03-25-2024 Council Meeting Packet

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Lino Lakes, Minnesota – Fire Department Analysis Page 18 Some of the major steps that need to be undertaken if the City pursues its own fire department include: • Determine what equipment and assets are transferable from the CFD • Determine need for and location of new station in the south portion of the City • Adopt an organizational concept for the Department structure • Develop a job description for the Fire Chief (or appropriately titled head of the fire service) • Recruit and hire the head of the fire service • Determine which CFD personnel will transfer to the new City Department • Develop a recruitment and retention plan • Develop standard operating guidelines (SOGs) and policies to operate a fire department • Reach out to neighboring jurisdictions to explore collaborations and mutual aid In addition to the process to design, implement and administer a new fire department, the city administration and related support departments (finance, human resources, facilities, information technology) would also need to plan for increases in their work load and responsibilities. We encourage the City Council and administrative departments to explore the ongoing maintenance and support requirements that come with a fire department. These may or may not be onerous, but they will be new, and it is important that the tangible and intangible effects of adding a new department to the city are understood. This includes the commitment the City Council would be taking on with its responsibilities for a fire service, as this would be totally new within the framework of Lino Lakes City Hall. Option 3 – Contract for fire services with another fire department(s) Another logical option would be to return to what was used 30 years ago, and contract with outside jurisdictions for fire services. This plan would mean Lino Lakes simply pays an annual fee to receive a specific level of emergency services from neighboring jurisdictions. The key to such contracting arrangements is to be sure the services received meet or exceed current standards. This means the contracts must specify response requirements and have a way to measure and assure that standards are being met. Without a detailed analysis, it appears that Lino Lakes would need to use three outside jurisdictions to get the resources needed for an adequate level of response. These would include Lake Johanna for coverage of southern areas; Hugo for eastern areas; and Blaine for northern and western areas. The northernmost area of Lino Lakes may also need to be evaluated for a possible 4th responder. Use of NFPA 1720 standards would serve as a basis to assure adequate coverage. This option would give Lino Lakes adequate fire/EMS coverage, but would mean minimal local control of operations, since the City would be contracting to use other jurisdictions’ resources and personnel. Option 4 – Establish a new District with additional jurisdictions Today, with more challenging emergency incident mitigation and the ever-growing costs of firefighting resources, more areas are developing larger fire protection districts to address these needs. The days of a single city being able to handle its entire emergency services requirements are gone. Even the state’s largest municipalities like Minneapolis and St Paul have turned to tiered response with outside agencies. A new fire protection district involving communities such as Lino Lakes, Circle Pines, Centerville, and Blaine, Lake Johanna, Hugo, and White Bear Lake may be a long term future possibility. Such a partnership would bring together enough resources to handle nearly any call, as well as resources to move 24