1 Attachment 3
Proposed Roadmap for the Fullerton Fire Department
The intent of this document is to provide a proposed roadm ap for the rebuilding of the Fullerton Fire Department (FFD) to aid in the discussion for the October 18, 2022 City Council meeting.
As the Fire Chief, my organizational goal for t he future of the FFD if the City retains its fire department is to implement a long-term stab ilization strategy. Below is an outline of the required time, capital, and resources that would be required by City Council to support a sustainable fire department moving forward.
There are three components of this stabili zation strategy: compensation, apparatus replacement, and deployment.
Compensation - Based upon the Management Partners’ report, the FFD appears to be roughly 16.0% behind in salary of market value of corresponding agencies. Equally as important is a multi-year contract to not only immediately stabilize the FFD but to maintain that stability for a lasting return on the City’s investment in its personnel. Lastly, to aid in future promotions, disparity between the ranks and reducing compaction should be addressed. These issues would all be subject to the meet and confer process but are values that will resonate with new hires and established members.
*These costs and related components of compensation necessary for the FFD are built into the current OCFA proposal.
Apparatus replacement – The fire and public works teams have been working towards a long-term solution to the apparat us replacement situation. Deferred contribution for several years to the Equipment Replacement Allocation has created a substantial gap to catch up. An increase to the Fire Department’s allocation to the Vehicle Replacement Inte rnal Service Fund is anticipated to account for depreciation and future replacement of our fire apparatus.
2 The immediate apparatus need is to replace 3 engines which are all over 20 years old and with 210,000 miles each. Two of these engines w ould be replaced with new engines and the third would be replaced with a quint which is a fire apparatus capable of handling a high volume of wate r and able to reach the height of mid- rise buildings in the City. The quint will also act as our backup truck when necessary and eliminate the need to have a reserve truck. The quint has $750,000 set aside for it right now. The estima ted cost of each engine with the same specification used for the 2019 Engine 5 is $1 million and the estimated cost of the quint is $2 million for a total estimated cost of $4 million with a manufacturer build time of 2 to 2½ years. Attachment 3a Cost Scenario #1 incorporates the amortized cost of the quint and two engines over a 10-year lease/purchase term.
There are many financing options available for us to evaluate in order to retain capital and spread these payments out, if necessary, but traditionally we use a 10-year lease/purchase program. Again, this is critical for our consistent and expedited response as we continue to overwork our out-of-date fire engines and struggle to find parts. Below is a table showing our heavy apparatus where the shading denotes apparatus that needs replacement. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901 standard is
Engine: frontline for 15 yr s. and reserve for 5 yrs.=20 yrs. total Truck or Quint: frontline for 20 yrs. and reserve for 5 yrs.=25 yrs. total The cost of the required heavy apparatus is built into the current OCFA proposal for 2 trucks and 4 engines to meet their Standards of Cover model.
3 Name Vehicle# Year Age Miles Location Replacement
Year
Frontline
Apparatus
FE1 349A 2015 7 82, 500 Sta.1 2035
FE2 350A 2015 7 97, 500 Sta.2 2035
FE3 355C 2007 15 197, 500 Sta.3 2027
FE4 363B 2003 19 154, 000 Sta.4 2023
FE5 357C 2019 3 35, 500 Sta.5 2039
FT6 360A 2002 20 124, 000 Sta.6 2027
FT6* NA 2022 0 0 Sta.6 2047
Reserve
Apparatus
FE7** 352B 1999 23 210,000 NA 2019
FE8 353C 1999 23 209,500 NA 2019
FE9 351C 2004 18 188,000 NA 2024
FE10 354C 2002 20 211,000 NA 2022
*This denotes the new tillered truck planned to be in service by the end of November. See current picture below:
**Due to the Goodman Project, a quint would be purchased in place of an engine utilizing the $750,000 from Goodman plus the Cit y’s assumed cost of an engine- $1,000,000=$250,000 “additional” for funding. For reference, here is a picture of a quint with a 100-foot aerial ladder:
4 Deployment - As our department is restaffed and promotions begin to occur, it will be important to redeploy Engine 6 for Paramedic and fire suppression equity within our City. We would then relocate our tillered aerial ladder truck back to Station 1 where the majority of the incident volume occurs, and tight alleys and streets are best suited for this unit. We would also upgrade this truck to be Advanced Life Support (ALS) capable which would capture some of the incident volume of Engine 1 thus increasing the availability and decreasing the response time for Paramedic level access to our citizens. This will bring the number of deployed units back to seven which is how the FFD was deployed prior to 2018.
This service level would be a combination of 4 and 3 person ALS staffed apparatus. As with the compensation component, this is also a meet and confer item.
5 LOCATION PRE-2018 POST-2018 PROPOSED
REDEPLOYMENT
Station 1
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person BLS Truck
(no PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Truck
(2 FF/PMs)
Station 2 4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
Station 3 3-person BLS Engine
(no PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
3-person ALS Quint
(2 FF/PMs)
Station 4 3-person PAU Engine
(1 FF/PM)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
3-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
Station 5 4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
4-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
Station 6 3-person PAU Engine
(1 FF/PM)
4-person BLS Truck
(no PMs)
3-person ALS Engine
(2 FF/PMs)
Total
Personnel
per Shift
25 (75 Suppression Personnel
Total)
24 (72 Suppression Personnel
Total)
25 (75 Suppression Personnel
Total)
Total
Paramedics
per Shift
8 (This means that 8 of the 25
people are licensed
Paramedics)
10 (This means that 10 of the 24
people are licensed
Paramedics)
14 (This means that 14 of the 25
people are licensed
Paramedics)
To facilitate this initial redeployment strategy, the strategy components are detailed in the following tables with costing provided in Attachment 3a:
INITIAL REDEPLOYMENT OF 3-PERSON ALS ENGINE AT STATION 6 3 Firefighters (fully burdened)
6 Fire Personnel with Paramedic Incentive Pay
3 Sets of Personal Protective equipment (PPE) & Uniforms
REPLACEMENT OF CURRENT STATION 3 FIRE ENGINE WITH QUINT TRUCK 1 New Quint:
Heavy Apparatus Replacement Fund to replace Engine 3
Goodman Development Agreement
Additional Funds Required
Modifications to Station 3 Apparatus Bay to accommodate height of Quint Truck (one-time cost)
6 UPGRADE 4-PERSON BLS LADDER TRUCK TO 4-PERSON ALS LADDER TRUCK
6 Fire Personnel with Paramedic Incentive Pay
ALS Equipment to Add to Ladder Truck (one-time cost)
In addition, Fire Department administrative support will need to be addressed. I will need approval to hire a Customer Service Representative and Fire Plan Check Specialist both of which are currently being used for budget reductions for FY2022/2023. Corresponding with the decision to maintain the FFD, woul d be a proposed work study to evaluate the current fee and permit struct ure which hasn’t been evaluat ed since 2011. This is an opportunity to offset the entir e Fire Prevention Division while enabling it to be high- functioning and cost neutral.
With a watchful eye on the future and learning from our past, it is noted that there are numerous benefits to staffing our fire engines and trucks with four people. These include:
Reduced property damage and increased viability of occupants-Required by OSHA for the safety of the Firefighters, two people can enter an IDLH environment if two people are outside as back-up.
Ability to flex-staff and capture two response units for the cost of one unit:
decreases a fire engine’s out-of-service time
decreases response times
reduces wear and tear on our fire apparatus as they do not need to follow-up to the hospital as often
It’s important to provide a roadmap to restaff the remaining 3 fire engines to 4 personnel each and with Paramedics on all seven apparatus. This restaffing process will take additional revenue in addition to what the City commits to maintaining the compensation and apparatus components. As fiscal years approach to add 3 Firefighters, an analysis would be provided to City Council noting the benefits of the staffing addition to the current deployment and how it improves the effi ciency and effectiveness of the emergency services to the growing community. Th is transparency holds the fire department accountable to annual metrics and enables an opportunity for education to any new City Council member.
7 Below is the proposed timeline for this plan:
FISCAL
YEAR
PROPOSED
APPARATUS
REPLACEMENT
PROPOSED STAFFING INCREASE
2022-2023 1 Quint
2 Fire Engines
Release Customer Service Representative and Fire
Plan Check Specialist from Vacancy Savings Plan
2023-2024 No Additional Chan ge
2024-2025 Initiate Redeploym ent Strategy including 3
Firefighters with PPE to Engine 6
2025-2026 3 Firefi ghters with PPE to Engine 4
2026-2027 3 Firefi ghters with PPE to Engine 3
2027-2028 3 Firefi ghters with PPE to Engine 6
Total 1 Customer Service Representative
1 Fire Plan Check Specialist
12 Firefi
ghters
Stabilizing the Fire Department will require compensation adj ustments, right sizing the apparatus replacement allocation amount and fleet, and deploying the proper number personnel to equitably serve our entire community within the fastest amount of time while accounting for an increase of incident vo lume. The timeline for deployment is benchmarked at 6 fiscal years. This long-term commitment in the fire department is a secure and sensible investment. A consistent staff can optimize the revenue-generating processes enabling the City to provide the fi re/EMS/prevention services appropriate for our evolving community.
With multiple vacancies in all three division s of the Department, a tentative schedule to achieve the proposed deployment would be followed. Additionally, I will provide updates to the City Council every 90 days on the progress of rebuilding the fire department. 2022
September
o Hire (4) Utility Drivers (within FY 2022-2023 budget) October
o Firefighter Recruit Academy fo r (6) Firefighter Recruits (within FY 2022- 2023 budget)
November
o Open Firefighter and Firefighter/P M Recruitment Process (9-month process) (within FY 2022-2023 budget)
8 December
o Hire and train (1) Sr. Administrative Analyst (within FY 2022-2023 budget), (2) Customer Service Representatives (1 CSR within FY 2022-2023 budget), & (2) Fire Prevention Specialists (within FY 2022-2023 budget; temporarily contracting out services)
o Recruit for EMS Manager (within FY 2022-2023 budget; temporarily contracting out services)
o Initiate work study via third par ty on permits and fees for 100% cost recovery (not within FY 2022-2023 budget)
2023
January
o Place order for Pierce qui nt and two engines (18–24-month process) (not within FY 2022-2023 budget)
February
o Recruit for Fire Plan Check Specialist (not within FY 2022-2023 budget; temporarily contracting out services)
March
o Battalion Chief Promotional Test 3/29/23
o Hire and orient EMS Manager
May
o Captain Promotional Test 4/26/23
o Hire and orient Fire Plan Check Specialist
June
o Install new emergency station alerti ng system to all 6 fire stations (ARPA funded)
o Care contract expires June 30 th- transition to month-to-month July
o Firefighter Recruit Academy for remaining Firefighter vacancies based off new Firefighter recruitment
August
o Send (3-5) Firefighters to Para medic School (9-month process)
9 o Engineer Promotional Test: 8/30/23
2024
April
o Send (3-5) Firefighters to Para medic School (9-month process) July
o Implement Redeployment Strategy including relocating fire ladder truck to Fire Station 1 and Paramedic Engine at Fire Station 6 o Begin construction to modify Fi re Station 3 to accommodate quint 2025
January
o Send (3-5) Firefighters to Pa ramedic School (9-month process) July
o Add 3 new Firefighters to Engine 4
August
o Send (3-5) Firefighters to Para medic School (9-month process)
September
o Firefighter Recruit Academy
2026
July
o Add 3 new Firefighters to Engine 3
September
o Firefighter Recruit Academy
2027
July
o Add 3 new Firefighters to Engine 6
September
o Firefighter Recruit Academy