paid call hours.
The breakdown of the year to date data shows a reduction in calls to date:
• EMS calls -16 %,
• False Alarms -21%,
• CO Alarms -47% and
• Structure Fires/Mutual Aid -39 %.
As of July 16 it has been a busy month for fire calls. In the last few weeks we have responded
to a fire at a commercial building, a fire at a multi -unit townhome, an apartment fire, and a
number of outside fires all in our City. We have also responded to five mutual aid calls in the
following cities: Chaska, Edina, Eden Prairie, Shakopee (2), and Victoria.
Staff Time (not call related): Our staff time for community events, fire education, duty crew
standby, and department meetings are at 1,071 hours for the year compared to 688 hours in 2011.
Training: Training hours are at 3,246 year to date versus 1,361 in the prior period. Members
have been busy completing "Benchmark" training that familiarizes each member with all of the
specialized equipment carried by the fire department. On Saturday, July 14 the Chanhassen
Fire Department utilized an acquired structure, a large single family residence, graciously
donated by Mike and Jody Schreiber to practice and hone our skills in live fire behavior, water
shuttle operations, "on- deck" operations, and interagency coordination and communications.
Firefighters from Chanhassen, Victoria, Eden Prairie, Chaska, Saint Bonifacius, Minnetonka,
Watertown, and Mdewakanton fire departments participated in this training. Additionally,
individuals from the Carver County Sheriff's Department, Ridgeview Ambulance, ELA,
Chanhassen public works, Eden Prairie public works, and Elevation Homes assisted to make this
a successful day.
We were able to complete a total of 15 live fire evolutions culminating in a large "defensive" fire
operation using only water shuttle operations and large caliber hose streams. Since this area has
no fire hydrants, it provided an excellent opportunity to develop and test our water shuttle plan in
case a "real world" fire event occurs. The information gained will be used as a pre -plan should
an unscheduled fire incident occur in this area of Chanhassen.
In total, we had 51 firefighters of various ranks and experience from eight fire departments and
three different counties participate. The Chanhassen Fire Department could not have conducted
this valuable training without the coordination and cooperation of our mutual aid partners and the
support of City administration.
New recruits began emergency medical training this month to prepare them for responding to
emergency medical incidents. This training will continue two nights a week into next month.
We also provided executive leadership learning opportunities with the assistance of Dr. Chad
Weinstein, President of Ethical Leaders in Action, as part of our continuing leadership
development program.
Safety: A strong safety culture continues to be a high priority as an integral aspect of our
firefighter risk reduction program. There were no reports of injury since the last update. The fire
department applied for a federal grant to provide financial assistance in obtaining a vehicle
exhaust removal system for our apparatus. Diesel exhaust and associated toxins in the apparatus
bay are a concern to the wellness of our firefighters. An exhaust removal system will mitigate
this concern.
Compliance: In February we passed our annual testing of the fire pumps in the fleet. We also
recently conducted our annual ladder testing with an outside vendor that also tests the public
works ladders and boom truck. All ladders are certified for another year. Annual hose testing is
scheduled for July 25 — 27 with FireCatt, a testing service. We have also started testing our
personal protective equipment (PPE) with a verified ISP, which is Gear Wash Inc. Our annual
health surveillance program continues for our members. Self contained breathing apparatus
(SCBA) testing will occur in the fall.
Community Activities: Firefighters provided assistance during the annual 4 of July festivities
by providing EMS response for the parade and street dance at City Center Park, along with fire
suppression support for the public and private fireworks displays. Members also provided a
picnic lunch on the 4 for all City workers and Carver County Sheriff deputies along with
members and their families before the parade.
On July 13 the Chanhassen ladder truck was requested to support the ground breaking of the
Minnesota Fallen Firefighter Memorial and to assist St. Paul Fire Department with holding up
the American flag for the ceremony. The memorial will be dedicated on September 30, 2012.
The Chanhassen Fire Department was founded in May 1966 and there have been two line of duty
deaths (LODD) since it was founded. Chanhassen LODD Firefighters Mel Windschitl and Mick
Wiborg will be honored at the memorial in September.
Fire Marshal:
Fire Prevention: During the summer the firefighters have been participating with water week
activities at the City parks, visiting Camp Tanadoona with spraying kids with a fire hose
particularly during our 90- degree temperature days, and will once again be on the streets for
National Night Out in August. The 4 of July activities that we were involved with were all very
successful and we received many nice compliments and thank you's.
Fire Investigations: There were three fires of significance to report on. The first was on
Thursday, June 28 at 5:45 p.m. located at 445 Mission Hills East. The fire was limited to the
exterior of the building adjacent to the front door. Chanhassen had 26 firefighters that responded
and were on the scene until 7:15 p.m. There were no reports of injuries. Discarded smoking
materials may have been the cause.
The second fire was on Monday, July 9 at 8:12 p.m. at Roberts Automatic Products on 880
Lake Drive. The call came in while the fire department was training that evening. A total of 32
firefighters were on the scene within five minutes. The fire started in and was limited to a milling
machine. A total of three fire sprinkler heads were activated which extinguished the fire.
Firefighters assisted with removing smoke from the building and left the scene at 9:44 p.m.
There were no reports of injuries.
The third fire was on Friday, July 13 at 3:23 a.m. at 7621 Chanhassen Road. The call was
reported with fire on the exterior of the building. Several residents were awake at the time and
extinguished much of the fire by throwing water onto it with pots and pans. Residents were
evacuated for approximately two hours during firefighting activities. There were two apartments
that were affected due to the fire with the Red Cross being called to assist. A total of 25
firefighters from Chanhassen responded with assistance from Minnetonka, Eden Prairie,
Excelsior, and Chaska. There were no injuries reported. Firefighters cleared the scene around
6:08 a.m. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal's office was called to assist with the fire
investigation. It appears smoking may have been the cause.
Fire Inspections: Re- inspections are being conducted at our hotels, motels, and apartment
buildings in the City. Most, if not all, are complying with the fire orders. Other projects at
various stages of construction include Primrose Learning Center, Goodwill Industries, Jump and
Jam, Autobahn Motorplex, Chuck Wagon Charlie's, Minnetonka West Middle School, ABC Toy
Zone, Kai's Sushi, and numerous smaller remodel projects.
Fire Calls
Summary of Total Calls _
June 2012 2012 YTD June 2011 2011 YTD
Total 41 214 47 256
Detail of Incident Types
June 2012 2012 YTD June 2011 2011 YTD
Incident Type
Fire 2 7 3 14
Structure Fire 1 3 1 5
Grass Fire - 2 1 2
Misc Fires 1 2 1 7
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat 0 0 0 0
Rescue & Emergency Medical Service Incident 15 91 14 111
Medical 14 76 12 92
PI Crash 1 15 2 18
Misc Calls - - 1
Hazardous Condition 3 12 9 25
Gas Leak 2 6 3 14
Misc Calls 1 6 6 11
Service CaII 4 15 2 9
Mutual Aid 2 7 1 8
Misc Calls 2 8 1 1
Good Intent Call 6 37 6 39
Rescue/Medical - Dispatched & Cancelled 3 14 2 14
Smoke Scare, Odor of Smoke - 5 1 10
PI - Dispatched & Cancelled 2 9 1 8
Misc Calls 1 9 2 7
False Alarm & False Call 10 49 13 58
CO Alarm 3 11 1 9
Dirty/Old Smoke Detector Activation - 4 2 5
Unintentional Transmission of Alarm 7 27 9 37
Burnt Food Smoke Detector - 6 - 3
T..
Misc Calls - 1 1 4
Severe Weather & Natural Disaster 1 3 0 0
Total Incident Count 41 214 47 256