The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About#26 TAHOE RESPONSE POLICY MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMUNICATION -- page 1 -- DATE: November 15, 2016 REGULAR ITEM #26 AGENDA ITEM: Tahoe Response Policy SUBMITTED BY: Greg Malmquist, Fire Chief THROUGH: City Administrator REVIEWED BY: SUGGESTED ORDER OF BUSINESS: - Introduction of Item .............................................................. City Administrator - Report/Presentation………………………………………………… Fire Chief - Questions from Council to Staff ............................................. Mayor Facilitates - Call for Motion ............................................................... Mayor & City Council - Discussion ....................................................................... Mayor & City Council - Action on Motion .................................................................... Mayor Facilitates POLICY RECCOMENDER: FISCAL IMPACT: N/A SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: Copy of “Tahoe Response Policy” requested by Council at October 18, 2016 meeting. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: We began operating a “Duty Vehicle” (originally was a used Crown Vic and now Tahoe’s) in 2002 to improve response times and get a trained Responder on scene ASAP, when available, as we had no fulltime staff. This vehicle was rotated between the 3 Chief Officers, for one week periods. Over time we discovered the shortcoming of this type of vehicle and in 2007, we moved to the larger SUV style to allow for all the necessary equipment to be carried and provide a safer response in all types of weather and terrain. When a Fulltime Chief was hired, we moved to the second Duty Vehicle as it was necessary for the Chief to have a vehicle 24/7 to allow for the Chief to respond Monday thru Friday 8-4:30, on “larger” events outside City Council Meeting [Regular Agenda Item #26) November 15, 2016 -- page 2 -- scheduled work hours, Mutual Aid, Duty Officer rotation, provide back up, etc., when available. The second Duty Vehicle also increased our chances of a responding Duty Officer. And allow us to provide “back up”. BACKGROUND INFORMATION (SWOT): Strengths Improved service to community with quicker response. Weaknesses Outside of scheduled Duty Crew shifts, response is on an “availability” basis. Limited number of staff that are qualified to respond in the Duty Vehicle as they must be trained to a level that allows them to be the Incident Commander in any situation. Opportunities Clarify response protocols for Duty Vehicles, (Tahoes) Threats Inability to provide 24/7 staffing for Duty Vehicles. RECOMMENDATION: Review policies. ATTACHMENTS: Policy 03-204, DUTY CREWS Policy 03-205, USE OF FIRE DEPARTMENT VEHICLES Standard Operating Guideline (SOG), DUTY OFFICER 12/9/14 - 1 - LAKE ELMO FIRE DEPARTMENT POLICY POLICY #03-204 TITLE: DUTY CREWS 12/9/14 CITY ADMINISTRATOR FIRE CHIEF DATE GENERAL: 1. Duty Crews will be classified as follows: DAYTIME DUTY CREW – Monday – Friday, 0800-1630 hrs. NIGHTIME DUTY CREW – Monday – Thursday, 2200-0500 hrs. (ending Friday AM) 2. No Duty Crews will be scheduled on the following holidays, (actual and observed): New Year’s Day January 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday 3rd Monday in January President’s Day 3rd Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Independence Day July 4th Labor Day First Monday in September Veteran’s Day November 11th Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November Friday after Thanksgiving 4th Friday in November Christmas Eve December 24th Christmas Day December 25th New Years Eve (non observed holiday) December 31st (Only shifts that START on the Holiday will be cancelled) All events will be toned as ALL CALLS on these days. 3. Paging During Duty Crew Shifts: • Duty Crew Tone – No Credit, Pay Only • All Call Tone – All available personnel respond. Credit and Pay. 12/9/14 - 2 - POLICY # 03-204 TITLE: DUTY CREWS For the purpose of paging, the following criteria will be used to determine the proper page. The call types listed below are designated as ALL CALL, all other responses will be categorized as DUTY CREW. The OIC/Duty Officer has the ability to request an ALL CALL at any time. In the event of an incorrectly paged event due to a Dispatcher error, this ALL CALL will be a non-credit, pay only event. o Report of Any Fire whether confirmed or not. This does not include fire alarms. o All accidents (MVA, 10-52’s) that are paged as requiring extrication. o Tones paged out as an “All Call”. o Mutual Aid 4. All qualified personnel will be assigned to a duty crew. 5. Duty Crews will respond in the appropriate vehicles (see Incident Response SOG). 6. If for any reason a member is not able to cover their assigned shift, it will be their responsibility to get another qualified employee to cover their shift. It shall also be the responsibility of the original crew member to notify the Duty Crew Officer in charge of their crew of the change and who the replacement will be. The member making the change must also complete a Duty Crew Change Form and place the form in the mailbox of the Officer in Charge (OIC) of overseeing the Duty Crews. Traded shifts will not be spaced more then 30 days apart. 7. In case of illness the OIC of that shift shall be notified as soon as possible in order to permit a replacement to be found. Notification must be made no later than 2 hours prior to the beginning of the shift. In the event a member is unable to complete a shift due to illness, the member must make up the shift within a 30 day time period of the missed shift. The member must also complete a Duty Crew Change Form noting the date of the missed shift due to illness and also noting in advance the date of the make up shift and place the form in the mailbox of the Officer in Charge (OIC) of overseeing the Duty Crews. 12/9/14 - 3 - POLICY # 03-204 TITLE: DUTY CREWS 8. Open duty crew shifts will be posted at each station, and can be picked up by any qualified member of the department with priority given to personnel who normally respond to the station where the open shift exists. 9. The Lake Elmo Fire Department maintains a “zero tolerance” regarding the use of alcohol and/or drugs by personnel assigned to a duty crew. (See Alcohol and Drug Policy) 10. No Show/No Call, two unexcused absences within a 12 month rolling calendar, may be grounds for dismissal. 12 month rolling calendar will roll backwards from last instance. A member who has an unexcused absence must do the following; a. The member must provide a written explanation of why they missed the call and submit the explanation to the Officer in Charge of overseeing the duty crews within 24 hours of the missed shift. The Duty Crew OIC of the b. member who missed the call must notify the Officer in Charge of the Duty Crews about the missed call. c. The member who missed the call must make up the call within 30 days of the missed call. In the event a member misses a call close to the end of the year, the member should try to make up the call prior to the end of the year rather then waiting 30 days. The member missing the call must complete a Duty Crew Change form noting in advance when the make up date will be completed and place the form in the mailbox of the Officer in Charge of overseeing the Duty Crews. Failure to comply with the above could result in disciplinary action. 11. Failure by a department member to maintain a 100% duty squad percentage at the end of the year could result in disciplinary action or affect the member’s good standing with the department. 12. A member making up a call due to illness or unexcused absence doesn’t have to switch with a member in order to make a shift up. The member can be an addition to a shift in order to make up the missed shift. 12/9/14 - 4 - POLICY # 03-204 TITLE: DUTY CREWS 13. Personnel unable to cover their scheduled shifts due to work conflicts, will be required to fill a scheduled shift during daytime hours. The number of hours scheduled will not exceed those required. This schedule will be set up on a case by case basis, and will be approved by the Chief. DUTY CREW RESPONSES: Daytime Duty Crew • Paging criteria will be the same as Nighttime Duty Crew • Only personnel designated as “Daytime Responders” will be required to sign up for a daytime shift and will be required to respond to all calls during their shift. • All available personnel may respond to both Duty Crew and All Call events. Nighttime Duty Crew • Assigned Duty Crew will respond to all calls during their shift. • Only assigned personnel will respond to “Duty Crew Paged” events. • All Non Duty Crew personnel shall respond under the following conditions: o Report of Any Fire whether confirmed or not. This does not include fire alarms. o All accidents (MVA, 10-52’s) that are paged as requiring extrication. o Tones paged out as an “All Call”. o Mutual Aid • The Duty Crew will minimally consist of a Duty Officer (see Duty Officer SOG) and two personnel from each station, for a total of five personnel. 5/13/14 - 1 - LAKE ELMO FIRE DEPARTMENT POLICY POLICY #03-205 TITLE: USE OF FIRE DEPT. VEHICLES 5/13/14 CITY ADMINISTRATOR FIRE CHIEF DATE The primary use of city owned vehicles operated by Lake Elmo Fire Department personnel is to carry out fire department duties. Exceptions to this are as follows: • Vehicles participating in parades, fire musters etc. At which time it shall be permissible for non fire department personnel to ride on vehicles. All persons riding on vehicles when traveling at posted speeds shall wear proper restraints. • It may be necessary, in the course of assisting the general public to transport non-fire department personnel. This shall be determined by the O.I.C. (Officer In Charge). • When fire department vehicles are used to attend conferences, meetings and other fire department related functions, it is permissible for non-fire department personnel to accompany fire department personnel traveling in fire department vehicles. • In the course of performing “Good Will”. Authorization for these types of uses shall be made by the Fire Chief, in the absence of the Chief, the Assistant Chief shall have the authority. In the event that a decision needs to be made immediately, and a Chief Officer is not available, the O.I.C. shall have the authority, and shall notify the Fire Chief of the decision ASAP. In the event a fire department vehicle is transporting non fire department personnel and must respond to an emergency call, that vehicle will respond NON EMERGENCY, if the non fire department personnel cannot be removed from vehicle prior to responding. 5/13/14 - 2 - POLICY # 03-205 TITLE: USE OF FIRE DEPT. VEHICLES CHIEF OFFICER/ DUTY OFFICER VEHICLES – Department vehicles used in this capacity shall be used by the Fire Chief, Chief Officers, Duty Officers (hereafter referred to as CO/DO) or a designee of the chief. These vehicles shall be used for performance of fire department business. These vehicles shall be used whenever the CO/DO is available for calls, to ensure response, whenever possible by a CO/DO to the scene. The chief shall have the authority to use the vehicle for personal use during these times of availability, as will the CO/DO under the direction of the chief. These vehicles shall be used only in the immediate area to ensure quick response. This may include surrounding communities. The CO/DO shall have the authority to transport non-fire department personnel at his/her discretion. If possible non fire department personnel shall be removed from vehicle prior to responding, however if it becomes necessary to respond to an incident when non-fire personnel are in the vehicle, response shall be NON EMERGENCY. 5/13/14 1 The purpose of this SOG is to ensure response of a Chief Officer and/or Duty Officer, (hereafter referred to as CO/DO) on all calls possible.  The Chief shall be available to respond whenever possible.  Assistant Chief and Captains shall rotate a department duty vehicle per schedule. CO/DO Response: • CO/DO, when available, will respond directly to scenes in duty vehicles for all calls. Duty Officer Shifts: Duty Officer shifts shall be as follows:  Monday through Thursday shifts will begin at 2200 hrs on your scheduled day and run until 0500 of the following day.  Friday evening through Sunday evening will be covered by the Officers on an availability basis. In the event an officer is unable to cover his/her shift or a portion of his/her shift, it shall be his/her responsibility to contact another officer for coverage. Call Response: Medical/Rescue:  To avoid unnecessary response, only the assigned DO for that particular shift shall respond to medicals and rescues. If the circumstances of a call are such that the “off-duty” officer feels that his/her response is required and beneficial, he/she shall respond. Structure Fires:  CO/DO, whether on or off duty, shall respond to structure fires, if available. TITLE: DUTY OFFICER ORIGINATOR/DATE Chief Officers 10/1/2008 CHIEF SIGNATURE LAKE ELMO FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES 5/13/14 2 Mutual Aid:  Whenever possible a CO shall respond to the Mutual Aid request, whether they are the on call DO or not. When this occurs, the remaining CO/DO shall report to his/her respective station. TITLE: DUTY OFFICER