ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WESTBOROUGH ...

ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT

OF THE WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS FIRE DEPARTMENT

SEPTEMBER 2018

Prepared by: Municipal Resources, Inc.

120 Daniel Webster Highway Meredith, NH 03253

603-279-0352 866-501-0352 Toll Free

603-279-2548 Fax [email protected]

www.mrigov.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mrigov.com/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS REPORT Chapter I Project Overview ..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter II Scope and Methodology ..............................................................................................................3 Scope of Work .......................................................................................................................3 Methodology .........................................................................................................................4 Chapter III Community Demographics and Growth .......................................................................................7 Overview ...............................................................................................................................7 Demographics .......................................................................................................................7 Community Growth and Development .................................................................................8 Recommendations ................................................................................................................9 Chapter IV Operations and Response ............................................................................................................10 Overview ...............................................................................................................................10 Observations .........................................................................................................................11 Fire Operations, Incident Command, Mutual Aid, and Safety .......................................11 National Standards and Regulations ..............................................................................13 EMS Operations .............................................................................................................20 Mutual and Automatic Aid .............................................................................................24 Insurance Services Office ...............................................................................................25 How the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule Works ........................................................29 Recommendations ................................................................................................................30 Chapter V Response Metrics and Deployment .............................................................................................33 Overview ...............................................................................................................................33 Response Metrics ...........................................................................................................33 Deployment of Resources ..............................................................................................38

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Recommendations ................................................................................................................47 Chapter VI Organizational Culture .................................................................................................................48 Overview ......................................................................................................................................48 Observations ................................................................................................................................48 Public Opinion .......................................................................................................................52 Organizational Policy and Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) .......................................52 Recommendations ................................................................................................................53 Chapter VII Staffing .......................................................................................................................................55 Overview ...............................................................................................................................55 Observations .........................................................................................................................57 Recommendations ................................................................................................................69 Chapter VIII Dispatch Operations .....................................................................................................................73 Overview ...............................................................................................................................73 Observations .........................................................................................................................73 Recommendations ................................................................................................................76 Chapter IX Facilities, Apparatus and Equipment ............................................................................................79 Facilities ................................................................................................................................79 Overview ........................................................................................................................79 Observations ..................................................................................................................80 Recommendations .........................................................................................................84 Need for Additional Station ..................................................................................................85 Recommendations .........................................................................................................87 Apparatus ..............................................................................................................................88 Overview ........................................................................................................................88 Observations ..................................................................................................................89

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Recommendations .........................................................................................................97 Fire Equipment ......................................................................................................................99 Overview ........................................................................................................................99 Observations ..................................................................................................................99 Recommendations ................................................................................................................103 Chapter X Training and Professional Development ......................................................................................105 Overview ...............................................................................................................................105 Observations .........................................................................................................................106 Recommendations ................................................................................................................110 Chapter XI Benchmarking and Comparative Analysis ....................................................................................113 Overview ...............................................................................................................................113 Demographics and Budget .............................................................................................114 Staffing ...........................................................................................................................121 Facilities .........................................................................................................................125 Apparatus .......................................................................................................................126 Operations and Emergency Responses ..........................................................................129 Dispatch .........................................................................................................................136 Accreditations and ISO Ratings ......................................................................................137 Chapter XII Conclusion and Strategic Implementation Plan ...........................................................................139 The Top Eight Challenges ......................................................................................................141 The Top Ten Recommendations ...........................................................................................141 Strategic Implementation Plan .............................................................................................144 Chapter XII Summary of Recommendations ...................................................................................................148 Chapter XIII The Project Team .........................................................................................................................161

REPORT

ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

FIRE DEPARTMENT

CHAPTER I

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Municipal Resources, Inc. (MRI) was engaged by the Town of Westborough, Massachusetts, to undertake a comprehensive organizational, effectiveness, and overall efficiency study of the town’s fire, rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS) delivery system. The primary intent and goal of this project was to determine whether existing levels of staffing, facilities, equipment, and funding are adequate to provide a level of service within the town that is in line with generally accepted standards and benchmarks for safety utilized by comparable fire departments in similar communities and based on standards and best practices for modern-day fire services currently in practice in Massachusetts and the United States. To that end, the evaluation included, but was not limited to, the following key components:

➢ Fire/EMS staffing levels ➢ Deployment of resources ➢ Fire/EMS service integration ➢ Fire/EMS facilities ➢ Evaluation of the adequacy of apparatus and equipment ➢ Fire service administration ➢ Financials ➢ Insurance grading pertaining to the fire service ➢ Adequacy of training ➢ Adequacy of support services ➢ Adequacy of funding ➢ Services of the fire departments/companies serving Westborough

During the course of this study, the MRI team investigated areas such as the organizational and command structures of the fire and rescue services, chain of command span of control, budgeting, staffing, service demands, fire prevention services, response time to districts in town, dispatch protocols and the deployment of personnel, standards of cover, the communications and data processing functions, perceptions within the community, working relationships with other persons and agencies, responsiveness, internal policies and

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Town of Westborough, Massachusetts Page 2 Organizational Assessment of the Westborough Fire Department Prepared by Municipal Resources, Inc. September 2018

procedures, adequacy and reasonableness of facilities and equipment, and compliance with various state and federal regulations. Following the on-site visits, the data and documentation collected, and observations made, were subjected to analysis by the project team, both individually and collectively. The information was then compared with contemporary fire service and public safety standards, recommendations, and best practices, to formulate the recommendations contained in this report, and utilized for the development of this document.

We have produced a comprehensive report containing recommendations that will assist the Town of Westborough and its fire department, to set a clear course of action for future service improvements and delivery. All recommendations for improvement are based on various administrative regulations promulgated at the federal and state levels, nationally accepted consensus standards developed by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), and industry best practices and procedures. However, since every community has unique characteristics, challenges, and resource limitations, our recommendations are specifically designed to address the immediate and long-term needs of the Town of Westborough. The resulting recommendations are based upon an acknowledgment that fire and rescue services are living and constantly evolving organizations. They must constantly change and adapt to current, and anticipated, conditions and realities. A municipal fire and rescue service, while steadfastly holding onto traditions, is an organization that must be progressive and proactive, and requires a perpetual commitment to improvement. The modern fire and emergency service is constantly besieged with ever increasing demands from the public and must readily adapt to changes in technology, constantly evolving risks and hazards, and new generations of men and women entering this highly rewarding and challenging public service avocation. The delivery of high quality fire and emergency medical services requires energetic, enlightened, progressive, and proactive leadership at all levels of the fire and rescue services delivery system. Every day must include an effort to improve and move forward.

MRI would like to take this opportunity to thank the Town of Westborough, the members of the Board of Selectman, Town Manager Jim Malloy, Assistant Town Manager Kristi Williams, the town’s senior management staff, and the entire Westborough Fire Department for being most cooperative and helpful in assisting us in carrying out our work on this project. We especially appreciate the openness and integrity of Chief Patrick Purcell and Deputy Chief Jason Ferschke and their willingness to assist the MRI team and all of the Westborough Fire Department personnel we interacted with, all of whom demonstrated their professionalism and genuine desire to improve and strengthen the fire and rescue services that they deliver to the citizens of, and visitors to, the Town of Westborough.

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CHAPTER II

SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

SCOPE OF WORK

To be effective, a project of this type requires a thorough assessment to determine a baseline of current operations. Projections for community population growth that can translate into increased requests for service, the need for expanded levels of service, and evolving community expectations were necessary to develop recommendations for the department’s long-range plans. A thorough review of existing staffing, funding, management practices, and regulatory environment was undertaken to determine whether the department can provide a level of service that is in line with generally accepted standards and benchmarks for a community of like character. An evaluation of the following information and topics were all components of this review:

1. A review of background information that impacts the fire department including:

a. Community population and demographics; b. Residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal features of the

community; c. Policies and agreements that may determine staffing levels and practices; d. Municipal ordinances related to fire and EMS delivery; e. Mutual aid agreements and resources; f. Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) for the fire department/companies; g. Historical information as provided h. Community road system; i. Response statistics; j. Vehicles and staffing/run assignments; k. Fire department management practices; l. Fire department operational plans; m. Annual training schedule; n. Annual operating and capital budgets; o. Fire department facilities and equipment; p. Department succession planning; and q. Vehicle fleet, replacement plan, and future needs assessment.

2. Input was solicited from a wide range of stakeholders either through personal interviews, including, but not limited to:

• Fire Chief • Deputy Fire Chief

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• Several Captains and Lieutenants • Fire Department Administrative Assistant • Town Manager • Assistant Town Manager • Finance Director • Town Assessor

In performing this study, and as designated in the original request for proposal, we focused on the following aspects of the fire, rescue, and emergency medical services and their operations:

• Fire and rescue services staffing practices and personnel scheduling;

• Organizational structure and governance;

• Organizational, managerial, and operational practices including policies, rules and regulations, and standard operating guidelines;

• Fire, rescue, and EMS operations, including incident analysis, designation of operational responsibilities, and deployment of resources;

• Automatic/mutual aid and regional emergency service delivery;

• Training and professional development;

• Fire prevention and code enforcement;

• Fire and rescue services apparatus and equipment;

• Fire and rescue services facility;

• Communications and use of technology;

• Budgeting, capital planning, and fiscal management;

• Community profile and characteristics, risks, vulnerabilities, and concerns;

• External stakeholders’ perceptions concerning the fire and rescue services and relationships with various officials;

• Sense of common vision among internal stakeholders and membership perceptions and feedback;

• Benchmarking and comparative analysis; and

• Recommendations included for both long-range and strategic planning

METHODOLOGY

To fulfill the requirements of this assessment, members of the study team held an initial orientation meeting and teleconferences with Chief Patrick Purcell and gathered a large amount of statistical information and data on the town and service area. MRI consultants performed on-site work, interviews, and observations in Westborough. Our project team made a three day visit to Westborough and completed a wide variety of tasks in the development of this report including conducting more than 40 personal interviews with internal and external stakeholders.

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We engaged both internal and external stakeholders including members of the Board of Selectman, the Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager, department heads, some members of the fire and EMS services community in discussions about the current system and structure to identify any concerns or areas requiring special focus, and to gather thoughts and ideas about areas of potential improvement and long-range visions, needs, goals, and objectives. The team spent significant time with the department’s command staff and most members of the fire department to gain an understanding of the organizational, operational, and management systems and approaches currently in place, and then compared and contrasted the current structures against contemporary practice and convention. Altogether there were over twenty-five major work elements involved in conducting this assessment. These work elements are detailed below:

1. A review of compiled data regarding key operational aspects of the fire and EMS

services.

2. A thorough tour of the response area to gain a sense of the physical environment, the

primary fire and life safety risk exposures, and the location of population and

commercial centers in relation to existing facilities.

3. A target hazard analysis of residential, commercial, and industrial occupancies within

the Town of Westborough.

4. A tour of the public safety dispatch center at the Central fire station.

5. Interviews with the town manager, assistant town manager and representatives of the

board of selectman.

6. Interviews with the fire chief, deputy chief, shift commanders (captains), and members

of the Westborough Fire Department including an evaluation of their sense of common

vision.

7. Interviews with various Town of Westborough senior staff.

8. An interview with assessing personnel from the Town of Westborough and a review of

the Town’s Strategic Plan as well, as information from the Economic Development

material to review potential development within the community.

9. Interviews with dispatch personnel.

10. Interviews with fire prevention and records personnel

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11. Review and evaluation of the department’s fire prevention and code enforcement

operations and strategies.

12. Overview of the fire service facility and all apparatus, and equipment.

13. Development of an inventory of fire and rescue services apparatus and equipment.

14. Review and evaluation of department maintenance records.

15. Analysis of the fire and rescue service’s current deployment strategy, response districts,

and dispatch protocols.

16. Review and evaluation of mutual and automatic aid capabilities.

17. Analysis of the existing fire and rescue services organizational structure and governance

18. Review and evaluation of existing fire service policies, procedures, and practices.

19. Analysis of compliance with applicable regulations and standards.

20. Review and evaluation of the department’s training programs.

21. Review and evaluation of the department’s community outreach efforts.

22. Review and evaluation of the department’s incident reporting system.

23. Review and analysis of the department’s incident/response time statistics.

24. Reviewed numerous documents, including the municipal budget, fire and rescue

services budget, and capital budget.

25. Identified pertinent data points and developed a comparative analysis survey.

26. Performed an analysis of comparative data based on the average of the data developed

by peer communities.

27. Developed a report containing a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions of the

Westborough fire and EMS services along with recommendations for improvement.

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CHAPTER III

COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS AND GROWTH

OVERVIEW

The Town of Westborough is located 12 miles east of Worcester and 29 miles west of Boston, with a land area of 21.62 square miles. The town's commuter rail station provides easy access to Boston and Worcester. A tour of the town by the MRI team found a mix of typical New England small town downtown area, to residential neighborhoods including large single-family homes, high-rise apartment buildings, town home complexes as well as industrial complexes extremely large office facilities, commercial plazas and rail freight yards

Because of its location at the intersection of the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 495 and Route 9, Westborough has had a significant number of corporate and business headquarters, businesses, retail sites and industrial facilities located in the town. Westborough has emerged as an important regional center for office development, with 35 percent of its employment devoted to the service sector.

Westborough has always been the home to diversified manufacturing and most recently the high tech, computer and telecommunications equipment. The growth in this area continues to spur the economic engine in the town. Because of its number of employment opportunities and its ideal location in central Massachusetts, the number of residential units continues to grow Each of these complexes, facilities and transportation infrastructures bring unique fire, EMS and rescue concerns.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of 2016 the American Community Census (ACS) estimated that there were 18,946 people living in 7,551 households in Westborough, with 61.4% of those being owner occupied. The population density is estimated to be 891.3 inhabitants per square mile.

Based on the U.S. Census the racial makeup of the town was 71.3% White, 1.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 23.7% Asian and 2.1 % from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 4.3% of the population. Westborough has a significant Indian-American population and an increasing immigrant community of nearly 4,000 with non-U.S. origin.

Westborough's median household income is $106,915, while the per capita income is $45,760 Approximately, 4.7% of Westborough residents are considered to be living in poverty.

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The census in 2010 also showed there were an estimated 6,757 households of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them while the more recent ACS shows 4,758 households of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 7.2 % had a female householder with no husband present and 32.4% were non-families. Of all households 22.8% were made up of individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 persons and the average family size was 3.18.

The median age in the town was 40.1 years. Overall, 27.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 30.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

COMMUNITY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Town of Westborough is a vibrant and growing community. Some of the stakeholders that we interviewed believe that the town will experience substantial growth over the next five years. Anticipating and planning for this growth is essential for the town and fire department to continue to provide the community with the desired level of emergency services. During our interview with the Town’s Manager and Assistant Manager, Town Assessor, and the Fire Chief we reviewed a number of prospective projects in the Town.

Through the site visit and tour of the Town the MRI team was notified of a number of large residential and industrial and commercial projects that are planned and based on the opportunity the Town anticipates a high level of growth and development, especially along the U.S. 9 corridor in the northeast quadrant of the town. There will continue to be spot areas throughout the town that will be developed into a high density residential apartment/townhome style complexes similar to those that were pointed out to the MRI team. Of these, the site of the former state hospital that is being developed into a large multi-year project that will build an over 55 housing development has the potential of increasing medical calls as the units are inhabited.

Based on trend analysis, we witnessed what will certainly be a period of high growth that will impact the delivery of fire and EMS services that the Town of Westborough. The majority of this growth is expected to occur in the northeast quadrant of the town including the former state hospital site and within the current industrial and technology business parks.

As evidence of the initial impact of this growth, the geographical information systems (GIS) map below (FIGURE III-1) illustrates emergency incident response density. This map is reflective of current conditions but already indicates an increasing number of responses in the area referenced above. As discussed in later chapters of this report, based on the current deployment of resources (single station model), the area of anticipated community growth and development is beyond the optimal response time radius of 1.5 miles as detailed by the shaded

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circle in the map below. This indicates that Westborough should, adopt a two-station deployment pattern as anticipated growth is realized.

FIGURE III-1 – 2017 EMERGENCY INCIDENT RESPONSE DENSITY

Note: Shaded area indicates a 1.5-mile rapid response radius from fire headquarters. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation III.1 The Town of Westborough should include the Westborough Fire Chief as a de facto member of the Westborough Economic Development Committee. Though the Chief would have no voting or legal authority as an ED Committee member he could assist in developing future business development in the community through his knowledge of building requirements, technical and safety aspects that a future business might require.

WFD Call Data 2017

Text

Excludes HighwaysDisplays Single Point for Duplicate Call Locations

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CHAPTER IV

OPERATIONS AND RESPONSE

OVERVIEW

Firefighting, emergency medical services and rescue operations, an incident command system, and safety procedures are critical components of a municipal fire department. Because the greatest number of calls for service is predominantly for emergency medical incidents, in reality, many fire departments have shifted from being fire service agencies that provide EMS and have become EMS agencies that provide fire protection services. However, while no longer generating the majority of most departments’ responses as they once did, fire-related incidents are still justifiably an extremely high priority for the “fire” department and comprise a significant part of their operational missions.

NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2016 edition (National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA) addresses the organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations to the public by career fire departments.1

In addition to structural firefighting and emergency medical services, the fire department is tasked with responding to and managing a broad spectrum of other types of emergencies, including, but not limited to, vehicle crashes, building collapse, water and ice rescue, mass casualty incidents, weather-related emergencies, and natural and technological disasters. These types of incidents require specialized equipment and specialized training. In all types of emergency responses, an incident command system (ICS) should be utilized that conforms to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) guidelines that have been promulgated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Since safety is the primary focus throughout all operations, a formal component of the ICS program includes the consistent assignment of an on-scene safety officer when appropriate.

Fire department operations and service delivery can be dramatically improved in those departments that commit resources to goal-setting, master planning, risk assessment, and performance measurement. Several tools and resources are available to guide management in these efforts from organizations such as the US Fire Administration (USFA), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), International

1 NFPA 1710 is a nationally recognized standard, but it has not been adopted as a mandatory regulation by the federal government or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is a valuable resource for establishing and measuring performance objectives in the Westborough Fire Department but should not be the only determining factor when making local decisions about the town’s fire and EMS operations.

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Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the Massachusetts State Fire Academy, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS).

The fire service has experienced tremendous technological advances in equipment, procedures, and training, over that past fifty years. Better personal protective equipment (PPE), the widespread use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), large diameter hose, better and lighter hand lines and nozzles, and thermal imaging cameras are just a few of the numerous advances in equipment and procedures, that have allowed firefighters to perform their duties more effectively, efficiently, safely, and with fewer personnel. However, the fact still remains that the emergency scene in general, and the fire ground involving a structure fire in particular, is a dynamic, dangerous, frequently unpredictable, and rapidly changing environment where conditions can deteriorate very quickly, placing firefighters in extreme personal danger.

The operations necessary to successfully extinguish a structure fire, and do so effectively, efficiently, and safely, requires a carefully coordinated, and controlled, plan of action, where certain operations, such as venting ahead of the advancing interior hose line(s), must be carried out with a high degree of precision and timing. Multiple operations, frequently where seconds count, such as search and rescue operations and trying to cut off a rapidly advancing fire, must also be conducted simultaneously.

OBSERVATIONS

FIRE OPERATIONS, INCIDENT COMMAND, MUTUAL AID AND SAFETY

The Westborough Fire Department is equipped and staffed to respond to a wide variety of emergency incidents. Although EMS calls are more prevalent, the department must still be prepared to fulfill its core firefighting mission. As with most communities in the United States, the primary focus of firefighting operations is on fires in residential occupancies (single- and two-family dwellings, multi-family units, etc.) due to the high potential for loss of life. Firefighting in commercial occupancies is important to the economic well-being of the community, but large commercial occupancies are often equipped with automatic fire suppression systems to reduce risk and damage from fire. Until residential fire sprinkler systems become commonplace as a critical lifesaving feature in homes, the fire department will continue to be the only “front-line” resource available for firefighting and rescue. The fire codes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts do not require residential sprinklers and do not allow communities to mandate them through local codes or ordinances

Interviews that were conducted by the MRI study team revealed that the department is well versed in the use of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and working well with multiple agencies to provide effective and efficient emergency response services to the community. The practice of allowing command to flow seamlessly from Westborough to automatic aid and mutual aid fire department officers as the situation dictates is an exemplary

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practice that stands as an example to other fire service organizations. Through discussions with command staff it became apparent that though the department has adopted, is trained, aware and understands the importance of using an Incident Command System (ICS) it is sometimes difficult to implement it initially on every incident because of limited staffing and not having a dedicated incident commander on each call.

The operations necessary to successfully extinguish a structure fire, and do so effectively, efficiently, and safely, requires a carefully coordinated, and controlled, plan of action, where certain operations, such as venting ahead of the advancing interior hose line(s), must be carried out with a high degree of precision and timing. Multiple operations, frequently where seconds count, such as search and rescue operations and trying to cut off a rapidly advancing fire, must also be conducted simultaneously. If there are not enough personnel on the incident initially to perform all of the critical tasks, some will, out of necessity, be delayed. This can result in an increased risk of serious injury, or death, to building occupants and firefighters, and increased property damage.

Westborough is a town that is typical of many New England towns that once were primarily mill towns with densely populated downtown areas that included commercial properties, rural areas that once were farmlands that are now being created into subdivisions with large residential homes, industrial complexes and condominium/apartments communities.

The downtown urban core area as well as the densely populated and developed housing developments throughout town, including multi-family dwellings and large apartment complexes, significantly complicates the fire protection issues that confront the fire department. Closely spaced wood frame dwellings create significant exposure problems that are not found in suburban communities. Though some of these units have fire sprinkler systems or are partially protected not all of those residential units throughout town are protected with them.

It is not uncommon for the first fire units arriving on the scene of a serious house fire to find the houses or housing units (condominium complexes) on either side, and even possibly in the front and rear, seriously exposed. Many of the same problems, but on a larger scale, confront firefighters when arriving on the scene of a significant fire in a large apartment complex. Attempting to protect these exposures, while simultaneously trying to achieve fire control is made much more difficult in limited staffing situations particularly when there are life safety concerns present. However, the Westborough Fire Department needs to take steps to ensure that it can make the most impact on these incidents and do so as quickly as possible.

The ability to get a sufficient number of personnel, along with appropriate apparatus, to the scene of a structure fire is critical to operational success and firefighter safety. Accomplishing this within the eight-minute time frame (to have 14 – 16 personnel on scene) as specified in NFPA 1710 is an important operational benchmark. Based on conversations with the fire chief

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and the command staff of the Westborough Fire Department they understand this and would like to achieve this goal. But even with the use of mutual and automatic aid they continue to struggle to meet these standards. Typically, there are only six (6) personnel on duty. Though there may be up to eight assigned to a shift attendance records showed that this occurred infrequently as most often more than one assigned member is off duty due to illness, injury, vacation or other contractual allowances for absence. Many times, during the day the Department must rely on staff personnel (fire chief, deputy chief, fire inspectors) to respond to emergency incidents. This can occur during normal working hours Monday through Friday but only if the staff are available in the station or they have to respond from somewhere in Town. This reliance on staff as well as relying on fire companies from out of towns (mutual and automatic aid) occurs nearly every day and night in order to get sufficient personnel on site.

NATIONAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS There are two widely accepted national standards that have applicability to the staffing and operations of the Westborough Fire Department.

1. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments (2016 edition). This standard specifies requirements for effective and efficient organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations to the public by career fire departments to protect citizens and the occupational safety and health of fire department employees. The Westborough Fire Department should review this standard and develop a strategic plan to meet the benchmarks identified within the standard.

Figure IV-1 illustrates the critical tasks and resource deployment required on low and moderate-hazard incidents such as residential and small commercial structure fires. Although some people advocate that these types of incidents can be handled with fewer personnel, unless it is a small fire, there is the possibility there will not be sufficient personnel available to perform all the critical tasks necessitating that some be delayed.

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FIGURE IV-1: LOW TO MODERATE RISK RESPONSE-INTERIOR FIRE ATTACK

Typical minimum staffing needs career or primarily career fire departments for a fire involving several rooms in a 2,000-square foot, one-family residential occupancy. These are the proverbial “bread and butter” structural

fire incidents that fire departments respond to, and are by far, the most common type of structure fire, accounting for around 70% of those types of incidents. The full first alarm assignment should arrive on scene

within eight minutes of dispatch. Image credit: IAFF 266

FIGURE IV-2: WESTBOROUGH DWELLING FIRE

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NFPA 1710 suggests that the following personnel are needed to safely mitigate a structure fire involving several rooms in a 2,000-square foot dwelling (Figure IV-3). The initial full alarm assignment to a structure fire in a two-story, single-family dwelling without a basement and with no exposures must provide for a minimum of 15 members when an aerial device is used. Obviously, this number dramatically increases based on the extent of involvement, size of the structure, presence of hazardous materials, and use of the occupancy.

FIGURE IV-3: NFPA 1710 MINIMUM STRUCTURE FIRE STAFFING NEEDS

Personnel needs for a fire involving several rooms in a 2,000-square foot, one-family, residential occupancy. These are the proverbial “bread and butter” structural fire incidents that fire departments respond to, and are by far, the most common type of structure fire, accounting for around 70% of those types of incidents.

Personnel needs increase dramatically based on the extent of involvement, size of the structure, presence of hazardous materials, and use of the occupancy. An example would be a significant fire within a commercial occupancy would require additional resources based on the potential hazards that could be encountered. For example, a fire in an open-air strip shopping center or a multi-story garden-style apartment would require a minimum of 28 firefighters.

FIGURE IV-4: WESTBOROUGH COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE

TASK # PERSONNEL

Incident Commander 1

Attack engine and water supply engine driver/operator 1

Two handlines with two personnel each 4

Support/back-up firefighter for each handline 2

Search & rescue team 2

Ventilation team 2

Ladder company driver/operator 1

Rapid intervention team (RIT) 2

TOTAL MINIMUM NUMBER OF PERSONNEL 15

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2. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) which contains the Two-In/Two-Out Rule. Although referred to as a standard, this is a regulation that requires four firefighters on the scene of an emergency prior to initiating operations within a structure that is on fire (except to perform an immediate, visible rescue). It is important to note that this standard provides for the absolute minimum number of firefighters to initiate operations, but this should not be constructed as an adequate effective response. (figure IV-5)

FIGURE IV-5: OSHA TWO-IN/TWO-OUT

Staffing how and these personnel are assigned and how quickly they can arrive on scene, also play major roles. Staffing needs are discussed much more extensively in Chapter VII, Staffing.

Incident Commander - Another issue that the MRI team discovered based on the current staffing model was that the Shift Commander, typically a Captain that is assigned to each shift but could be a Lieutenant, is required to respond in a number of different positions other than Incident Commander during a shift.

This situation depends on daily staffing, the number of paramedics on duty, and the incident requirements. It appeared as though the officer on duty most often responds on an apparatus, sometimes as a paramedic on the ambulance and sometimes as a second paramedic responding with a utility vehicle. Based on this fact more often than not leaves the incident commander (IC) position vacant within the incident command system, as directed in the Department standard operating procedures, vacant until a Chief Officer can arrive on scene.

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That Chief Officer could be responding from home, from out of town or may be an officer responding from a mutual aid community. Without a dedicated IC for a period of time this can lead to a fire attack without a strategy or tactics requiring the officer on scene to take a combative command position. This situation can lead to loss of command and control at an incident and could lead to catastrophic consequences. The MRI team recommends that the Shift Commander response role be dedicated to the incident command function. This should not prohibit the Captain from assisting at medical incidents when there are no other paramedics available. Rapid Intervention Team - Of the 15 personnel on scene to safely mitigate a structure fire, there should be a Rapid Intervention Team staffed with four personnel. Utilizing the NFPA 1710 standard this team should start to be staffed with two dedicated personnel and then expanded to four personnel as other resources arrive on the incident scene. Their role is to provide personnel should a firefighter become lost, trapped, or injured. Though the Westborough Fire structural firefighting procedures requires this position to be filled it can only be done so in reality through the use of mutual aid companies. In the structural firefighting assignments, a crew from one of the responding mutual and/or automatic aid companies is assigned that serve as a RIT to all incidents, even the initial response to a fire. The use automatic-aid companies as their RIT unit is intended to ensure that this safety mechanism is available at every incident. Unfortunately, our interviews with the command staff revealed that most of the time these companies are utilized for other functions that require immediate attention on scene such as search and rescue, ventilation, water supply or suppression. As such, this critical function is being staffed later and later in an incident as mutual aid companies are responding from further distances and callback personnel are delayed in responding. The MRI Team recommends that the Westborough Fire Department along with other departments in the region develop a RIT response plan that would have departments that are typically not on the first or second alarm structure fire response be the RIT team. This regional RIT response plan has been very successful in the southern New Hampshire mutual aid plan.

If there are not enough personnel on the incident initially to perform all of the critical tasks, some will, out of necessity, be delayed. This can result in an increased risk of serious injury, or death, to building occupants and firefighters, and increased property damage. Ultimately, determining the acceptable level of risk they are willing to assume for the citizens they represent will be a key decision that the Westborough Board of Selectman will need to make.

Pre-Fire Planning - One of the most effective tools the fire department has to assist them with handling fires and other emergencies in commercial and industrial facilities, are pre-fire plans. The purpose of a fire pre-planning program is to allow firefighters to become familiar with buildings and/or facilities within their response area prior to an emergency, alert them to on-site hazards and risks, and develop a detailed fire response plan for them that includes specific tactics that will be required to mitigate fires or other emergencies. A comprehensive pre-fire

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plan includes as much data about the building as possible, including, but certainly not limited to:

➢ occupancy type ➢ floor plans/layouts ➢ building construction type and features ➢ utility locations ➢ presence of fire suppression system ➢ potential hazards to firefighters or firefighting operations ➢ special conditions in the building ➢ recommended apparatus placement plan ➢ fire flow needs and water supply plan ➢ forcible entry plan ➢ ventilation plan

The information contained in pre-fire/incident plans allows firefighters and officers to have a familiarity with the building/facility, its features, characteristics, operations, and hazards, thus enabling them to more effectively, efficiently, and safely, conduct firefighting and other emergency operations. Pre-fire plans should be reviewed and updated regularly. They should be tested and validated by table-top exercises and on-site drills. To derive maximum benefit from the pre-fire plans, the department should implement a program to make pre-fire plans accessible on mobile data terminals (notebook/laptop computers) on fire apparatus, and in the command vehicle(s) for use in-route to an incident, and while on-scene.

It was reported to the MRI study team that the Westborough Fire Department has done limited pre-planning on some of the major target hazards in the town. The reason given for this is because of the time limitations that members of the shift have daily due to other assigned duties as well as emergency responses. One of the programs that was initiated by the Westborough Fire Department was a pre-fire planning program that marked vacant and unsafe to enter buildings. The Chief explained that though they continue to try and get companies to inspect and mark these buildings there is not always enough time for in service companies to do so.

Further, what information is gathered is not easily accessible when most needed, during an emergency incident. Even what information can be shared with responding units can be difficult to comprehend when in an emergency response mode and limited staff on the apparatus.

This data is remotely accessible but not always available on the incident scene, as the department lacks complete mobile data connectivity at this time. During our site visit, MRI was made aware that the command vehicle was not yet equipped with a MDT and also that the Shift Commander did not always respond with that vehicle in that he may have to respond on an engine or ladder.

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Lack of an up-to-date pre-fire plan is often attributed to being one of the primary contributing factors in large fire losses. The MRI team was notified that all units will soon have mobile data capability. Even with that information available, it must be accessed not only by units arriving on scene but by the Incident Commander. As will be discussed in more depth in other chapters of this report the Captain or Lieutenant who typically serves as the shift commander and would be the Incident Commander is not always available in that they respond on all calls and may be actively involved in another EMS incident. Also, it is not uncommon for them to not respond with a command vehicle because they are in an ambulance or fire engine.

Water Supply - Unlike many older communities, Westborough has an adequate municipal water supply system throughout town. In the most recent ISO survey there a number of recommendations that were suggested that would increase the rating of the Westborough water supply system. These included increased maintenance and flow testing. A review of the water supply found that it not only had sufficient volume but more than adequate pressure for firefighting operations. In communities or areas without a municipal water system, if an adequate water supply cannot be established quickly, and maintained, effective firefighting operations will simply not be possible. This is not the case in Westborough.

Though water supply throughout town is not a problem the ability to get water to the scene especially in those rural areas that have extremely large residential homes that are often located far off the road require additional staffing and equipment to get the water to the scene. The same can be said for the large commercial and industrial complexes located throughout the town.

Even in the areas of the town where there are hydrants, the fire department should continue to approach developers/builders/owners to discuss the benefits of residential sprinkler systems during the approval process for subdivisions and other single-family residences and encourage them to consider the installation of these life safety systems. There are a number of publications that the fire department can use as resources to market the benefits of residential fire suppression systems including from NFPA which has developed the standards for their design and installation.

Performance improvement for fire suppression will become even more important in the coming years as the fire department command structure evolves from being a group with significant firefighting experience, to a group with stronger EMS experience. Major fire incidents continue to decline because of better fire prevention and building code compliance, the advent of advanced fire detection and suppression systems, and fire-retardant building components and contents. As a result, the fire service will be challenged in the future to maintain the necessary skill sets to properly command and control major fire incidents. Training and performance improvement strategies must be aggressively enhanced in anticipation of this paradigm shift in fire department capabilities and experience.

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EMS OPERATIONS Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations are an important component of the comprehensive emergency services delivery system in any community. Together with the delivery of police and fire services, it forms the backbone of the community’s overall public safety life net. As was noted in other chapters of this report, the Westborough Fire Department, like many, if not most, fire departments respond to significantly more emergency medical incidents than actual fires, or other types of emergency incidents.

As a percentage of overall incidents responded to, it could be argued that EMS incidents constitute the greatest number of “true” emergencies, where intervention by trained personnel does truly make a difference, sometimes literally between life and death. Heart attack and stroke victims require rapid intervention, care, and transport to a medical facility (figure-4). The longer the time duration without care, the less likely the patient is to fully recover. Numerous studies have shown that irreversible brain damage can occur if the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than four minutes. In addition, the potential for successful resuscitation during cardiac arrest decreases exponentially with each passing minute that cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), or cardiac defibrillation, is delayed.

➢ The potential for successful resuscitation during cardiac arrest decreases exponentially 7% to 10% with each passing minute that cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or cardiac defibrillation and advanced life support intervention is delayed.

➢ Few attempts at resuscitation after 10 minutes are successful

FIGURE IV-6: CARDIAC ARREST CHAIN OF SURVIVAL

The EMS component of the emergency services delivery system is more heavily regulated than the fire side. In addition to NFPA 1710, NFPA 450 Guidelines for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Systems, (2017 edition), provides a template for local stakeholders to evaluate an

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EMS system and to make improvements based on that evaluation. The Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS)2 also promulgates standards that are applicable to their accreditation process for ambulance services. In addition, the State of Massachusetts regulates EMS agencies, and certain federal Medicare regulations are also applicable.

Since the 1970s, arriving within eight minutes of receipt of an emergency call, 90% of the time, has been the recognized benchmark for determining the quality of an EMS system. Today, the national standard of care benchmark based on stroke and cardiac arrest protocols has evolved to have an emergency response unit on scene at a medical emergency within six minutes of receipt of the call. Paragraph 4.1.2.1(4) of NFPA 1710 recommends that for EMS incidents a unit with first responder or higher level trained personnel equipped with an AED, should arrive on scene within six minutes of the receipt of the emergency call (at the dispatch center) (four minutes of response), and an advanced life support (ALS) unit should arrive on scene within ten minutes (eight minutes of response). According to NFPA 1710, “This requirement is based on experience, expert consensus, and science. Many studies note the role of time and the delivery of early defibrillation in patient survival due to heart attacks and cardiac arrest, which are the most time-critical, resource-intensive medical emergency events to which fire departments respond.” CAAS recommends that an ambulance arrives on scene within eight minutes, fifty-nine seconds (8:59) of dispatch.

Typically, less than 10% of 911 patients have time-sensitive ALS needs. But, for those patients, time can be a critical issue of morbidity and mortality. For the remainder of those calling 911 for a medical emergency, though they may not have a medical necessity, this ninety percent, still expect rapid customer service. Response times for patients and their families are often the most important issue regarding the use of the fire department’s services and are what is most often referred to when they “rate” their local emergency responders. Regardless of the service delivery model, appropriate response times are more than a clinical issue; they are also a customer service issue.

All Westborough Fire Department career personnel possess a minimum of emergency medical technician-basic (EMT-B) certification. Several members are certified as Paramedics (EMT-P) and one member is an EMT-Advances (EMT-A). The department has a total of twenty-four certified paramedics, including both the chief and deputy chief. With a daily minimum staffing of a combined complement of six firefighters and officers there will always be at least 3 paramedics on duty including the shift officer. Most groups (an assigned shift to work on) have five paramedics assigned to them. When fully staffed to the maximum (8 personnel) a shift has at least 5 paramedics and be able to staff a second ambulance. Based on a review of daily

2 The Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) is an independent commission that established a comprehensive series of standards for the ambulance service industry.

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staffing over the past two years this does not happen very often. Typically, the minimum staffing is the norm and only one ambulance is staffed.

The department operates three, well-equipped, and well-maintained ALS capable ambulances. They are all deployed from the Central Fire Station and staffed by the on-duty career firefighters.

The department normally has one of the ambulances staffed, one as a back-up for when there are simultaneous or overlapping incidents and one as a back-up for recalled staff or when a frontline ambulance is out of service for repairs. The back-up unit does not respond unless the primary ambulance is not available. The ambulances must be staffed with a minimum of one paramedic, but there are times when both personnel possess ALS certification.

Personnel are assigned to either the primary ambulance or the engine or ladder truck for a portion of the shift for the entire versus a 24-hour tour of duty. The MRI study team was informed that each shift rotates slightly differently but that all the shifts are cognizant of the fact that being assigned to the primary ambulance for an entire 24-hour shift can be very tiring and unhealthy for staff particularly on days with high levels of response activity.

For medical calls that present a possible severe life threat, an engine company is dispatched in order to get two paramedics on scene. If the engine is not available, the officer/shift commander may respond with a utility vehicle or staff car in order to get a second paramedic on duty. The additional personnel from the engine or truck are dispatched to provide assistance to the paramedic crew with medical care, carrying equipment, lifting patients, extrication from motor vehicle crashes, technical rescue operations, and driving the ambulance to the hospital when both paramedics are committed to the care of critically ill patients.

One of the issues that the MRI team discussed with the Chief and the shift commanders was that typically the ambulance responds with lights and sirens to every call. Though the Westborough Dispatch uses an emergency medical priority dispatch system that would allow for potential non-emergency responses to occur without lights, sirens and with traffic there are no protocols or procedures to do so. The MRI team was told that most often that all transports with patients to an area hospital is done with lights and sirens in order to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. This is not only done in order to get the patient to the hospital in a timely manner but also to expedite the time that the ambulance is out of service and unable to respond to another call. Utilizing lights and siren to respond to every call is a practice that is being phased out by most progressive fire departments for safety reasons as it is safer for the responding personnel, the citizens, and the patient. The culture in the Westborough Fire Department of caring for the current patient as well as understanding the limitations of the on-duty staff to staff a second ambulance and being ready for the next call has limited this practice of priority determinant codes for EMS responses. As staffing increases our team believes that

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emergency medical dispatch (EMD) should be fully utilized to address the inherent risks of response and the need to rapidly return to the Town.

Overall, the EMS operations appear to be well-run and managed. There are procedures in place that cover various aspects of EMS operations. The department has an active EMS coordinator who coordinates quality assurance (QA) monitoring, EMS training, and clinical consults when needed. Three other department paramedics are responsible for maintaining and ordering EMS supplies and medications. Currently the fire chief and another department paramedic coordinate the EMS billing with the contracted billing company. The study team questions if this is an effective and efficient utilization of the chief’s time.

One of the department’s paramedics coordinates the EMS quality control program. This program is used to review calls that the department responds to and evaluates that proper protocols and procedures were followed. These reviews are used to improve serves and provide future training opportunities.

One thing the town and department will need to monitor very closely are any impacts the ongoing debates over funding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have on their billing and revenues. Over the past several years with the changes in insurance reimbursements brought about by the ACA, a growing number of EMS providers are looking to get out of the ALS business. Increasingly, private insurance companies and the government have reduced (or are considering reductions in) reimbursement rates, and are becoming more reluctant in general, to compensate departments for the full cost of emergency room transportation fees, especially for non-emergency treatment. Communities that provide EMS transport services are therefore facing pressure on their transport revenues.

Mobile Integrated Health Care and Community Paramedic (MIH/CP) present a possible solution to some of these problems. Mobile Integrated Healthcare is defined by the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) as “the provision of healthcare using patient-centered, mobile resources in the out of hospital environment.” It can be provided through community paramedicine programs, which are programs that use EMTs and paramedics to provide this out-of-hospital health care. MIH/CP programs can help facilitate more appropriate uses of emergency care resources and enhance access to primary care, particularly for underserved populations, by focusing on chronic disease management, post-discharge follow up, and transport to non-emergency care settings.

The benefits of MIH/CP are therefore two-fold. These programs could potentially help provide more appropriate health care to community residents, and if reimbursement arrangements can be agreed upon, also offer a substitute funding stream, separate from emergency transport, for community-based EMS transport programs. With the current staffing in the Westborough Fire Department and the issues of insufficient shift staffing as well as the increased number of simultaneous incidents, training requirements, company inspections and daily maintenance

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routines the MRI team would suggest that community paramedicine be evaluated for possible future implementation. In the future the Westborough Fire Department should do research on and study this type of program to determine if it might be feasible or viable as a means to improve both levels of service offered to the community and EMS revenues generated.

MUTUAL AND AUTOMATIC AID

Mutual Aid is an essential component of almost every fire department’s operations. With the exception of the largest cities, no municipal fire department can, or should, be expected to have adequate resources to respond to safely, effectively and efficiently mitigate large scale complex incidents. Mutual aid is shared between communities when their day-to-day operational fire rescue and EMS capabilities have been exceeded and ensure that the citizens of the community are protected even when local resources are overwhelmed. Fire department mutual aid is provided without financial charge.

Automatic Aid is assistance that dispatched automatically by agreement between two or more communities or fire districts to all first alarm structural fires. The Automatic aid will depend upon the location in the community and the type of equipment that each department can share as well as staff. It is predetermined by each community’s fire department so that on the initial notification through 911 the neighboring department is also notified and responds as long as they are able to. If they are unable to respond because they are not available due to an incident in their own community Westborough would rely on the regional mutual aid agreements and go further out to other fire departments.

As noted previously, the Westborough Fire Department has robust automatic and mutual aid relationships. Through automatic aid agreements and regional dispatch protocols local departments respond immediately upon the report of any structure fire, quickly increasing the number of firefighting personnel who are available. The departments operate seamlessly together, even with regard to chief/command level officers responding to and assisting with managing incidents regardless of which community it is occurring in.

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FIGURE IV-7: WESTBOROUGH FIRE RESPONSE DISPATCH CARD

Many of our organizational assessments suggest that automatic aid practices should be developed as they reflect an industry best practice. The actual practice employed between Westborough and the surrounding fire departments is considered the norm of this best practice and should be considered a leading example of how this type of response can work. The only problem that may become an issue is if one or multiple communities feels that the reciprocity is unequal and thus an unfair burden to their community.

INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE

The Insurance Services Office’s (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria defined in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). This criterion incorporates nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Using the FSRS, ISO evaluates the fire suppression capabilities of a community and assigns a PPC classification; a number rating from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary fire protection (by ISO’s standards), and Class 10 indicates that the area or community’s fire suppression program does not meet minimum recognized criteria or standards. In most cases,

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this means there is no recognized fire department or formal fire protection. Any building more than five road miles from a fire station or outside the boundary of a fire protection area is rated 10. Generally, areas of a community that are more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant, but within five road miles from a fire station, are rated Class 9.

The FSRS allocates credit for fire protection by evaluating these three major categories (Figure V-2):

1. Fire Alarm and Communication System: This aspect of the evaluation examines a community’s facilities and support for handling and dispatching fire alarms. This includes telephone lines and systems, staffing, dispatching systems, and equipment. This component equates to 10% (10 points) of the evaluation.

2. Fire Department: This component of the evaluation, which accounts for 50% of the total classification (50 points), focuses on the fire department and its operations. Areas that are examined include the number of engine and ladder/service companies, distribution of fire stations and fire companies, equipment carried on the apparatus, pumping capacity, testing of hose, pumps and ladders, reserve apparatus, department and on-duty staffing, and training.

3. Water Supply System: The third component of the evaluation is an analysis of the

community’s water supply system for fire protection. Chief among the areas that are examined include fire hydrant size, type, flow, and installation. In addition, the condition and frequency of inspection of the hydrants is evaluated. Finally, the overall capabilities of the water supply system are assessed in comparison to the needed fire flow for target hazards in the community. Forty percent of the final rating (40 points) is based on the water supply system.

A relatively new addition to the FSRS, the Community Risk Reduction section, offers a maximum of 5.5 points, resulting in 105.5 total points now available in the FSRS. The inclusion of this section for “extra points” allows recognition for those communities that employ effective fire prevention practices, without unduly affecting those who have not yet adopted such measures.

The addition of the Community Risk Reduction section gives incentives to those communities who strive proactively to reduce fire severity through a structured program of fire prevention activities. The areas of community risk reduction evaluated in this section include:

➢ Fire prevention ➢ Fire safety education ➢ Fire investigation

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FIGURE IV-8: FOUR KEY PARTS OF ISO PPC EVALUATION PROCESS

Source: ISO

Every city, town, or area that provides fire protection services is subject to being graded to establish a PPC. Individual buildings, both residential and commercial, are subject to the community's PPC. When calculating property insurance premiums, insurance companies using the PPC apply a factor that reflects a particular community's PPC. Some individual facilities within a community may also be individually assessed and assigned a specific rating. Although there may be validity to the argument that this rating is no longer utilized by all insurance companies that issue policies to industrial and commercial facilities within Westborough, ISO is still recognized as a comparative benchmark of public fire protection. Moreover, within the past several years, ISO has significantly revised its FSRS, and as a result, the PPC to reflect new innovations and technology, and the evolving standards and industry best practices within the fire service. Among these changes are:

✓ Greater reference to nationally accepted consensus standards; NFPA and AWWA.

✓ Increased recognition of automatic fire sprinklers. ✓ Greater reliance on technology-based solutions (e.g., GIS, thermal imaging

cameras, etc.). ✓ Increased emphasis on fire training activities. ✓ New reference to national standard safety requirements. ✓ New reference to accreditation; focus on master/strategic planning.

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According to ISO, the PPC helps measure the effectiveness of fire protection and provides an important advisory evaluation to both insurers and communities. It is applied nationwide, and more than ever incorporates accepted national consensus standards. The PPC is used in marketing, underwriting, and pricing of both homeowners and commercial lines of fire/property insurance. Broadly speaking, the cost of insurance premiums is generally lower with better protection which translates into lower losses; the cost is higher in areas that have lower levels of protection which often translates into higher losses. Many insurers still rely on this information, at least partially, to set their fire insurance rates. Based on the most recent 2015 ISO evaluation, the Westborough Fire Department received a split Class 4/4X rating, which places the organization in the top 21% of fire departments across the country. This is an exceptional rating that reflects the overall quality of the department and the systems that have been put into place. However, we believe that the Town of Westborough in the future could attain a higher rating during the next rating cycle. Figure V-3, below, provides a graphical representation of the rating distribution across the United States.

FIGURE IV-9: INSURANCE SERVICE OFFICE RATING DISTRIBUTION CHART - Source: ISO

According to ISO, many communities receive split classifications, which were revised in 2013 to reflect the risk of loss more precisely. An example of the split classification is 4/4X. The first number refers to the classification of properties within 5 road miles of a fire station and within 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. The second number applies to properties within 5 road miles of a fire station, but beyond 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. ISO generally assigns Class 10 to properties beyond 5 road miles. The X classification replaced the former 9 portions

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of a split classification, respectively. For example, a community formerly graded as a split 6/9 will change to a split 6/6X.

Looking deeper into the ratings, the fire department is currently rated with 30.62 out of a possible 50 points; Emergency Communications (E-911, dispatch and communications) – 5.19 points out of a possible 10 points; and water supply is rated at a 32.05 out 40 points. This means that the most improvement is possible within the areas of the fire department with some improvement in the dispatching/communications and water supply. The water supply area could be improved with additional inspections of the system along with increased fire flow testing.

In discussions with the fire chief during our site visits he noted the improvements that were in the process within the department that will continue to work on increasing the rating of the fire department. The MRI team reviewed the ISO report and noted that areas of improvement had already been assigned to appropriate personnel throughout the fire department and the Town. These included increased training throughout the year and developing a plan for additional staffing.

HOW THE FIRE SUPPRESSION RATING SCHEDULE WORKS

The FSRS lists a large number of items (facilities and practices) that a community should have to fight fires effectively. The schedule is performance-based and assigns/deducts credit points for each item. Using the credit points and various formulas, ISO calculates a total score on a scale of 0 to 105.5. In 2015, Westborough received 67.28 of the 105.5 potential points.

1. Emergency Communications: A maximum of 10 points of a community’s overall score is based on how well the fire department receives and dispatches fire alarms. In 2015, Westborough received 5.19 of the 10 potential points available for emergency communications. A review of the ISO report indicates that the Westborough Fire Department could evaluate the number of operators and the number of dispatch circuits. More than three additional points could be attained by addressing these areas.

2. Fire Department: A maximum of 50 points of the overall score is based on the

fire department. In 2015, Westborough received 30.62 of the 50 potential points available for fire department capability. A review of the rating indicates that the department received less than optimal credit for training (2.96 out of 9), number of personnel (9.05 out of 15), and deployment analysis (4.08 out of 10). Since the ISO evaluation we understand that a more comprehensive training program has been instituted with monthly training goals, specific lesson plans, dedicated training hours, evaluations and documentation. The department should review their training process and provide this improved documentation to ISO. The

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need for personnel and a new deployment strategy has been well documented within this report. Implementing the recommendations relative to staffing and shift strength would substantially bolster the points awarded within this category.

3. Water Supply: A maximum of 40 points of the overall score is based on the

community’s water supply. In 2015, Westborough received 32.05 of the 40 potential points available for water supply. The Town received no credit (0.00 out of 7 for inspection and flow testing the hydrants). This would indicate the they have not been tested in over 5 years.

4. Community Risk Reduction Strategies: The Community Risk Reduction section of

the FSRS offers a maximum of 5.5 points, resulting in 105.5 total points available in the FSRS. The inclusion of this section for “extra points” allows recognition for those communities that employ effective fire prevention practices, without unduly affecting those who have not yet adopted such measures. In 2015, Westborough received 3.20 points for community risk reduction. This suggests that as indicated in other areas of this report, Westborough Fire Department has a well-developed and well managed public outreach and education program.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation IV.1 The Westborough Fire Department should strive to have a minimum of 14 to 16 firefighting personnel on the scene of every structure fire within 8 minutes of the time that units are responding. Until permanent staffing can be added to the department the current use of automatic aid and mutual aid must continue and potentially be enhanced as other local departments are seeing the same increases in call demand. Recommendation IV.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a response plan that would have the Shift Commander respond to all incidents in the Command Vehicle with all the tools and data needed for that response. There is a need for an Incident Commander as well as a dedicated shift commander who is responsible for managing the Town’s on-duty fire and EMS personnel, especially during the hours that the Fire or Deputy Chief are off duty. Recommendation IV.3 The Westborough Fire Department should work with other fire departments in the region to develop a Regional Rapid Response Team (RIT) to respond to all structure fire calls in the region. A fire department that sends a company to another town to assist should be

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dedicated as the RIT and not be assigned other duties on scene that would prohibit them from performing firefighter rescue duties. Recommendation IV.4 The Westborough Fire Department should consider designating a full-time EMS Coordinator. This position should be an officer and be assigned as a staff position working a typical Monday through Friday schedule. Due to the fact that EMS incidents constitute the largest percentage of department incidents, along with the mission-critical importance of the position, the EMS coordinator should be given proper authority. These functions should start as administrative duties assigned to shift personnel and progress to staff positions concurrent with the staffing plan contained in this report. Recommendation IV.5 The Westborough Fire Department should enhance its existing pre-fire planning program into a comprehensive program that can be utilized by mutual/auto aid companies that often are responding into town. Appropriate pre-planning software should be obtained and installed in apparatus, with mobile data terminals (MDTs) in all apparatus and command/staff vehicles. Recommendation IV.6 The Westborough Fire Department should complete the acquisition and installation of mobile data terminals (MDT’s) in all frontline apparatus and supply each unit with mobile connectivity. (MRI Team was aware that this was in process during our site visit). Recommendation IV.7 The Westborough Fire Department should work with Water Department to develop plans to extend the water system where possible into all new developments in town and continue to expand the water supply system to areas of the town where it currently is not.

Recommendation IV.8 The Westborough Fire Department should develop standard operating procedures that would include the use of emergency medical dispatch priorities for all EMS calls. This would allow ambulances to respond “with traffic” to some medical calls that are non-life threatening and non-critical. Recommendation IV.9 The Westborough Fire Department should work to improve its ISO rating to a Class 3 with recommendations noted in the last ISO survey report. Recommendation IV.10 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to work with the Westborough Water Department to develop plans to test and inspect all fire hydrants in the town on an annual

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basis. This effort should be expanded to marking hydrants by fire flow as outlined in NFPA standards and the testing and inspection of yard hydrants.

Recommendation IV.11 Over two years, The Water Department should color code hydrant caps to the NFPA standard for fire flow. Fire flow information should also be available to first responders through the IMC CAD system. Recommendation IV.12 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a public education program that includes discussing the benefits of installing residential fire sprinklers in all new one and two-story homes, particularly those located at least outside of the four-minute response time from Central Station and especially in the extremely large size single family homes (over 4000 square feet) with difficult access to them. Recommendation IV.13 The Westborough Fire Department should address the lack of credit issued for public safety telecommunicators and the number or configuration of dispatch circuits. Documentation of any improvements should be shared with ISO. Recommendation IV.14 The Town of Westborough and the Westborough Fire Department should begin to explore the feasibility of implementing some type of community-based mobile integrated health care in an attempt to provide better service to the community, and to the extent possible, attempt to minimize the recurring demand on the service from continual and repeated use of critical resources for non-emergency responses.

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CHAPTER V

RESPONSE METRICS AND DEPLOYMENT

OVERVIEW

One of the best ways to get a broad overview picture of an emergency services organization is to look at and analyze their emergency response/incident statistics. Looking at statistical data that is compiled from incident reports that are generated for each and every emergency response and /or request of assistance will assist with determining the adequacy of current operations, as well as, identify trends in responses (i.e. increasing vs. decreasing volume, changing types of incident requests, increasing or unacceptable response times, frequency of simultaneous incidents, etc.) Utilizing current trends to help predict future events, while not an exact science, can be helpful to communities and fire departments. This information can be utilized to plan for future operational needs. However, as with any other type of statistical analysis, the information that is produced is only as good and/or reliable as the data that was originally entered and has been provided for evaluation.

OBSERVATIONS

RESPONSE METRICS

The data that was analyzed for this report was provided to the MRI study team by the Westborough Fire Department. The reports developed were automatically compiled through the report generation features of the IMC software. Each and every emergency incident that the Westborough Fire Department responds to results in the generation of a National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) report.

The Westborough Fire Department responded to 3,718 emergency calls in 2017. This includes 2,433 medical related responses. Overall, the Westborough Fire Department responded to 64.2% medical related calls, 4.8% of fires and 30.9% other emergencies (V-1). This statistic is in line with current industry expectations as many fire/rescue organizations find that EMS is 80% of their total call volume.

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FIGURE V-1: WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT INCIDENT CATEGORIES FY 2017

One issue in Westborough is the overall call volume growth. A trend analysis reveals that the emergency response demand is growing by about 5% per year (figures V-2). The types of call that have direct lifesaving potential such as structure fires (20%), rescue responses (over 100%) and emergency medical calls (8%) are growing at even greater numbers.

Structure Fires Vehicle Fires

Outside Fires (Brush, Trash, etc.)

Hazardous Materials Incidents

Rescue Responses ( entrapment, Bomb,

Ice, Water etc.)

Emergency Medical Calls

Electrical Emergencies

Public Assistance Calls

False Alarms

2017 EMERGENCY RESPONSES

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Figure V-2: EMERGENCY RESPONSES ANNUAL TOTAL 2015 -2017

YEAR 2015 2016 2017

EMERGENCY INCIDENT

Structure Fires 84 102 127

Vehicle Fires 24 12 18

Outside Fires (Brush, Trash, etc.) 55 56 36

Hazardous Materials Incidents 122 90 73

Rescue Responses 20 60 262

Emergency Medical Calls 2223 2240 2433

Electrical Emergencies 57 84 84

Public Assistance Calls 170 267 267

False Alarms 435 485 485

FIGURE V-3: WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT TOTAL INCIDENT TREND 2004-2017

30253193 3220 3175 3173

28792669

2987

2662 2674

2987

33993537

3718

992 1046 1111970 971 891 879

1001799 828 856

11761297 1285

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2131 2223 22402433

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EMERGENCY INCIDENTS 2004 -2017

Total Incidents Fire EMS

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FIGURE V-4: 2017 WESTBOROUGH RESPONSES BY INCIDENT TYPE

Looking forward as this growth in service demand continues, maintaining the current service level will only be possible if the level of resources dedicated to this service increases. A review of the incidents over the past year as compared to previous years shows that it is apparent the requests for service is continuing to grow as the resident and business populations continue to expand.

A more in-depth review of the incidents based on the time of year (month), day of week and time of day did not yield any specific data that would show a specific need to increase or decrease staffing during that time period.

Incident Type Total Calls

Alarm-Central Station 304

Animal Problem 2

Assist (Mutial/Auto Aid) 114

Brush 19

Carbon Monoxide 72

Chimney 5

Code Enforcement 8

Complaint 19

Fire Alarm-Master Box 131

Fire District Support 1

Fire Event/Detail 5

Fire Investigation 20

Fire Local Alarm 66

Gas Leak 48

Hazmat 25

Lock Out 24

Motor Vehicle Accident 202

Odor Investigation 23

Outside 15

Rescue-Elevator 7

Rescue-Person 1

Rescue-Water 4

Service 14

Smoke 33

Station Coverage (Mutual Aid Given) 3

Structure 34

Suspicious Device 6

Trash 2

Vehicle 18

Water Leak 10

Wires Down 50

TOTAL Fire & Rescue Calls 1285

EMS (Ambulance) 2433

TOTAL RESPONSES 3718

Fire/EMS Incidents 2017

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FIGURE V-5 2017 WESTBOROUGH INCIDENTS BY TIME OF DAY

FIGURE V-6 2017 WESTBOROUGH INCIDENTS BY DAY OF WEEK

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2200-2259

2017 Response by Time of Day

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2017 Response by Day of Week

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FIGURE V-7 2017 WESTBOROUGH INCIDENTS BY MONTH

FIGURE V-8 2017 WESTBOROUGH INCIDENTS FROM 2004 - 2017 ANNUAL TOTAL

DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES

The appropriate deployment of resources is critical to the ability of any fire department to effectively, efficiently, and safely fulfill its core public safety and fire protection mission. In determining an acceptable level of risk, elected officials in every community must ask questions about the fire and EMS resources, such as: 1) how much do we need? 2) how much can we

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afford? and 3) how should those resources be positioned and deployed to provide maximum benefit to the community? These are never easy decisions especially when one considers the fact that virtually any decisions on emergency service deployment that involve moving and/or relocating a resource, even for the considerable benefit of the community as a whole, may have a negative effect on at least a small percentage of the population.

From the perspective of stations and apparatus, there are three main factors that are used to help determine the deployment of resources: response time, travel distance, and call volume. As previously discussed in detail in Chapter IV, Operations and Response, for most evaluations, response time is the most critical factor for both fires and emergency medical incidents. The concerns with both fire and EMS incidents were also discussed in detail in that chapter. But briefly, heart attack and stroke victims require rapid intervention, care, and transport to a medical facility. The longer the time duration without care, the less likely the patient is to fully recover. For structure fires, if firefighters cannot arrive in a timely manner and attack the fire quickly, a strong possibility exists that a dangerous flashover (simultaneous ignition of the combustible materials in a room) will occur. Flashover can occur within five to seven minutes of fire ignition and is one of the most dangerous events that a firefighter can face. When a flashover occurs, initial firefighting forces are generally overwhelmed and will require significantly more resources to effect fire control and extinguishment.

Another method of determining the appropriate deployment of resources is the fire company travel distance model employed by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) to assist them with determining the Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating that is utilized to for determining fire insurance rates by participating insurance companies. Under the ISO deployment and coverage model, in order to obtain maximum point value for this particular component of an evaluation, the first due engine company should be within 1.5 miles travel distance of every location within their first due response area. The first due ladder company should have a travel distance of no more than 2.5 miles.

Incident Location - In the future this information and tracking incident location will assist in determining if and where another station should be located. Through a review of the incident statistics, trends in response areas throughout town, discussions with the fire chief and a tour of the town it is apparent that the future need for services will increase and that those incidents are most likely to occur in the northeast section of town.

As that area continues to grow, call volumes increase and response times become elongated. The MRI team reviewed the 2017 call density map, current response times and potential future growth in Westborough. Based on our review, it is likely that a two-bay substation in the Northeast section of Westborough will be required to maintain the expected level of service.

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FIGURE V-9 CURRENT RESPONSE FREQUENCY MAP

Based on conversations with the Chief, Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager, a review of the Town’s Master Plan as well as a tour of the town during our site visit it is apparent there will be continued growth in the town and more specifically in the northeast section. There are currently many large commercial, industrial and technical facilities in the area and we were told that this growth is expected to continue. Further, there is a large senior adult residential complex being developed at the previous site of the State Hospital. Certainly, this will impact the number of calls. In the future a more in-depth study will need to be conducted to determine the most appropriate location for an additional fire and EMS facility.

Response Times - The RAND Corporation conducted extensive studies of fire department response times. They concluded that the average speed for a fire apparatus responding with emergency lights and siren is 35 mph. That speed considers average terrain, average traffic, weather, and slowing down for intersections. Utilizing the RAND criteria produces an expected response time of 3.2 minutes for an engine company and 4.9 minutes for a ladder/service company within an optimal response area similar to the circle drawn in Figure V-9. ISO, working with several fire departments, recently conducted its own review of the formula and found the earlier RAND research still valid as an evaluative tool.

WFD Call Data 2017

Text

Excludes HighwaysDisplays Single Point for Duplicate Call Locations

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As previously noted, heart attack and stroke victims require rapid intervention, care, and transport to a medical facility. The longer the time duration without care, the less likely the patient is to fully recover. Numerous studies have shown that irreversible brain damage can occur if the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than four minutes. In addition, the potential for successful resuscitation during cardiac arrest decreases exponentially with each passing minute that cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or cardiac defibrillation is delayed.

Structural firefighting has become far more challenging and dangerous in the last thirty years with the introduction of significant quantities of plastic and foam-based products into homes and businesses (e.g., furnishings, mattresses, bedding, plumbing. electrical components, home and business electronics, decorative materials, insulation, and structural components). These materials ignite, burn quickly, and produce extreme heat and toxic smoke. A fire can easily double in size and intensity every 30 seconds. If firefighters cannot arrive in a timely manner and attack the fire quickly, a strong possibility exists that a dangerous flashover (simultaneous ignition of the all combustible materials in a room) will occur. Flashover can occur in as little as five to seven minutes after fire ignition and is one of the most dangerous events that a firefighter can face. When a flashover occurs, initial firefighting forces are generally overwhelmed and will require significantly more resources to affect fire control and extinguishment.

It is also important to keep in mind that once units arrive on the scene, they will need to get set up to commence operations. NFPA recommends that units be able to commence an initial attack within two minutes of arrival, 90% of the time. Figure V-10 illustrates that flashover often occurs within about eight to ten minutes after the fire’s inception. It also illustrates that the fire department’s response time to the fire is one of the only aspects of the timeline that the fire department can exert direct control over.

Fire departments are being held increasingly accountable for their response times and the consequences of extended or inadequate responses. The performance and effectiveness of fire department operations can be significantly impacted by the time it takes for them to arrive on the scene of an emergency incident. The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) report, Structure Fire Response Times, has a useful framework for total emergency incident response time, including definitions and components. The same report notes that about half of structure fires confined to the room of origin (51%) and confined to the floor of origin (51%) had a response time of less than five minutes. More than half of fires confined to the building of origin (54%) and nearly half of fires beyond the building of origin (49%) had a response time of less than six minutes.

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Figure V-10: Time versus products of combustion curve showing activation times and effectiveness of residential sprinklers (approximately 1 minute), commercial sprinklers (4 minutes), flashover (8 to 10 minutes) and firefighters applying first water to the fire after notification, dispatch, response, and set up (10 minutes). Image credit: Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board http://firesprinklerassoc.org/images/newflashoverchart.jpg

As previously noted, NFPA Standard 1710 – Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments (2016 Edition), is the nationally recognized consensus standard on staffing and deployment by career fire departments. It is the benchmark standard that the United States Department of Homeland Security utilizes when evaluating applications for staffing grants under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.

The first arriving engine company shall arrive at the scene of a fire suppression incident within four minutes or less and/or the entire full first alarm response should arrive on scene within eight minutes. For EMS incidents, a unit with first responder or higher-level trained personnel should arrive within four minutes, and an Advanced Life Support (ALS) unit should arrive on scene within eight minutes.

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Paragraph 4.1.2.2 requires the establishment of a 90% performance objective for these response times.

NOTE: The four-minute response time is from when the units are physically moving to the incident. One minute can be added for call processing and dispatch, and one minute can be added for turnout time, that is from when firefighters in the station are notified until they are actually responding, providing six total minutes from the time the 911 call is answered until the first unit arrives on location.

As stated above, response time is an important measuring instrument to determine how well a fire department is currently performing, to help identify response trends, and to predict future operational needs. Getting emergency assistance to the scene of a 911 caller in the quickest time possible may be critical to the survival of the patient, and/or successful mitigation of the incident. Achieving the quickest and safest response times possible should be a fundamental goal of every fire department.

The MRI team discussed this important piece of data with the fire chief. He explained that this data was not kept or not kept accurately until January 2017. Any previous was not formally tracked and he did not feel that it accurately portrayed actual response times. In 2017 the department began accurately tracking this data.

An analysis of Westborough Fire Department 2017 response time data indicates that 18% of responses exceed six minutes (Figure V-11). This is of concern as most fire service organizations with a career component establish a goal that not more than 10% of responses will exceed this time frame. This would be in keeping with the NFPA 1710 benchmarks for their response.

Figure V-11 Westborough Response Times 2017

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Response Times 2017

<1 Minute 602 <1 Minute 13.8%

1 311 1 7.1%

2 527 2 12.0%

3 658 3 15.0%

4 611 4 14.0%

5 513 5 11.7%

6 360 6 8.2%

7 266 7 6.1%

8 168 8 3.8%

9 114 9 2.6%

10 72 10 1.6%

11 37 11 0.8%

12 31 12 0.7%

> 12 minutes 107 > 12 minutes 2.4%

Total 4377 100.0%

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Figure V-12 Westborough Response Times 2017

Overall, response times in Westborough typically average between six and ten minutes. The average response time to major incidents that have occurred in 2017 is 8:10. This demonstrates that overall the department is not meeting the 1710 response criteria. Having a response time that averages above six minutes when career staff are present should cause an organization to evaluate their resources availability as well as its deployment strategy. However, it should be noted that response times mean the time from the call until the first unit arrives at the incident site. Given the extensive nature of several commercial, industrial and residential complexes in Westborough, the additional time to traverse the complex to reach a patient or the seat of a fire is not considered.

One of the issues that the Westborough Fire Department must confront is the issue of cross staffing of all apparatus and ambulances with its on-duty staff. This typically requires that staff that are assigned to a particular piece of equipment at the beginning of a shift usually are required to rotate to other pieces of equipment depending on the type of emergency incident, who is available (in station) and total available staffing, including daytime staff. Cross training and cross staffing in a fire department is a common occurrence. As discussed in more depth in Chapter VI STAFFING this practice can be strained when there is a limited amount of staffing, not all firefighters are EMS trained to the paramedic level and there is a high level of call volume.

This changing from one piece of equipment also requires staff to retrieve their personal protective equipment from an ambulance or engine or ladder truck and then move that while being dispatched to the appropriate piece of apparatus. Based on the physical layout of the station this typically adds to a delay in response times. During our site visit the MRI team witnessed this occur more than once.

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From the perspective of an effective response to fire and EMS incidents, there are three main factors that are used to help determine the deployment of resources: response time, travel distance, and call volume. For most evaluations, response time is the most critical factor for both. It is not just a cliché that during critical life-threatening situations, minutes and even seconds truly do count.

Simultaneous Incidents - The final criterion that is frequently evaluated with regard to resource deployment is incident volume specifically related to incident type, and the number and/or percentage of times there are simultaneous and/or overlapping incidents. Every emergency service organization periodically experiences simultaneous or overlapping incidents. Whether they are handled by that department themselves, or through automatic/mutual aid, provisions need to be made to ensure that these incidents are also handled effectively, efficiently, and in a timely manner.

However, as the number of simultaneous, or overlapping incidents increases, that community and/or department can no longer rely on their neighboring communities/departments to handle an ever-increasing percentage of their incidents. This is a key benchmark in the need to consider increasing the number of available resources that are in service.

In Westborough, more than one in every three emergency incidents is simultaneous with, or overlaps with, at least one other incident. The MRI study team’s evaluation found that the number of simultaneous, or overlapping incidents, handled by the Westborough Fire Department is increasing each year and becoming a major operational concern. This has added a stress factor to the department. This situation has been an issue for a number of years. In years past this was not considered a significant matter. The occurrence of multiple overlapping calls currently stands at nearly 30%. A review of past years incident reports reveals that this has been an ongoing issue, but as call volume increases this means that at least 30% of the time the department is asked to answer not only one, but two, and occasionally three or more, incidents at the same time with their resource set, and the assistance of daytime staff, recalled firefighters, and mutual aid.

In 2015, the Department responded to 915 multiple response emergencies (29% of incident volume). This continued in 2016 with 984 simultaneous calls and again in 2017 with over 1000 simultaneous calls. This produces an average of 3 simultaneous calls per day. This is a disturbing trend as while it is not unusual to see total incident volume rise, an increase in the rate of simultaneous events indicates that the current resource set of the organization will be unable to maintain the current service level. Because of limited staffing and the reliance of mutual aid and recalled firefighters this often delays response times to those incidents.

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FIGURE V-13: SIMULTANEOUS INCIDENTS

FIGURE V-14: SIMULTANEOUS INCIDENTS SINCE 2013 – 2017

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation V.1 The Westborough Fire Department needs to collect pertinent data, monitor this data for all emergency incidents. Using their current dispatch and reporting software they should collect this data and report it monthly in order to track potential issues that may impact service levels:

➢ Type of Call

➢ Day of the week

➢ Time of Day

➢ Simultaneous and multi-simultaneous incidents

➢ EMS response times-based type of incident (Using EMD protocols)

➢ EMS turnaround time at hospitals/rehabilitation centers

➢ Location of incidents – Using GIS density mapping

Recommendation V.2 Based on GIS call density mapping and response times to those incidents begin the process of determining the potential location for a future facility. This entire process of building a new facility can take anywhere from 5- 10 years. As such, the site location is the first step in that process and can best be determined through this data.

Recommendation V.3 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to try to reduce the number of incidents with a response time over six minutes to 10% or fewer, as recommended by NFPA 1710.

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CHAPTER VI

ORGANIZATION CULTURE

OVERVIEW

According to the website Business Dictionary, organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner-workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid. Also called corporate culture, it is shown in:

1. The ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community;

2. The extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas, and personal expression;

3. How power and information flow through its hierarchy; and

4. How committed employees are towards collective objectives.

OBSERVATIONS

Based on our direct observation and fieldwork, the Westborough Fire Department has a positive organizational culture. During our interviews with employees it was apparent that the members were going through a paradigm shift since Chief Purcell was appointed to the position of Fire Chief. Every member we interviewed felt that the Westborough Fire Department is now and has always been a great place to work. The members stated consistently that their department was highly respected by the other fire departments in the region and that in the past few years the Chief along with the all its members were trying to raise the department to an even higher level.

We felt that there was “buy-in” from nearly every member for this change in the department but that the change was happening at a pace that most felt that they could not sustain. It did not appear that any member of the department was not willing to give it their all, but we heard that they were concerned with “burn out”. When we asked for an explanation, consistently we heard that they continue to be excited about what they do and that working for the Westborough Fire Department was the best place to be a firefighter. But most explained that they were unable to complete the daily chores, weekly duties and monthly training, or at least

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complete them to the level that they wanted to do them, on most shifts, because of the ever-increasing call volume.

It was evident that fire incidents, rescue calls and EMS were being done at high level of competencies and pride. The members we interviewed understood the importance of training and all wanted to maintain and continue to enhance their skills. Though they want to continue to grow their competence levels as well as maintain the station, equipment and their physical standards, it was the call volume and wear and tear on the personnel that continues to be their impediment.

The attitude and professionalism that we found during our site visit is not always something that we see during our studies. We found members that were engaged in the department besides just being employees. Most offered suggestions that they felt would enhance services and increase efficiencies.

Nearly every member of the department has a secondary assignment, other than emergency response. Those duties included EMS training, EMS supplies, EMS medication ordering, EMS quality insurance, EMS billing, fire training, SCBA maintenance, apparatus maintenance, inspections, ordering supplies, and safety officer among other needed functions. In many fire departments these functions are the responsibility and are performed by full and part-time staff that are dedicated to these jobs.

It was apparent that department members truly understood the Mission of the Westborough Fire Department and followed its Vision Statement. MRI considers the inclusion of Mission and Vision Statements and a set of Guiding Principles in a fire department’s rules, regulations and standard operating guidelines to be a fire service best practice. The chief has worked with Department’s members, the internal stakeholders, to develop the Department Mission Statement as the lead document as part of the Revised Standard Operating Guidelines and Best Practices (2017).

More importantly then the development of a document which can be only empty words, it appears that the department fulfills its mission, is committed to, follows their vision, and adheres to their guiding principles. In short, this document is the foundation of service that is projected throughout the organization. Having a formal statement of this nature is an indicator of organizational health and focus. This document, and the organization’s commitment to it, reflects well on both the level of respect and the high-level of teamwork that exists within the Westborough Fire Department.

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FIGURE VI-1: WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT MISSION, VISION, AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The department is led by Chief Patrick Purcell, who is clearly a passionate advocate for the organization, and an energetic leader. The chief’s efforts to bring the department to a higher level of service and effectiveness are complimented by Deputy Chief Jason Ferschke. Together the Chief and Deputy form a capable, well respected, and effective command team. Overall, the department works diligently to meet the needs of the community and projects a “can do” friendly and approachable attitude.

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FIGURE VI-2: WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART - 2018

W estborough Fire D epartm entOrganizational Chart 2018

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PUBLIC OPINION

This positive attitude translates into the organization being very highly regarded and respected within the community. As part of our site visit the MRI team randomly would ask members of the community and places of business what their thoughts were regarding the Westborough Fire Department. Most stated that although they had not personally had occasion to use the department emergency services some had used their inspection or permit services. All of those we interacted with spoke highly of “their fire department”. The Department had arranged for the site team to conduct an interview with one member of the community. The citizen was chosen at random based on an informal meeting while at Town Hall.

The citizen interview was conducted at Fire Headquarters. Though this member had never used the fire department emergency services he was well aware of the department and the services that they provided. He knew of a neighbor who had used the fire department and said that it was a positive experience. During the interview the citizen discussed his knowledge of the rapid growing of the community and what impact that might have on all community services. When the MRI interviewer discussed increasing service levels and demands on the Town’s departments, the citizen discussed that he wanted to be sure that when he called 911 a fire engine, ambulance or police car would be at their home very quickly and without delay. The citizen went on to say that he thought that the department could use a better public relations campaign to let people know what services they offer other than emergency services.

This high-level of community support is complemented by a positive internal culture. It is apparent that the Westborough Fire Department is a well-organized, and well-run organization that strives to provide the best possible services with the resources provided. The MRI study team has participated in numerous fire service studies throughout the northeast. It was apparent that operationally, administratively and coordination between departments are better than in most communities that we have studied. We feel strongly that this is based on a culture that flows from the top down.

ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY AND STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES (SOGS) Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGS) document how operational tasks should be accomplished. In essence, they provide personal guidance relative to how to accomplish operational activities safely and consistently. To be effective, SOGs should be developed by each department through a participative process. Once developed, personnel need to be trained on the SOGs and periodically refreshed as to their content. Standard Operating Guidelines are developed for specific instances and based on the operations, training, resources, services delivered and the needs of a fire department. These written policies and internal regulation are typically based on recognized standards,

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regulations, and local government rules. These are the guidelines that personnel rely on to effectively and safely perform their duties. Currently, the Westborough Fire Department has a good, comprehensive, and appropriate set of SOGS and Best Practices (last updated in 2017). A few of the core fundamental topics and safety considerations during low frequency, high-risk tasks should be further developed. The challenge for Westborough as with many fire departments will be to increase organizational buy-in relative to these procedures by establishing a participative development process and on-going training relative to these procedures. Moving forward, Chief Purcell should establish a committee comprised of a cross-section of department members of all ranks, to regularly review the current SOGs to ensure that they reflect the organization’s current operations. Once the current set of SOGs have been reviewed, the committee would work with the chief to develop new SOGs that fit the needs of the organization. Once a SOG has been developed, it should be presented to department personnel, and then periodically reviewed to ensure that these practices are implemented on the incident scene. In addition, one SOG and one policy should be reviewed by a randomly selected member at each shift change briefing and training session. Once personnel get used to this expectation, the knowledge and respect for SOGs will grow within the organization and become an accepted part of the department’s culture. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation VI.1 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to stress the importance of the OSHA Two-in/Two-Out Rule and continue to provide personnel with clear guidance on operations when less than four personnel have been assembled on the incident scene.

Recommendation VI.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a public relations program that “tells their story” regarding services that they provide other than fire and EMS response. Finding a method to incorporate informing the citizens about those services such as CPR training, home wellness checks, how home inspections are scheduled and conducted are examples. Recommendation VI.3 The Westborough Fire Department Training Officer along with the Deputy Chief should assign a member selected at random to review one SOG and one policy at each shift change briefing and training session. Ultimately, there should be one document that shows all SOGs and policies have been reviewed and signed off by all personnel, stating they understand the document.

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Recommendation VI.4 All SOGs should be posted in a password protected portion of the department’s website to serve as a resource to personnel.

Recommendation VI.5 The Westborough Fire Department should establish a committee to provide guidance to the fire chief as to updates, revisions, and new SOGs and/or policies that need to be developed or addressed. Recommendation VI.6 Once developed, SOPs should be reviewed every two years, and revised/updated as necessary. Recommendation VI.7 Once implemented, the Westborough Fire Department’s SOPs should be utilized as the basis for all operations. Any deviation should be documented in the National Fire Incident Report completed for the emergency, providing a full narrative on the reasons why.

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CHAPTER VII

STAFFING

OVERVIEW

The fire service has experienced tremendous technological advances in equipment, procedures, and training, over that past fifty years. Better personal protective equipment (PPE), the widespread use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), large diameter hose, better and lighter hand lines and nozzles, and thermal imaging cameras are just a few of the numerous advances in equipment and procedures that have allowed firefighters to perform their duties more effectively, efficiently, safely, and with fewer personnel. However, the fact still remains that the emergency scene in general, and the fire ground involving a structure fire in particular, is a dynamic, dangerous, frequently unpredictable, and rapidly changing environment where conditions can deteriorate very quickly, placing firefighters in extreme personal danger.

As previously mentioned, the operations necessary to successfully extinguish a structure fire, and do so effectively, efficiently, and safely, requires a carefully coordinated, and controlled, plan of action, where certain operations, such as venting ahead of the advancing interior hose line(s), must be carried out with a high degree of precision and timing. Multiple operations, frequently where seconds count, such as search and rescue operations and trying to cut off a rapidly advancing fire, must also be conducted simultaneously. If there are not enough personnel on the incident initially to perform all of the critical tasks, some will, out of necessity, be delayed. This can result in an increased risk of serious injury, or death, to building occupants and firefighters, and increased property damage.

Many communities today rely on their municipal fire department to provide emergency medical services as well as medical transport services. To do so at the paramedic levels expected by most towns requires them to provide well trained emergency medical personnel, highly technical medical equipment and modern reliable ambulances.

Ultimately it is the personnel and its leadership that determines how a fire department effectiveness is measured. Given the appropriate resources, training and management a fire department can deliver the services expected. Developing an organizational culture and providing adequate staffing will develop the level of services that a town’s citizens expect.

Whether it be rescue services, EMS or fire suppression ultimately, determining the acceptable level of risk they are willing to assume for the citizens they represent will be a key decision that the Westborough Board of Selectman will need to make.

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Chapter IV Operations outlined the need for appropriate staffing in order to meet accepted standards to safely and effectively provide fire suppression services. This chapter will go into further depth of how those staffing requirements may be achieved.

There has been much research done by a number of fire departments on the effects of various staffing levels. One constant that has emerged is that company efficiency and effectiveness decrease substantially, while injuries increase, when company/unit staffing falls below four personnel. A recent comprehensive yet scientifically conducted, verified, and validated study titled Multi-Phase Study on Firefighter Safety and the Deployment of Resources, was performed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in conjunction with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the Center for Public Safety Excellence. This landmark study researched residential fires, where the majority of fire, injuries, and fatalities occur. The study concluded that the size of firefighter crews has a substantial effect on the fire department’s ability to protect lives and property in residential fires and occupancies. Several key findings of the study include:

➢ Four-person firefighting crews were able to complete 22 essential firefighting and rescue tasks in a typical residential structure 30% faster than 2-person crews, and 25% faster than 3-person crews.

➢ The 4-person crews were able to deliver water to a similar sized fire 15% faster

than the 2-person crews, and 6% faster than 3-person crews, steps that help to reduce property damage and reduce danger/risks to firefighters.

➢ Four-person crews were able to complete critical search and rescue operations

30% faster than 2-person crews, and 5% faster than 3-person crews. The United State Fire Administration, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in the Department of Homeland Security, recommends that a minimum of four firefighters respond on or with each apparatus. In its respected textbook Managing Fire Services, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) states, “that at least 4 and often 8 or more firefighters under the supervision of an officer should respond to fire suppression operations”. They further state, “If about 16 firefighters are not operating at the scene of a working fire, within the critical time period, then dollar loss and injuries are significantly increased, as is fire spread”. Many communities continue to struggle to generate a sufficient response.

It is difficult for most communities to maintain staffing levels that are discussed in these studies. Communities and their fire departments have established these staffing numbers as long-term goals. In order to meet these goals fire departments will establish a strategic plan that develop a plan to increase staffing in a manner that the community can except and afford.

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Figure VII-3 - NUMBER OF CAREER FIREFIGHTER PER 1,000 POPULATION 2015, shown later in this report, from the US 2015 Fire Department profile produced by NFPA, illustrates that as the availability of on-call staff declines, additional career firefighters will need to be added to meet service demand. This is especially true in Westborough as the need for additional career staff is already apparent, and is being driven by three primary factors:

1. An increasing call volume and service expectation within the community. 2. Increasing community growth, especially in the northeast quadrant of the

community. 3. A significant reduction in the number of on-call/volunteer personnel available for

interior firefighting operations. There is virtually no on-call staff remaining.

OBSERVATIONS

The current career staffing pattern consists of four work groups that work an average of 42 hours per week. These groups work rotating 24-hour shifts. This schedule provides the community with 24/7 coverage. In order to lessen the workload on shift personnel the firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics alternate during their work shift in 12-14 hour shifts between the engine and the ambulance. Presently, each shift is staffed with a captain (shift commander), a lieutenant, and six firefighters. The eight personnel on shift are supported by the following additional personnel resources:

➢ Two (2) command officers (chief and deputy chief) that work an administrative schedule and provide an on-call command officer when off duty.

➢ Two (2) Fire Prevention Officers assigned to days. One works Monday thru

Thursday 8am until 6pm and the other works Tuesday through Friday from 8am

until 6pm.

➢ One (1) daytime Firefighter/EMT that is the dispatch liaison and does routine

inspectional services inclusive of ABCC’s. Also works on compliance issues and is

a part-time employee to Westborough PD for all of their IT and radio work. Is

included in most of the departments’ projects.

➢ Two (2) dispatchers on duty at all times. Currently there are nine (9) career

dispatchers and five (5) part time.

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➢ Five (5) Call Firefighters (2 live in Westborough, 1 in Upton, 1 in North Grafton,

and 1 in Sudbury that is actually the department Chaplain. None may work in an

IDLH environment or on the ambulance because that are not trained and

certified to that level.

➢ One (1) Administrative Assistant

Figure VII-1 Westborough Fire Department Roster - 2018

Administration

Employee Rank Assignment

Purcell, Patrick J. Fire Chief / Paramedic Chief

Ferschke, Jason Deputy Chief / Paramedic Deputy Chief

Groccia, Jaqueline R. Administrative Assistant Administration Staff Personnel


Knight, Christopher Firefighter / EMT Fire Prevention

Milligan, Kenneth Firefighter / Paramedic Fire Prevention

Cullen, Patrick J. Firefighter / EMT Communications Coordinator Communications

Line Personnel


Doucet, Stephen Captain / Paramedic EMS Coordinator Group 1

Talbot, Nicholas Firefighter / EMT Group 1

Thompson, Robert J. Firefighter / EMT Group 1

Grasso, David Firefighter / EMT Group 1

Anderson, Corey Firefighter / Paramedic Group 1

Daniels, Michael F. Firefighter / Paramedic EMS Medications Group 1

Weinwurm, Christopher Firefighter / Paramedic Group 1

Ward, Kenneth Lieutenant / Paramedic Group 1

Roberts, Brian K. Captain / Paramedic Call Department Coordinator Group 2

Trainor, Logan Firefighter / EMT Group 2

Boyer, Mark Firefighter / EMT Group 2

Goodspeed, Dale Firefighter / Paramedic EMS Supplies Group 2

Laporte, Michael Firefighter / Paramedic Group 2

O'Connor, William Firefighter / Paramedic EMS Supplies Group 2

Ostrander, Nicholas P. Firefighter / Paramedic Group 2

Manion, Edward Lieutenant / Paramedic Group 2

Lermond, Keith L. Captain / Paramedic Senior Staff Coordinator Group 3

Roche, Carl Firefighter / EMT Mechanic Group 3

Stockwell, Matthew R. Firefighter / EMT Department IT Group 3

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Dubois, Christopher Firefighter / EMT Fire Alarm Group 3

Jette, Jerry Firefighter / Paramedic EMS QA/QI Group 3

Sullivan, Barry Firefighter / Paramedic Group 3

Winslow, Jonathan Firefighter / Paramedic Group 3

Hehir, Daniel Lieutenant / Paramedic Group 3

Rand, Robert W. Captain / EMT Group 4

Bowman, Peter M. Firefighter / EMT Group 4

Doucet, Gregory S. Firefighter / EMT Group 4

Bennett, Christine M. Firefighter / Paramedic EMS Billing Group 4

Busha, Roger Firefighter / Paramedic Group 4

Golden, Richard Firefighter / Paramedic Group 4

Haley, Kevin Firefighter / Paramedic Group 4

Rossi, Craig J. Lieutenant / Paramedic Safe Coordinator Group 4

In discussions with the fire chief, he noted that there has not been any increase in the fire department staffing since 2000. Since that time, it is apparent that the town has grown, the call volumes have increased, and the level of service expected by the community requires higher skills and quicker responses.

Although each career work group has eight personnel assigned, in order to reduce the amount of overtime expended when personnel are off on leave, minimum shift staffing is designated as six personnel. This allows two members to be off each shift without it being necessary to hire overtime. Based on this policy, in reality, the department operates with a career staff of six personnel on-duty most of the time. Over the past several years, this practice has started to strain the department’s operational capacity in the context of providing adequate resources to handle the increasing call frequency including responding to incidents that overlap each other.

Based upon the increasing incident volume, and basically not having an on-call department/division, the MRI study team believes that career staffing within the organization needs to be bolstered through an incremental staffing plan and we believe fiscally realistic process starting in 2018.

One of the options that is available to fire departments is applying for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant through the FEMA. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA 1710.

➢ Applications resulting in the largest percentage increases in compliance with NFPA 1710 receive higher consideration.

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➢ Grant funds cover salary and benefits (actual payroll costs) for SAFER full-time positions. Full-time positions are those scheduled for at least 2,080 hours per year (e.g., 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year).

➢ In the first year of the grant, 75 percent of the usual annual cost of a first- year (2018) (i.e., entry-level) firefighter in Westborough Fire Department.

➢ In the second year of the grant, 75 percent of the usual annual cost of a first-year (i.e., entry-level) firefighter in the department at the time the grant application was submitted.

➢ In the third year of the grant, 35 percent of the usual annual cost of a first- year (i.e., entry-level) firefighter in that department at the time the grant.

➢ Usual annual costs include: – base salary (exclusive of overtime) – standard benefits package (including the average health cost, dental, vision, FICA, life insurance, retirement/pension, etc.) offered by fire departments to first-year (i.e., entry-level) firefighters

Currently, the Town of Westborough has 2.01 career firefighters per 1,000 population. Based on the benchmark communities that were used as comparison communities the average career firefighters per 1,000 population was 1.93. MRI’s experience in New England and the northeast often finds this number remains around 2.0 – 2.10 firefighters per 1,000 population.

FIGURE VII-2: COMPARATIVE STAFFING

COMMUNITY

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BELMONT 24,700 4.6 54 2.19 11.7

FRANKLIN 34,000 26 NR

LEXINGTON 32,232 16.4 62 1.93 3.8

NEEDHAM 31,000 13 63 2.03 4.8

NORTHAMPTON 30,000 35 67 2.23 1.9

READING 26,741 9.9 47 1.76 4.7

WESTWOOD 15,199 11.1 38 1.42 3.4

AVERAGE 27,696 16.6 55.2 1.93 3.3

WESTBOROUGH 18,400 21.6 37 2.01 1.7

DEVIATION 0.66 1.30 0.67 1.04 0.5

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Although somewhat different than the overall national average we find that many New England towns have typically relied on on-call and volunteer firefighters to augment the career firefighting staff. For numerous reasons, it has become more difficult for these communities to maintain a call force.

However, based on the factors mentioned above, we believe that when consideration is given to the three factors identified above, an incremental plan to increase the number of career staff on an annual basis is both fiscally realistic and reasonable in terms of the gradually increased level of protection that will be provided to the town.

Ultimately, the plan proposed through our recommendations will increase the number of firefighters to 2.18 per 1,000 population in 2028. We also believe that by 2028 this will be consistent with a slowly increasing national average given the upward trend presented in figure VII-3 below.

FIGURE VII-3 - NUMBER OF CAREER FIREFIGHTER PER 1,000 POPULATION 2015

With the current staffing levels and because the department call volume increasing and that they are is responding to multiple calls on a regular basis the ability of Westborough to meet these recommended standards is difficult to achieve. In 2016, the department experienced 984 occasions when there were two or three simultaneous incidents. This equates to the department responding to simultaneous calls on average 2.7 times per day. In 2017 the number of simultaneous calls increased to 1000 incidents.

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Figure VII-4 Call History Figure VII-5 Simultaneous Incidents

Until Westborough can permanently address staffing issues then the additional personnel needed to meet fireground standards will come from:

1. Additional staff personnel who may be on duty Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This includes the fire chief, deputy chief, fire inspectors and IT Director. Even if they are on duty any of these department members may not be immediately available in that they could be in or out of town in a meeting or working with a contractor or citizen.

2. Recalled staff that are off duty. This method of staffing has been found to be unreliable

and inconsistent in Westborough. During our interviews with employees the MRI team was told that it was difficult for a member to return because of a number of reasons:

a. Some are responsible for child care; b. Some work a second job and are not able to leave that position; c. Some live too far away and the response time would be too long; d. Based on the decreased use of recalls by the shift commander’s personnel are

less likely to make themselves available.

The Fire Chief discussed with MRI his reluctance to rely on recalled firefighters to meet the staffing he needs. In most instances he said that by the time enough members return to the station the staff an apparatus or ambulance the emergency incident has been placed under control. The only caveat to that was for a working structure fire and multiple alarm incidents that would require back up personnel to come back to work to

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staff apparatus and potentially respond to the incident or a second emergency response.

The MRI team would endorse this policy. Specifically, the uninterrupted training is important and the potential of an adequate response from call back personnel is unreliable.

3. The use of on-call or volunteer firefighters. A review of the roster showed that only one of the current member of the call force is partially certified and trained. Though this member could be used, the member does not live in town and thus would have a delayed response. There are five (5) other remaining members of the call firefighting force and we were told that none of them currently meet the training or certification standards required to perform structural firefighting. Though most of these members continue to volunteer and respond when an emergency incident occurs, they are limited to what roles they can perform, such as filling air bottles, transporting resources, helping with communications.

4. The use of Automatic and Mutual Aid (See Chapter IV). In that most of the mutual aid and automatic aid companies attempt to respond with a minimum of four (4) personnel. Inevitably there will be situations where less than four personnel that they can respond with and Westborough fire may not be able to provide four personnel with the initial response. The chief should provide the department with definitive guidance relative to operating parameters in these situations. Operations should be defensive until a crew of four personnel are assembled on the incident scene, unless the need to accomplish a visible rescue exists.

The MRI Team reviewed the use of call/volunteer firefighters by the Westborough Fire Department. It is evident that there really is not a call/volunteer fire/EMS company and there is insufficient staffing to create one. Based on training requirements and the minimal number of current volunteers it is our recommendation that the Westborough Fire Department no longer depend on these personnel to respond as fire or EMS personnel and no additional resources be employed in that endeavor. As long-time members of an organization we recommend that the call force be transitioned into a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). MRI believes that members who have a passion and desire to volunteer in emergency situations can play an important role in protecting the Town. Many Towns throughout New England have developed Community Emergency Response Teams. CERT is a federally recognized program overseen by FEMA. These CERT programs use volunteers for disaster preparedness. The Town trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations, staffing shelters, assisting with traffic during large events to name a few. The CERT typically works with a communities Emergency Management (EM) Office and the EM Director. We find most often that in most Towns the Fire Chief is the EM Director.

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During the development of this report the grant application process was discussed with the fire chief. The MRI team endorsed applying for the grant and provided a letter for the Town of Westborough to be included in their grant application package.

The SAFER grant, if awarded and accepted by the Town of Westborough, could increase the total staffing of the Department by eight firefighters, that would increase each shift by 2 firefighters. If approved the actual staffing on shift would probably not impact actual staffing increases until 2019 due to the hiring process and training required.

As such, the first phase of this recommended staffing increase in 2019 could accomplish two goals. First, these new firefighters will allow the department to work at a level of eight personnel on-duty. Second, the addition of up to eight personnel will maintain overtime costs by providing firefighters that can be assigned to cover short and long-term absences and maintain minimum shift staffing to eight personnel.

Unless additional funding can be added to the current overtime budget line in fiscal 2019 we do not recommend that the official minimum staffing level be formally raised to eight personnel until at least two additional firefighter/paramedics are added in July 2019.

Considering the need to maintain personnel to cover short-term and long-term absences as well as the need to prepare for community growth and increased response demand the MRI team is recommending an incremental plan to be funded for an increase in staffing through the next ten years. If the Town of Westborough is not completely successful in 2018 with their SAFER grant application, we recommend that they continue to apply in future years.

MRI recommends a that the Town’s goal should have shift staffing increased to twelve (12) firefighters/paramedics maximum and ten (10) minimum firefighters/paramedics by 2028. MRI also recommends that the fire department consider adding two and one-half staff positions during the next ten years – a Director/Coordinator of EMS, a full time Training Officer and a part-time Mechanic, to be shared with the Police Department and working at the Department of Public Works.

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Figure VII-6 Westborough Fire Department Proposed 10-Year Staffing Plan

* Potential SAFER Grant Award 8 new firefighters in 2018 Usual annual costs” includes: Standard benefits package (including the average health cost, dental, vision, FICA, life insurance, retirement/pension, etc.) offered by fire departments to first-year (i.e., entry-level) firefighters

Until additional permanent staffing can be added to the department MRI would recommend additional funding in the overtime line item in the Department budget in order to increase the minimum staffing to seven (7) personnel per staff in order to attempt to staff a second ambulance or to staff the Command Car on nights and weekends.

If the town is unable to add staffing through a SAFER grant MRI would recommend at least one additional firefighter/paramedic should be added each year through 2027. Also, the Department should develop a staffing plan for future growth. Using Figure VII-6 as a guideline, by 2024, the department should be staffed with ten personnel per work group and operate with a minimum of nine personnel on-duty at all times. Each shift would be staffed with the following:

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2018 24 min. 32 max 6 8 18,400 37 2.01 3718 $3,313,950

2018/19 25 min. 32 max 7 8 18,400 37 2.01 3718 80,000 $3,393,950

2019/20 32 min. 40 max 8 10 18,989 45 2.37 3885 $200,000 $3,513,950

2020/21 33 min. 40 max 8 10 19,596 45 2.30 PT Fire Mechanic 4060 $200,000 $50,000 $3,563,950

2021/22 34 min. 40 max 8 10 20,224 45 2.23 4243 $560,000 $3,873,950

2022/23 35 min. 40 max 8 10 20,871 45 2.16 4434 $800,000 $4,113,950

2023/24 36 min. 40 max 8 10 21,539 46 2.14 EMS Director 4633 $824,000 $110,000 $4,137,950

2024/25 37 min. 40 max 9 10 22,228 46 2.07 4842 $848,720 $4,162,670

2025/26 36 min. 41 max. 9 11 22,939 51 2.22 Training Officer 5060 $952,720 $110,000 $4,376,670

2026/27 37 min. 41 max. 9 11 23,673 51 2.15 5287 $981,302 $4,295,252

2027/28 38 min. 41 max. 9 11 24,431 51 2.09 5525 $1,010,741 $4,324,691

2028/29 39 min. 42 max. 10 12 25,212 55 2.18 5774 $1,115,741 $4,429,691

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT - 10 YEAR PROPOSED STAFFING PLAN

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8 Personnel Model per Shift • 1 Captain (shift commander)

• 1 Lieutenant

• 6 Firefighters or Firefighter/Paramedics Apparatus/Ambulance Staffing – Maximum

Number of Personnel Assigned

Assignment

1 Command Car – 1 Captain

3 Engine 1- I Lieutenant, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-Advanced

2 Ambulance 2 - 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-Advanced

2 Ladder Truck/Rescue - I Lieutenant, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic – Cross staff second ambulance as may be needed.

8 personnel in total

10 Personnel Model per Shift • 1 Captain (shift commander)

• 2 Lieutenants

• 7 Firefighters or Firefighter/Paramedics

Apparatus/Ambulance Staffing – Maximum (10 personnel)


Assignment



2 Ambulance 1- 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-I


2 Ladder Truck/Rescue - I Lieutenant, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic – cross staff ambulance as needed.


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Apparatus/Ambulance Staffing – Minimum (9 personnel)


Assignment




2 Ambulance 2 -, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-Advanced – cross staff second engine or ladder as needed.

1 Ladder Truck/Rescue - I Firefighter/paramedic


As this report was developed and through discussions with the fire chief it was evident that there will be a need for an additional fire station as the community continues to grow in population, increasing commercial/industrial sites and as the traffic patterns continue to evolve. An additional fire station may be required in the northeast section of the town.

The staffing recommendation outlined in Figure VII-6 would allow for that staffing to be located in two fire stations. If there is a second facility it should be staffed with a lieutenant and two firefighter paramedics on each shift. These personnel would be responsible to cross staff either an engine or an ALS ambulance depending on the nature of the incident.

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12 Personnel Model per Shift Capable of Staffing a Second Facility

• 1 Captain (shift commander)

• 2 Lieutenants

• 9 Firefighters or Firefighter/Paramedics Apparatus/Ambulance Staffing – Maximum (12 personnel)


Assignment





1 Ladder Truck/Rescue - 1 Firefighter/Paramedic and cross staffed with Ambulance 2 personnel

3 Second Station - Engine I Lieutenant, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-I Cross staff an Ambulance


Apparatus/Ambulance Staffing – Minimum (11)


Assignment




2 Ambulance 2 - 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-Advanced cross staff the Ladder Truck or Rescue

3 Second Station - Engine I Lieutenant, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic, I Firefighter/EMT-I Cross staff an Ambulance


If the Town is unsuccessful in being awarded a SAFER grant the MRI team is recommending a staffing plan that will ultimately increase the staffing to the same levels but with a slightly different timeline.

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Figure VI-7 Westborough Fire Department Alternative Proposed 10-Year Staffing Plan without a SAFER

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation VII.1 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of assigning personnel to the ambulance for partial shifts by rotating personnel off the ambulance after 12 -14 hours. Recommendation VII.2 The Westborough Fire Department should review NFPA 1710 and utilize these standards along with the recommendations in this report as a basis to develop an operational strategic plan that identifies actions to enhance compliance over the next five years.

Recommendation VII.3 The Westborough Fire Department Training Officer along with the Deputy Chief should assign a member selected at random to review one SOP and one policy at each shift change briefing and training session. Ultimately, there should be one document that shows all SOPs and

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2018/19 25 min. 32 max 7 8 18,400 37 2.01 3718 $80,000 $3,393,950

2019/20 32 min. 40 max 8 8 18,989 39 2.05 3885 $200,000 $82,400 $3,676,350

2020/21 33 min. 40 max 8 8 19,596 41 2.09 PT Fire Mechanic 4060 $206,000 $50,000 $3,932,350

2021/22 34 min. 40 max 8 9 20,224 43 2.13 4243 $212,180 $4,144,530

2022/23 35 min. 40 max 9 9 20,871 45 2.16 4434 $218,545 $4,363,075

2023/24 36 min. 40 max 9 9 21,539 46 2.14 EMS Director 4633 $0 $110,000 $100,000 $4,573,075

2024/25 37 min. 40 max 9 10 22,228 50 2.25 4842 $412,000 $4,985,075

2025/26 36 min. 41 max. 9 10 22,939 51 2.22 Training Officer 5060 $0 $110,000 $5,095,075

2026/27 37 min. 41 max. 10 10 23,673 51 2.15 5287 $0 $110,000 $5,205,075

2027/28 38 min. 41 max. 10 10 24,431 51 2.09 5525 $0 $5,205,075

2028/29 39 min. 42 max. 10 12 25,212 55 2.18 5774 $424,360 $5,629,435

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT - 10 YEAR PROPOSED STAFFING PLAN without SAFER

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policies have been reviewed and signed off by all personnel, stating they understand the document. Recommendation VII.4 Once implemented, the Westborough Fire Department’s SOPs should be utilized as the basis for all operations. Any deviation should be documented in the National Fire Incident Report completed for the emergency, providing a full narrative on the reasons why. Recommendation VII.5 In April 2018 apply for SAFER Grant. To be used to hire up to 8 firefighters. Recommendation VII.6 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing by 1 firefighter/paramedic per shift during peak response times and allow the Shift Commander to staff the Command Car at a minimum whenever the Chief or Deputy Chief are not on-duty. Recommendation VII.7 The Town of Westborough should consider hiring an additional mechanic for DPW that would be shared by the fire and police departments. This mechanic should be ASE certified, as well as, possessing Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification appropriate to the level of work they are asked to perform. Recommendation VII.8 In July 2023 hire or promote an additional officer as a full-time EMS Director/Coordinator. The department is currently using on-duty staff to complete these crucial functions. We would recommend that those personnel continue to work with the EMS Director as a backup. Recommendation VII.9 In July 2025 hire or promote an additional officer as a full-time Training Officer. The department is currently using the Shift Commanders and the Deputy Chief to complete the training requirements for the department’s crucial functions. We would recommend that those personnel continue to work with the Training Officer as a backup. If successful in receiving a SAFER GRANT: Recommendation VII.10 In July 2019 hire four to eight additional firefighter/paramedic based on SAFER Grant Award. This will raise the department’s minimum staffing level to seven or eight personnel on-duty at all times.

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Recommendation VII.11 In July 2020 hire the remaining SAFER firefighters if not hired in 2019 based on SAFER Grant Award. This will raise the department’s minimum staffing level to eight personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation VII.12 In 2024 increase minimum daily staffing to 9 personnel. Overtime funding may need to be increased. Recommendation VII.13 In July 2025 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic. This will maintain the department’s minimum staffing level to 9 personnel and increase the staffing level to 10 personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation VII.14 In July 2028 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic. This will maintain the department’s minimum staffing level to 10 personnel and increase the staffing level to 12 personnel on-duty at all times. If not fully successful in being awarded a SAFER grant in 2018/19 we recommend that the Town continue to apply for this grant in future years that it remains available. If not successful in procuring a SAFER grant: Recommendation VII.15 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing by 1 firefighter/paramedic per shift during peak response times and allow the Shift Commander to staff the Command Car at a minimum whenever the Chief or Deputy Chief are not on-duty. Recommendation VII.16 In July 2019 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to provide an eighth person on two shifts. These firefighters would be assigned to cover long term absences. Recommendation VII.17 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing to 8 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.18 In July 2020 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily minimum/maximum staffing to eight personnel per shift including officers.

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Recommendation VII.19 In July 2021 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to provide a ninth person on two shifts. These firefighters would be assigned to cover long term absences. Recommendation VII.20 In July 2022 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily minimum/maximum staffing to nine personnel per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.21 In Fiscal year 2023 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing to 9 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.22 In July 2024 hire four additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily maximum staffing to ten personnel per shift. These employees will absorb additional overtime and provide the four workgroups the ability to cover short and long-term absences of two members before overtime is necessary. Recommendation VII.23 In Fiscal year 2026 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum/maximum staffing to 10 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.24 In July 2028 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic.

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CHAPTER VIII

DISPATCH OPERATIONS

OVERVIEW

An efficient communications system is central to the full spectrum of services delivered by the Westborough Fire Department. Encompassed within the communication system are internal and external (inter-agency and public) elements. To be effective and reliable, all emergency services communications must be operational 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Redundancy must be built into the system so that the failure of one or more components will not compromise emergency operations. There must be interoperability between systems to ensure that the emergency services organizations can communicate with federal, state, regional, mutual aid, and other local agencies during a major incident or a catastrophic event. Numerous national standards and agencies are available for referencing acceptable criteria for critical system components. Fire departments are increasingly dependent upon modern technology for communications, information management, incident command, fire inspections, pre-fire planning, records management, third party insurance billing, patient care records, and operational effectiveness.

OBSERVATIONS

The Westborough Fire Department is dispatched through the town’s centralized 911 communications center which also handles all police department communications. The dispatch center is located in the fire station, and since November 2016 has functioned as a division of the fire department. However, the fire chief has full operational oversight. Prior to the 2016 move, the communications center was a part of the police department. The MRI study team was informed that both the fire and police chiefs are very proactive and supportive of the dispatch operation.

The dispatch center is new and modern, and, is located at the far end of the main entrance hallway into the fire department’s administrative wing. It appears to be up-to-date regarding radios and technology. There are two (2) fully equipped Zetron 4048 dispatch consoles available in the main room (Figure VIII-1). There is also a second dispatch room in another area of the station that is outfitted with a fully equipped position (Figure VII-2).

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Figure VIII-1: One of the fully equipped Zetron dispatch consoles.

Figure VIII-2 (left): Additional fully equipped dispatch console in a remote area of the station.

The department utilizes IMC for their computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. The dispatch center has two Vision 21 for receiving alarms from master boxes. Sig Com radio boxes which are currently in use are being phased out. The two units provide not only hardware redundancy, but also for software. It was noted by the MRI study team though, that there was no separate, or distinct ring for a 911 or emergency call as opposed to a business line. Emergency calls should be easy to distinguish from routine business calls.

The department utilizes “I am Responding” to track personnel who are coming in for overtime recalls for emergency incidents. This is one of two systems available to help monitor member response. Both operate on similar principles utilizing cellular phones as the member alerting device. Both are digital messaging systems that delivers alarms, maps, and other critical information instantly to first responders. They also allow response efforts to be monitored in real time.

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These products and other alerting systems integrate cellular phones and smart phones with web-based computer software and which can alert stations, officers, and other crew members that a member is responding to the station and what the estimated time of arrival is. Essentially, the call is dispatched and received through a group paging system. For a recall, the member activates his/her response through one touch of a button on any phone, and their response is registered on all display monitors either fixed or mobile. Monitors are connected to any computer system fixed or mobile. Large monitors in the station would allow arriving members to visualize who is still responding, so that a decision to respond the apparatus with already arrived in-station crew members is better made. Additionally, the command officer could have available in his/her unit a monitor that tells him/her what available crew members are responding to the station and if additional apparatus can be relied on for a specific response.

The dispatch center is staffed by nine (9) full-time, and up to ten (10) part-time (6 positions currently filled with 2 personnel currently in training), civilian dispatchers. One of the full-time dispatchers functions as the dispatch supervisor; however, this dispatcher works a normal rotating shift in the center. Of the current dispatchers just three (3) made to move over from the police department.

Dispatchers work a four (4) days on, two (2) days off work schedule. Part-time personnel can work up to three (3) eight-hour shifts per week. There is a minimum of two (2) dispatchers on duty 24/7. However, an additional dispatcher can be brought in during major emergencies or during times of extremely high call volume. The center may also increase staffing, as necessary, in anticipation of unusual events such as the pending arrival of significant weather events. Fire Department personnel who have completed dispatcher training can also fill in and/or assist in the dispatch center when necessary. All full-time personnel are unionized and are represented by NAGE.

The Westborough dispatch center is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for the town and handles all E-911 calls and emergency communications, as well as all routine telephone traffic for both the police and fire departments. It also handles off hours phone calls and communications for the DPW and animal control. As of the time of this study, the dispatch center had recently started taking 911 calls directly from cell phones, a function that was previously handled by the state police in Framingham. The center monitors both police and fire channels for Northborough, Southborough, Upton, Grafton, and, Hopkinton. The dispatchers also receive and process inspection and permit applications and fees for the fire department if no one else is available. Northborough is the back-up 911 answering point.

All dispatchers are cross trained to perform both police and fire duties. Each has completed the state-mandated 911 and Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) certification courses. Additional certifications for police dispatching include CJIS. As part of their ongoing training they stated doing periodic ride-a-longs with both police and fire personnel in May 2018. They have also

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tried to incorporate dispatcher training into fire department training which was done successfully as a pilot during live fire training in 2017.

Starting in November 2017, the dispatchers perform emergency medical dispatch (EMD) call triaging and, when necessary provide critical emergency care instructions to the caller until first responders arrive on the scene. The chief has directed that all EMS calls receive a QA review which has increased the supervisor’s workload. Although they utilize an EMD system, the department does not utilize as true priority dispatch system for EMS incidents. Rather than categorizing incidents as A (least serious) through E (most critical life threat) as recommended by EMD, the department utilizes a three-tier dispatch system with Tier 1 being the most serious and Tier 3 being the least.

The Westborough Fire Department utilizes a standard Massachusetts 10-alarm run card system for resources. Most of this information is entered into the CAD system so that it is displayed automatically. Hard copy back-up books are located in the dispatch center. The department also has written dispatch procedures on file in the communications center. When a fire reaches the 4th alarm, dispatch and communications are transferred to the Fire District 14 control point in Ashland.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation VIII.1 The Westborough Fire Department should work with the town’s phone system vendor to implement a unique and distinctive sound or ring to distinguish incoming emergency or 9-1-1 calls from other phone calls. Recommendation VIII.2 The Westborough Fire Department should consider having the dispatch center supervisor split his/her time between administrative duties on two days and serving as a first shift dispatcher the other two day. If the workload eventually justifies it, consideration should be given to having the supervisor primarily function in an administrative capacity. Recommendation VIII.3 In addition to completion of the minimum, basic training required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to maximize the level of proficiency and professionalism, ALL dispatch personnel should be required to complete the following advanced training/certification classes.

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COURSE DURATION ON-LINE

Public Safety Telecommunicator 5 days

4 weeks YES

EMD Program 3 weeks YES

Emergency Medical Dispatch 5.3 (40 hours) 6 weeks YES

Law Enforcement Communications 6 weeks YES

Fire Service Communications 4 days

6 weeks YES

Disaster Operations & the Communications Center

1 day

3 weeks YES

Active Shooter Incidents for Public Safety Communications

1 day

3 weeks YES

Crisis Negotiations for Telecommunicators 1 day

3 weeks YES

Customer Service in Today’s Public Safety Communications

1 day

3 weeks YES

Comprehensive Quality On Line 4 weeks Yes

FIGURE VII-3: RECOMMENDED MINIMUM TRAINING FOR ALL DISPATCH PERSONNEL

Recommendation VIII.4 The dispatch supervisor should be required to complete appropriate supervisory, management, and leadership training courses, and/or certification programs.

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COURSE DURATION ON-LINE

Communications Center Training Officer 3 days

6 weeks YES

Communications Training Officer Instructor 5 days

6 weeks YES

Emergency Medical Dispatcher Course Instructor

5 days

6 weeks YES

Communications Center Supervisor Course 3 days

5 weeks YES

EMD Manager 1 day

3 weeks YES

Public Safety Communications Staffing & Employee Retention

1 day

3 weeks YES

Leadership Certificate Program Offered Quarterly

YES

FIGURE VIII-4: RECOMMENDED TRAINING FOR DISPATCH CENTER SUPERVISOR

Recommendation VIII.5 The Westborough Fire and Police Departments are encouraged to continue the beneficial ride along program for dispatchers. Both departments should also work with the dispatch center supervisor to identify other potential areas where dispatcher training could be incorporated as part of fire or police training. Recommendation VIII.6 The Westborough dispatch center should adopt an EMD incident priority matrix utilizing recognized classifications (A = minor to E = most severe) to denote call severity and resources/level of response to be initially dispatched. Recommendation VIII.7 The Town of Westborough should consider the installation of a traffic signal in front of the fire station that is activated by responding units to facilitate a more rapid response of units from the station.

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CHAPTER IX

FACILITIES, APPARATUS, AND EQUIPMENT

FACILITIES OVERVIEW Fire and EMS/rescue stations are critical community assets. The station facilities of modern fire departments and emergency medical services providers are designed to do much more than simply provide a garage for apparatus or vehicles and a place for personnel to respond to or to wait for a call. Well-designed fire and EMS facilities enable staff to perform their duties effectively, efficiently, and safely. A fire station should, at a minimum, provide adequate, efficiently designed space for the following functions:

➢ Housing of fire apparatus and ambulances, with adequate space for apparatus length and height (and the housing of all equipment, including staff, service and support vehicles including trailers)

➢ On-duty crew quarters, with sufficient toilet/shower/locker room space for both sexes ➢ Adequate sized sleeping facilities ➢ Kitchen and eating area ➢ Training and meeting space ➢ Administrative offices ➢ Vehicle maintenance (as necessary) ➢ Hose drying and storage (as necessary) ➢ Supply and equipment storage ➢ Public entrance/reception area

Fire stations are unique facilities in that they must accommodate extremely diverse functions, including living quarters, recreation, administration, training, community education, equipment and vehicle storage, equipment and vehicle maintenance, and hazardous materials storage. While it is usually only occupied by fire department personnel, the facility may also need to accommodate members of the public who visit for station tours, public education presentations, and to discuss building projects, or apply for permits. Many fire stations are occupied twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, by on-duty personnel standing by to respond to emergency incidents. It is important that existing fire stations are properly maintained, and any future stations are designed and constructed in such a manner that employees can perform their duties efficiently and effectively. Fire and rescue station facilities should be an important component of a municipal capital improvement plan (CIP). A long-term plan should be in place that takes into consideration the expected life expectancy of a facility, space needs, technology needs, and location

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requirements, based on response times, travel distance, changes in community development patterns, and regional fire protection capabilities. The construction of fire stations is a costly proposition that should be planned well in advance in order to balance other community needs for capital projects. OBSERVATIONS The Westborough Fire Department currently operates from a single station located at 42 Milk Street in downtown Westborough. This is a brand new, 30,000 square foot, state of the art facility that opened in 2014 (Figures IX-1 through IX-3).

Figure IX-1: Front view of Westborough Fire Headquarters.

Figure IX-2: Side view of station with secondary apparatus bays.

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Figure IX-3: Main entrance hallway into administrative area. Meeting/training room is on the left, fire prevention is on the left at the end of the hallway, and the dispatch center is straight ahead at the windows.

The facility houses the department’s administrative offices including the fire chief’s office, deputy chief’s office, space for administrative staff, fire prevention office, a training/meeting room that can be converted into an emergency operations center (EOC) (Figure IX-4), and service areas for all equipment and apparatus. The department’s apparatus and vehicles are stored in eight (8) double deep apparatus bays (Figures IX-5 and Figure IX-6). The bays are not drive-through type. The station also houses the town’s consolidated dispatch center for both fire and police operations (Figure IX-7).

Figure IX-4: Training/meeting room that can be converted into an EOC.

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Figure IX-5 (left): Main apparatus bay.

Figure IX-6 (right): Main apparatus bay with secondary apparatus bay visible to the left.

Figure IX-7: Consolidated fire and police dispatch.

As is the case with career fire departments, the station has living quarters for the on-duty career personnel. This includes kitchen, dining, day room areas, individual bunk rooms, a physical fitness room, a utility/laundry room, bathroom/shower facilities, and the EMS equipment storage room (Figure IX-8). Storage areas in the station were adequate, though like most fire departments there never seems to be adequate store areas. The facility has separate storage space for both fire and EMS equipment, firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) and a dedicated bio hazard decontamination area (Figure IX-9).

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Figure IX-8 (left): EMS equipment and supplies storage room.

Figure IX-9 (right): Decontamination area.

The building is equipped throughout with automatic fire alarms (including smoke detectors) and fire suppression (sprinkler) systems. This building is also equipped with video monitoring and access control systems. Current industry best practice requires these systems be installed to provide an enhanced level of safety and security. The MRI study team toured the station and found it more than adequate for its current operational purposes. The station is well-maintained from a housekeeping and general maintenance perspective with the routine daily maintenance and housekeeping is conducted by on-duty fire personnel. This is typical of most fire departments. The administrative, living and kitchen area still look like new with minimal signs of wear. The crew quarters are adequate. Bunk rooms appeared adequate. The exterior of the site is adequate for the operational needs of the department. There is adequate parking for employees, staff, and visitors. The fire department property is well-maintained and was landscaped. Overall, this station is in excellent condition. The station is equipped with a diesel-powered emergency standby generator that starts automatically upon an interruption in the power. While it was reported to the MRI team that the generator is tested and run on a periodic basis, written test/inspection records were not reviewed. The station is equipped with a source capture vehicle exhaust extraction system. These units are designed to limit the exposure of building occupants to exhaust fumes from hydrocarbon emissions from units currently assigned/stored there. Even though it is only about three years old and in overall excellent condition, there were several issues of concern that were brought to the attention of the MRI study team. These include:

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➢ The HVAC system has trouble maintaining constant temperatures within the building

in both hot and cold weather. The boilers also seem to have difficulty providing

adequate warmth to the building.

➢ The acoustics in the apparatus bays make it difficult to hear and understand radio

and dispatch transmissions. The MRI study team personally witnessed this issue

during our field visit. This can slow dispatch to emergency incidents or result in key

incident information being missed or misunderstood.

➢ The vehicle exhaust extraction system motors are installed inside the apparatus

bays. This results in additional background noise when they are operating and

provides an area of potential leak of exhaust fumes before they reach the exterior of

the building.

The MRI study team also noted that the station’s apparatus bays are very large, and, that the fire apparatus is generally deployed from the main apparatus bays while the ambulances are deployed from the secondary apparatus bays. With the department experiencing frequent simultaneous emergency incidents, and with staffing often at a minimum, personnel must often jump from vehicle to vehicle depending upon the nature of the call, and the personnel available. This requires personnel to move their PPE from one vehicle to another, which are often located a considerable distance from each other. This serves to slow turnout time which increases overall response time. Although the relocation of units would be ideal this effort may be frustrated by space and logistical issues which may make relocation of units impractical. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation IX.1 The Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department should take steps to address and mitigate the station issues identified particularly the apparatus bay acoustical concerns. Since the station is just three years old, the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department, in conjunction with their legal counsel should determine if correction of any of the stations concerns identified would still be covered under the initial construction warranty of the facility. Recommendation IX.2 The Westborough Fire Department should periodically conduct third party air quality testing of its fire station.

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NEED FOR AN ADDITIONAL STATION The location of a fire station in a community is as important an issue as the functionality of a station. The locations of fire stations in every community are typically based on a historical or anticipated need at the time the station was built, as well as the town’s infrastructure at that time. The area of the town that a fire station is in must take into consideration the needs of the community based on its current and future needs and the level of service it is intended to provide. Today, many communities are taking into consideration their master planning documents, regional economic growth patterns, and potential demographic changes when determining the potential future need for new fire station locations. Getting emergency assistance to the scene of a 911 caller in the quickest time possible may be critical to the survival of the patient, and/or successful mitigation of the incident. Achieving the quickest and safest response times possible should be a fundamental goal of every fire department. Fire departments are being held increasingly accountable for their response times and the consequences of extended or inadequate responses. The performance and effectiveness of fire department operations can be significantly impacted by the time it takes for them to arrive on the scene of an emergency incident. The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) report, Structure Fire Response Times, has a useful framework for total emergency incident response time, including definitions and components. The same report notes that about half of structure fires confined to the room of origin (51%) and confined to the floor of origin (51%) had a response time of less than five minutes. Also, as previously noted, heart attack and stroke victims require rapid intervention, care, and transport to a medical facility. The longer the time duration without care, the less likely the patient is to fully recover. Numerous studies have shown that irreversible brain damage can occur if the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than four minutes. In addition, the potential for successful resuscitation during cardiac arrest decreases exponentially with each passing minute that cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or cardiac defibrillation is delayed. As discussed in other sections of this report, although reliable response data is not available prior to 2017, anecdotally, it appears that long-term, the Westborough Fire Department may have need for an additional station in the northeastern part of the town. Continued commercial growth and development along the Route 9 corridor and around the Interstate 495/Route 9 interchange, along with the planned redevelopment of the old Westborough State Hospital all point to a continued gradual increase in call volume. The state hospital redevelopment is targeted to residents ages 55 and older who typically require EMS services more frequently than younger residents. In addition, the travel distances to these areas of the town, along with the associated increased traffic, signalization, and potential increased congestion, suggest that response times will increase and not achieve recommended first unit on scene benchmarks. This is an area that the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department will need to

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closely monitor over the next several years. We anticipate that the opening of this station occurs in approximately 2026. As such we propose the following timeline:

➢ 2018 – 2021: Evaluation of annual call volume and response times to identify trends and statistical need for station (including 2017 data to provide a five-year trend). Identify potential station sites.

➢ 2022: Formation of a building committee (If data indicates a need).

➢ 2022/2023: Feasibility study conducted on new station.

➢ 2024/2025: Architectural design developed, and funding procured.

➢ 2026: Construction and occupancy of new station.

There is no specific template for fire station design and construction. Each station must be designed to meet the unique needs of the community it will serve. National best practices, such as guidance provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommend that among other things the following features be included in modern fire and rescue station capabilities:

➢ Seismic-resistant construction (based on local risk assessment)

➢ Flood hazard protection (based on local risk assessment)

➢ Automatic fire sprinkler system and smoke detection system

➢ Carbon monoxide detectors

➢ Vehicle exhaust extraction system

➢ Capability to decontaminate, launder and dry personal protective equipment,

station uniforms and tools and equipment

➢ Adequate facility security

➢ Emergency power supply and system redundancy

➢ Exercise and training area(s)

➢ Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

➢ Compliance with current fire and building codes

➢ Adequate storage for supplies and equipment, including emergency medical and

disaster supplies

➢ Adequate parking for on-duty personnel, administrative staff, and visitors

➢ Capability for future expansion

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Figure IX-10 is a rendering of what a station of this nature could look like.

Figure IX-10: Example of a small two bay substation.

If completed, the development of this substation will require a change in deployment strategy. This facility should be equipped with a fire suppression unit and an ALS ambulance and be staffed with three personnel, a lieutenant and two firefighter paramedics. Once this station is open and staffed, the minimum on-duty shift strength should be increased to a minimum of 12 personnel per shift. In terms of industry best practice, we find that fire departments that respond to more than 3,000 calls per year typically have multiple staffed deployment points. The benefit produced by this substation is that it spreads career forces to two points of immediate deployment and minimizes overall response time. In short, this strategy will enable the department to provide a larger high response zone with optimal response times of 4-6 minutes. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation IX.3 The Westborough Fire Department should carefully track incident response numbers and response times for 2017 through 2021, and, utilizing GPS plot these data points on maps to determine the need for a second fire station in the northeast quadrant of the town. During this time potential station locations should also be identified. Recommendation IX.4 If the five-year data analysis supports the need for a second fire station, the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department should initiate the design and development of a new substation in the Northeast quadrant of the town in 2022. The following timeline should be considered to meet this goal:

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➢ 2022: Formation of a building committee. ➢ 2022/2023: Feasibility study conducted on new station. ➢ 2024/2025: Architectural design developed, and funding procured. ➢ 2026: Construction and occupancy of new station.

The new substation should be staffed with a lieutenant and two firefighter/paramedics on a 24/7 basis.

APPARATUS OVERVIEW The resources that the fire department uses to perform its core mission, and mitigate a wide range of emergency incidents, are generally divided into two major categories; apparatus and tools/equipment. Apparatus generally includes the department’s motorized vehicle fleet and includes the major emergency response apparatus such as engines (pumpers), aerial apparatus/tower ladders, rescue vehicles, and ambulances. Specialized apparatus includes emergency units such as marine units, lighting plants, brush trucks, and other off-road vehicles. They also often include trailers for specialized applications such as technical rescue, hazardous materials response/equipment, hazardous material decontamination, structural collapse rescue equipment, breathing air/light support units, foam units/supplies, and mass casualty incident supplies. Support vehicles that are critical to fire department operations, both routine and emergency, include command post and emergency communications units, command/staff vehicles, and maintenance trucks. The geography, infrastructure, hazards, and construction features within the community all play a major role in determining the composition of each department’s unique and individualized apparatus fleet and equipment inventory. Westborough’s environment presents the fire department with a wide variety of strategic and tactical challenges related to emergency response preparedness and mitigation. These include a major interstate highway, rail lines both passenger and freight including a freight yard where hazardous materials are transloaded from one vehicle to another, and water rescue incidents. There are numerous commercial and industrial facilities throughout the town. For many locations or facilities, these challenges may include, but not are limited to, firefighting, emergency medical responses, complex incidents requiring special operations capabilities such as technical rescue and hazardous materials emergencies. Commercial buildings and target hazards present much different hazards and challenges than those required for operations in single-family dwellings. Congestion and access limitations can present different concerns for fire department tactical operations in areas of the town that have older, narrower streets. All these factors, as well as projected future needs, must be taken

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into consideration when specifying and purchasing fire department apparatus and equipment. Every effort should be made to make new apparatus as versatile and multi-functional/capable as is possible and practical. OBSERVATIONS The MRI study team performed a visual inspection of the Westborough Fire Department’s apparatus and vehicle fleets during our site visits. The team also reviewed maintenance records and procedures. It was apparent to the MRI team that the fleet was well-maintained and appropriate in size for the department and the services that they provide. The current Westborough Fire Department apparatus fleet consists of:

➢ Three (3) engine/pumpers

➢ One (1) combination pumper/rescue truck (Note: This unit is scheduled for replacement

in 2018 with a dedicated rescue truck.)

➢ One (1) 105’ aerial ladder

➢ One (1) forestry unit

➢ Three (3) ALS transport ambulances

➢ One (1) ALS intercept vehicle

➢ One (1) squad/utility

➢ One (1) foam trailer

➢ One (1) dive/water rescue unit

➢ One (1) command vehicle

➢ Four (4) staff vehicles

➢ Two (2) boats

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The department’s apparatus fleet is appropriate for the services provided and for the size of the community. The Westborough fleet is similar in size to the communities that were utilized for comparative analysis (figure IX.11).

FIGURE IX.11: APPARATUS COMPARISON TABLE FROM BENCHMARKING SURVEY

APPARATUS

PU

MP

ERS

AER

IALS

RES

CU

ES

WA

TER

TEN

DER

S

BR

USH

UN

ITS

AM

BU

LAN

CES

CO

MM

AN

D V

EHIC

LES

STA

FF V

EHIC

LES

UTI

LITY

VEH

ICLE

S

BO

ATS

MO

BIL

E C

ASC

AD

E/SC

BA

SPECIALTY UNITS

COMMUNITY

BELMONT 4 2 0 0 1 3 1 4 1 0 0 Tactical rescue trailer

FRANKLIN 4 1 0 0 2 3 0 4 1 0 0 1 – ATV 1 – Rehab. Bus.

LEXINGTON 4 1 0 0 1 3 1 4 1 1 0

NEEDHAM 3 2 0 0 1 3 1 5 1 1 0

Polaris UTV County foam trailer and mass decon. unit

NORTHAMPTON 4 1 1 0 1 5 1 5 1 1 0

READING 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 0 1

WESTWOOD 3 2 0 0 3 3 1 2 1 0 0 Spare SUV

WESTBOROUGH 3 1 1 0 1 3 1 4 1 2 0 Foam trailer

Westborough is also close to national averages regarding the current size and configuration of its apparatus fleet when compared to communities with comparable populations. The average community of Westborough’s size has:

➢ 3.4 pumpers (47.2% have either 3 or 4 pumps)

➢ 2.5 other fire suppression vehicles such as tenders, brush trucks, etc. (22.8% have 1, 20.1% have 2, 21.1% have 3 or 4)

➢ 1 aerial (nearly 50% do not have an aerial but 47.1% have 1)

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The age of the major firefighting apparatus currently in-service ranges from 22 years old for Engine 2 to just over two years old for the newest unit, Engine 4. The department’s single aerial ladder is approximately 17 years old. The medic units range in age from 8 years old for Medic 1 to 2 years old for Medic 2. In addition to its major apparatus and ambulances, the department also operates several other emergency response, command, and staff vehicles. The following summarizes the Westborough Fire Department vehicle fleet (figures VIII-12 – VIII-29).

Figure IX-12: Engine 2; 1996 Pierce Saber pumper Figure IX-13: Engine 3: 2005 E-One Typhoon pumper 1250 GPM pump capacity; 750-gallon water tank; 1500 GPM pump capacity; 750-gallon water tank Fair condition Good condition

Figure IX-14: Engine 4: 2016 E-OneTyphoon pumper Figure IX-15: Rescue 1: 1998 Pierce Saber pumper 1500 GPM pump capacity; 730-gallon water tank; 1250 GPM pump capacity; 750-gallon water tank 40 gallons Class A foam; 10 gallons Class B foam Hydraulic rescue tools Excellent condition Poor condition – Out of Service (Being replaced in 2018)

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Figure IX-16: Ladder1: 2001 HME/Smeal ladder Figure IX-17: Forestry 1: 1999 Ford/Fire 1 4x4

110-foot rear mount ladder 500-gallon pump capacity; 300-gallon water tank; Fair condition 10 gallons Class A foam

Good condition

Figure IX-18: Medic 1: 2010 Ford E-450/Horton Figure IX-19: Medic 2: 2016 Ford F-550/Lifeline Type III modular ambulance Type III modular ambulance

Fair condition Excellent condition

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Figure IX-20: Medic 3: 2013 GMC 4500/Horton

Type III modular ambulance Good condition

Figure IX-21: Squad 1: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado Figure IX-22: Foam Trailer: 2014 Fire 1 foam trailer Utility vehicle for foam trailer 500-gallon Universal Gold foam tank Excellent condition Excellent condition Obtained with CSX railroad mitigation funds.

Figure IX-23: Boat 2: 2009 Carlinin Figure IX-24: Boat 1: 1997 Calkin Boat 19-foot flat bottom boat Inflatable boat Very good condition Good condition

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Figure IX-25: Dive Unit: 2004 Ford E-450/Horton

Former Medic 3 Good condition

Figure IX-26: Car 1 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe FC Figure IX-27: Car 3: 2007 Chevrolet Suburban Car 2 – 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe – DC Command/EMS intercept vehicle Command vehicles Good condition Excellent condition

Figure IX-28: Car 4: 2015 Ford Explorer Figure IX-29: Car 5: 2012 Ford Expedition Staff/Inspector vehicle Staff/Inspector vehicle Excellent condition Very Good condition

A possibility that the fire department might consider should the town decide to build and staff a new station 2 is to combine a pumper and aerial ladder functions into a 75’ single axle

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“Quint”. A quint is a fire service apparatus that serves the dual purpose of an engine and a ladder truck (Figure IX-30). This type of fire apparatus provides the ability to perform five functions: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device, and ground ladders. Combining an engine/pumper and aerial ladder into a single unit can satisfy operational needs that cannot be met by staffing two separate pieces of apparatus. Long term, with adding a quint to its apparatus fleet, Westborough will have a diverse firefighting resource that provides maximum operational flexibility and options for safe, effective and efficient options, particularly when operating with the minimal staffing levels that the department operates with.

Figure IX-30: Example of a quint with a 1500 GPM fire pump,500-gallon water tank, and 75' ladder.

Despite the lack of clear guidance in the various NFPA standards, there is a significant body of knowledge that suggests that fire apparatus definitely has a finite life span. The reasonable serviceable life span of fire apparatus will depend on a number of variables such as the level of use, local environment and operating conditions, and very importantly, the scope of preventative maintenance. It is generally accepted that lower use fire apparatus, such as units serving communities that are suburban in nature, might still be mechanically sound after twenty years or more due to their lower frequency of use. However, after twenty years, technical and functional obsolescence may make the apparatus less desirable to use, even if mechanically sound and serviceable. However, that does not mean that it will still not be serviceable as a spare or reserve apparatus.

A white paper developed by the Fire Apparatus Manufacturer’s Association (FAMA) suggests that the front-line life span of active duty fire apparatus in a suburban setting ranges from 16 to 19 years, with the possibility of an additional 9 to 10 years in a reserve, or spare status. The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) suggests that the life span of a fire pumper should be 20 years, and the life span of an aerial ladder should be 25 years.

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One common recommended practice is to purchase one major piece of fire apparatus every 5 years. The goal of this strategy is to spread major purchases out over time in an effort to allow the governmental entity to maintain a consistent level of debt service. Regardless, the decision is left to each locality and represents a balancing of numerous factors: fire department activity levels, maintenance costs and history, individual vehicle reliability, funding availability, technological changes, firefighter safety, and vehicle use. Fire apparatus must be replaced before it becomes unreliable, but it must be held in service for as long as practical to maximize the benefit of the large initial investment from the community.

One of the biggest factors that can impact serviceable life of the apparatus is the level of preventative maintenance that it receives. NFPA 1911: Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus (2012 edition), provides guidance on this important aspect of fire department support operations. Apparatus manufacturers also identify suggested programs and procedures to be performed at various intervals. As apparatus ages, it is reasonable to expect that parts will wear out and need to be replaced. It follows then that maintenance costs and overall operating expenses will increase. As a result, cost history and projected costs for the future must be considered as a factor in determining when to replace or refurbish a fire apparatus. In addition, reliability of the apparatus must be considered. Experiencing low downtime and high parts availability are critical factors for emergency equipment maintenance and serviceability. A pro-active preventative maintenance program can assist with holding costs to an acceptable level.

Each community determines how they will provide maintenance and repairs to their apparatus and vehicle fleet. This is typically based on the size of the department, the size of the fleet, and if the town’s repair facility and its mechanics are capable of performing the specialized mechanical repairs that are required with fire apparatus and emergency vehicles.

At the time of this assessment, the department had a retired firefighter who works part time performing maintenance on the fleet. He is assisted by a current firefighter who also does maintenance work part time on his shift. The department will use a private vendor and/or the vehicle dealership for more specialized maintenance and repairs, such as is necessary for the fire pumps, aerial ladder, technical equipment on ambulances, etc. It should be noted that while the police department utilizes the DPW garage for some of their vehicle maintenance needs, there is no mechanic dedicated to the emergency services.

Utilizing outside vendors to perform routine repairs and preventive maintenance activities as well as some major repairs to emergency vehicles is not always the most a cost-effective manner to maintain the operating fleet. Depending upon the type of facility they are sent to, the personnel may not possess the recommended emergency vehicle technician (EVT) certification for working on emergency vehicles. The Town of Westborough should investigate hiring an additional mechanic at DPW that would be shared with the police department and dedicated to maintenance and repair of fire and police vehicles. Another option would be

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sharing a fully trained and EVT certified mechanic with several area communities which might prove to be more efficient and provide cost savings. More complex tasks and specialized repairs should continue to be contracted out to specialized repair shops (i.e. drive train, fire pumps, aerial ladder systems, etc.). This practice is common for fire departments that are similar in size to Westborough.

All fire pumps are serviced and tested annually by Bulldog Fire and Emergency Apparatus located in Hopkinton. Bulldog is an authorized KME maintenance facility. The aerial ladder on Ladder was tested by Smeal Fire Apparatus in 2017. In previous years, the aerial was tested by American Test Center. Hose and ground ladders are tested on an annual basis by Fail Safe Hose Testing. All these tests are required annually by various NFPA and ISO standards, along with manufacturer’s recommendations. This testing and inspections should continue at intervals of no greater than 12 months.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation IX.5 The Westborough Fire Department in conjunction with the Town of Westborough should develop a 10-15-year Capital Replacement Plan for all apparatus, ambulances and vehicles. By utilizing such a plan, the need to replace more than one apparatus during a short period of time will be minimized. By maintaining such a plan, the Department will be able to have the newest pieces as front line while maintaining the older apparatus and ambulances as reserves. Recommendation IX.6 The Westborough Fire Department should consider the future acquisition of a “quint” apparatus that has a 95’ aerial ladder and is configured to also fully function as a fire pumper to be assigned to a new station 2. Recommendation IX.7 The Westborough Fire Department should consider having all existing department vehicles retrofitted with reflective safety striping in accordance with NFPA 1901. All future vehicles should also be appropriately striped including command, staff, and utility vehicles3. Recommendation IX.8 The Westborough Fire Department should give consideration should be given to equipping any new apparatus with lighted traffic arrow devices mounted high enough on the vehicle to

3 The Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study (Federal Emergency Management Agency, FA-323, August 2009)

provides valuable information about vehicle marking (see http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_323.pdf).

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permit visibility by approaching vehicles, especially during responses on the interstate highway system and other higher speed roads.

Recommendation IX.9 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual pump testing in accordance with NFPA and ISO standards. Pump tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.10 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual hose testing in accordance with NFPA and ISO standards. Hose tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.11 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual ground ladder and aerial apparatus testing in accordance with NFPA standards. Ladder and aerial tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.12 When purchasing new apparatus and ambulances, the Westborough Fire Department should adopt a policy of purchasing new NFPA 1901 compliant and updated EMS equipment when a new apparatus or ambulance is purchased. This policy will ensure that equipment is the most technologically up-to-date and that it is safe and functional. It will also make it possible to keep reserve apparatus and ambulances fully equipped for immediate use. Recommendation IX.13 The Westborough Fire Department should review the recommendations contained in NFPA Standard 1911, Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus (National Fire Protection Association, 2016 Edition) and use it as a guide to revise and update the vehicle fleet maintenance program as may be necessary. Recommendation IX.14 The Town of Westborough should consider hiring an additional mechanic for DPW that would be shared by the fire and police departments. This mechanic should be ASE certified, as well as, possessing Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification appropriate to the level of work they are asked to perform.

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FIRE EQUIPMENT

OVERVIEW

The tools and equipment that a fire department utilizes cover a wide assortment of resources necessary to effectively, efficiently, and safely respond to, and mitigate, a wide range of emergency incidents. These resources include, but are certainly not limited to, the firefighters personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), hose, nozzles, adapters, master stream appliances4, ground ladders, radios, hydraulic rescue tools and equipment, and various hand and power tools.

The fire service has experienced tremendous technological advances in equipment, procedures, and training, over the past fifty years. Improved personal protective equipment (PPE), the mandatory use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), large diameter hose, better and lighter hose lines and nozzles, and thermal imaging cameras are just a few of the numerous advances in equipment that have enabled firefighters to perform their duties more effectively, efficiently, safely, and with fewer personnel. However, the fact still remains that emergency scenes present a dynamic, dangerous, frequently unpredictable, and rapidly changing environment where conditions can deteriorate very quickly and place firefighters in extreme personal danger. The technology and standards for fire department equipment are constantly evolving to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and safety of firefighters.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2009 edition) and ISO provide standards for the minimum complement of equipment carried on fire apparatus. It is important to recognize that each agency has different requirements for apparatus and equipment. NFPA focuses broadly on the safety and performance of the apparatus, while ISO focuses specifically on the fire suppression capabilities of the apparatus as it potentially can impact the fire insurance rating for a community. These differences are most significant for equipment carried on pumpers and aerials. Differences between NFPA and ISO equipment for pumpers include hose, monitors, ground ladders, foam and radios. Differences for aerial equipment include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), ground ladders and radios.

OBSERVATIONS

The Westborough Fire Department’s apparatus has a typical selection of portable hand, power, and service tools and equipment utilized for firefighting and other emergency operations. For the most part, the equipment appears to be well organized and well maintained. It appears that

4 “Master streams” are large capacity nozzles that can be placed on the ground or are affixed to aerial devices.

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most apparatus closely meets the minimum NFPA and ISO requirements for equipment to be carried. The department maintains what appears to be a fairly comprehensive inventory of the equipment carried on each vehicle.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes the full ensemble that encapsulates a firefighter who will be engaging in firefighting operations: helmet, Nomex® hood, turnout coat, turnout pants, boots, SCBA, gloves, eye shield, and station uniform. The specifications and related requirements for PPE can be found in various NFPA standards. The use of PPE is regulated by OSHA.

The department used to utilize Fire Dex PPE but has now switched to Globe. The department replaced 100% of their PPE in 2009 with funding obtained through an Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) Grant. The current edition of NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care and Maintenance of Protective Ensemble for Structural Firefighting and Proximity Firefighting recommends that firefighter PPE be replaced at no greater than 10-year intervals. Westborough fully complies with this recommendation in that the oldest gear in use is 9 years old. The MRI study team performed a random visual inspection of several sets of PPE and found them to be in good condition. The department conducts a formal PPE inspection annually in June.

Almost all department personnel have been issued a 2nd set of PPE to use as a back-up. PPE used to be considered a capital expense, but the town changed that to an annual line item in the fire department budget. An annual appropriation of $20,000 is dedicated for gear replacement allowing the department to purchase about 8 new sets each year. Firefighter protective hoods are replaced annually (with a different color), and gloves are replaced every two years. The Westborough Fire Department should be commended for these progressive practices.

The regular cleaning of PPE ensures that dangerous and unhealthy contaminants from fire scenes, accidents, medical calls, and hazardous materials incidents are removed from PPE in order to avoid long-term exposure to firefighters and their families. The MRI team saw an extractor -a heavy duty commercial washing machine used for PPE - at the station. It appeared to the MRI team that this equipment was used regularly.

The Westborough Fire Department has a total of 39 in-service self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) (not including RIT packs). All are variations of the Scott model 50 all utilizing 45-minute duration air cylinders and comply with the NFPA 2002 SCBA standard. The SCBA appear to be properly maintained and are equipped with integrated personal alert safety system (PASS) devices, heads-up displays (HUD) that allow the user to monitor his/her air supply through an electronic display in the wearer’s face piece, and universal RIT connections.

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Annual flow testing of SCBA is required by NFPA Standard 1852, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and manufacturer’s recommendations. This testing is performed as required.

As required by NFPA standards the department does have one (1) SCBA for each riding position on each piece of apparatus (except the forestry unit) including the driver. This includes the medic units.

SCBA inspections are performed monthly during the apparatus and equipment inspections and other times after use. One member on each shift has been certified as Scott field level maintenance technicians. This allows them to perform repairs on SCBA such as replacing batteries in the PASS devices and changing straps and buckles. Flow testing is conducted on an annual basis as required by NFPA and manufacturer’s recommendations. This testing is performed by an outside vendor.

All personnel are issued their own personal SCBA mask as is the commonly accepted practice in the fire service. The rationale for issuing individual facemasks is to minimize the chance of exposure/transmission of infectious and/or communicable diseases and other illnesses (even the common cold) between members. Each member having their own personal mask also insures that they are wearing a correctly sized, properly fitting mask, not just the mask that happened to be available.

The OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, and NFPA Standard 1500, Standard Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program mandate that annual SCBA mask fit testing be completed, after personnel have been medically cleared to wear SCBA. The Westborough Fire Department does perform this testing annually with a company that provides the testing right at the station.

Four (4) rapid intervention team (RIT) packs (a portable air supply for providing air to a downed or trapped firefighter) have been purchased and are carried on Engine 2, Engine 3, Engine 4, and Ladder 1. They are equipped with a 60-minute, 4,500 PSI air cylinder and outfitted with emergency buddy breathing attachments. There is also (1) spare 60-minute cylinder for each RIT pack.

SCBA breathing air refilling is accomplished with a compressor/cascade system located in a storage room off the apparatus bay. The compressor obtains its intake air from the exterior of the station, as is proper. The department does have a contract for annual servicing and testing. Air quality sampling/testing is done on an annual basis to ensure the air quality being produced by the compressor is at least Grade “D” as required by the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard. Complete test results for each test, as well as previous certificates, are maintained in a central file. Due to its location in a confined area hearing protection is mandatory when operating the compressor.

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It is the current best practice in the fire service that every firefighter who is wearing SCBA and/or entering an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) should be equipped with a portable radio. Should a firefighter become trapped, lost, disoriented, or experience any other type of emergency, he/she can summon help on the portable radio. Many departments now have a portable radio assigned to either every riding position on every piece of apparatus, and/or to every on-duty member. In Westborough every firefighter is assigned their own personal portable radio, spare battery, and charger. The radios are Motorola XPX8000 models that have both UHF and VHF capabilities. Officer radios are also 800 MHz compatible. These radios were approved at town meeting in March of 2017 and placed in service in July. The Westborough Fire Department currently has several sets of Hurst hydraulic rescue tools (Jaws of Life) located on several vehicles. This equipment consists of spreader jaws, cutters and rams. This equipment is very important to the department’s overall operations due to the traffic in the town. It also has a set of Vetter high pressure rescue air bags. Rescue 1 has a complete, fixed, on board set of tools while Ladder 1 is outfitted with a portable set. Engine 4 has a small combination tool for doing door pops and other minor extrications. There is an annual service/maintenance contract in place for these units with Firematic from Milford, and they are serviced on an annual basis.

Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) are valuable pieces of equipment used by firefighters during fire incidents. By rendering infrared radiation as visible light, such cameras allow firefighters to see areas of heat through smoke, darkness, or heat-permeable barriers. Thermal imaging cameras pick up body and other types of heat, and, are used to more quickly locate and remove trapped fire victims. They are also often used to find hidden fire behind closed walls. Most thermal imaging cameras are handheld, but, may also be helmet-mounted.

The Westborough Fire Department has five handheld thermal imaging cameras. Each engine has one, as does the ladder truck and the rescue. The TICs appeared to be well maintained. The fire department has an annual service/maintenance contract in place for these units and they are serviced on an annual basis.

The multi-gas meter is a small hand-held device that can detect natural gas, CO, and oxygen depleted environments allowing firefighters to identify and monitor hazardous environments. The department has two (2) combustible 5 gas detectors/meters, and one (1) four gas meter. It also has numerous single gas detection meters. All are maintained and calibrated in house by department personnel. The Westborough Fire Department serves as a regional dive rescue team with 12 personnel certified as divers. All these personnel have their own dive suits, buoyancy control (BC) devices, and regulators. They currently share Auger masks with built in communications equipment. All equipment is located on the dive unit.

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All three ambulances, Engine 4 which is the primary fire suppression unit, and the new rescue are equipped with mobile data terminals, specifically Panasonic Toughbooks. These rugged laptop computers enable fire officers and firefighters to access critical information about buildings from the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system while responding or on the emergency scene. Available CAD system information can include additional incident information, medical information, complete building pre-plan information including photos and diagrams, hazardous materials information, and other pertinent information, all accessible on the MDTs, and in real time. It was reported to the MRI study team that at the time of this assessment that although the MDTs do interface with the CAD there have been problems with getting pertinent information uploaded into the system. The department has only done limited pre-fire/incident planning, and what has been done is not in a form that can be accessed electronically by an officer on an incident scene. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation IX.15 The Westborough Fire Department should consider increasing the frequency of the air quality tests of the breathing air being produced by the air compressor from annually to quarterly to better ensure that it always remains a minimum of Grade “D”. Recommendation IX.16 Working in conjunction with the town’s IT department or provider, the Westborough Fire Department should develop a plan to install mobile data terminals (MDTs) in all apparatus and staff/command vehicles. In developing the MDT plan, consideration should be given to evaluating the latest technologies and software, including the use of tablets rather than laptop computers. Priority should be given to getting necessary building information uploaded into the CAD system. At a minimum, the incident commander at a scene should have access to fire pre-plan data, building permit data (building plans and current data about renovation and construction projects), real-time weather data, and hazardous materials data. Recommendation IX.17 In conjunction with the recommendation for the installation of MDTs or tablets, the Westborough Fire Department should explore possible uses for GIS technology to enhance operations.

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Recommendation IX.18 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to place an important emphasis on evaluating new technology for use on emergency incidents particularly when it pertains to firefighter safety and/or patient care.

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CHAPTER X

TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OVERVIEW The primary function of a fire department is to respond to emergency incidents, save lives, and to protect property and the environment. Training is, without question, one of the most important functions that a fire department should be performing on a regular basis. One could even make a credible argument that training is, in some ways, more important than emergency responses because a department that is not well-trained, prepared, and operationally ready, will be unable to effectively, efficiently, correctly, and safely, fulfill its emergency response obligations and mission. A comprehensive, diverse, and ongoing training program is critical to the fire department’s level of success. An effective fire department training program must cover all the essential elements of that specific department’s core missions and responsibilities. The program must include an appropriate combination of technical/classroom training and manipulative or hands-on/practical evolutions. Most of the training, but particularly the practical, standardized, hands-on training evolutions, should be developed based upon the department’s own operating procedures and operations, while remaining cognizant of widely accepted practices and standards that could be used as a benchmark to judge the department’s operations for any number of reasons. Failure to use widely accepted firefighting practices was a significant conclusion in the many investigations that were conducted after the Charleston, South Carolina, Super Sofa Store fire in June 2007, that resulted in the deaths of nine firefighters. As with all other fire department operations, there must be consistency in how the training is being conducted. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established requirements for minimum training that must be completed on an annual basis, covering various topics including:

1. A review of the respiratory protection standard, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) refresher and user competency training, SCBA fit testing (29 CFR 1910.134)

2. Bloodborne Pathogens Training (29 CFR 1910.1030)

3. Hazardous Materials Training (29 CFR 1910.120)

4. Confined Space Training (29 CFR 1910.146)

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5. Structural Firefighting Training (29 CFR 1910.156) Although local government employees in Massachusetts are exempt from compliance with US OSHA regulations, it is the policy of the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety that public-sector employees follow the OSHA standards as a minimum in the absence of specific standards. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards contain recommendations for training on various topics such as a requirement for a minimum of 24 hours of structural firefighting training annually for each fire department member. OBSERVATIONS Education and training programs help to create the character of a fire service organization. Agencies that place a real emphasis on their training tend to be more proficient in carrying out day-to-day duties. Despite this evidence, training within fire service organizations is continually faced with a number of challenges that impact its overall effectiveness. Often, training does not get the time, attention, and priority that it deserves. However, the prioritization of training helps to foster an image of professionalism and instills pride in the organization. The MRI study team evaluated the Westborough Fire Department’s training and professional development programs. Through staff interviews, observation, and an evaluation of the current training program, the team reached the conclusion that department’s training program is consistent with industry standards. It is apparent that the members of the department believe in training and it is our observation that the training program is healthy. Overall, the training program appears to be headed in the right direction, and there exists a dedicated effort focused on a wide array of training activities. However, there are still a few gaps in the system that should be addressed. As we begin our discussion of the Westborough Fire Department it is important that we note that overall the department is more highly educated than most. Of the department’s 37 total personnel, 5 have an associate degree with 2 others with up to 60 college credits, 8 possess a bachelor’s degree and 10 have earned a master’s degree. Long term, having more highly educated personnel is very positive, and will serve both the department and the town well. Training in the Westborough Fire Department is overseen primarily by the Deputy Fire Chief as part of his billet of responsibilities. There is a officer assigned to assist the Deputy Fire Chief but not a dedicated training officer. The deputy is assisted by the lieutenant and one firefighter on each shift who meet on a regular basis to develop the training. On the EMS side of operations, the training programs and requirements are primarily driven by the mandatory nature of continuing education and recertification requirements for various

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levels of practitioners. If individual personnel, or the agency, were to not keep up with required training and/or certification requirements they could lose their ability to practice or provide the prescribed levels of service. All members of the Westborough Fire Department are required to be a minimum of Emergency Medical Technician (Basic Life Support [BLS]) certified. All new hires are required to be certified to the paramedic level and maintain that certification as a condition of, and for the duration of, their employment. At the time of this evaluation 22 of the department’s personnel were certified as paramedics, while 14 were EMTs. There are currently several members who are in the paramedic training program. The town and the fire department should be commended for implementing this policy which the MRI study team strongly supports. Since paramedic personnel are required to perform a certain amount of EMS instruction annually as part of each recertification cycle, the department utilizes them as much as possible to provide in-house EMS continuing education training. EMS certifications required by members of the department appeared to be up-to-date as required for compliance with state law and regulations. Whenever possible, fire training is tied into EMS continuing education credits, providing dual discipline benefit for personnel. Since EMS incidents make up a large percentage of the department’s responses, ensuring that these certifications continue to be maintained should remain a significant component of the department’s training focus. Based on our observations and the interviews that we conducted, a training schedule is posted well in advance (usually at least 6 months at a time), and a quality training program is delivered multiple times per month. The training generally consists of three company drills which are conducted on shift by various personnel. The training topics cover a wide range of firefighting topics, skills, and tasks. The schedule also indicates who that training is assigned to for development and delivery of the topic. Our review indicated that personnel of all ranks, from firefighter to the deputy chief are assigned to develop and deliver training topics. The Westborough Fire Department leadership should be commended for this progressive approach to training delivery. In addition to the training conducted on shift, the department schedules one monthly drill for each platoon that dedicating personnel to n assigned training evolution. During this time period, personnel are out of service for all but a major emergency response so they can concentrate on training. For these training sessions the on-duty personnel are taken out of service for approximately three to four hours for training while personnel on overtime cover the station. Skills that are covered during these sessions include things such as live fire training, low angle rescue/extrication, self- contained breathing apparatus confidence drills, and, boat operations. These monthly out of service training sessions should be considered a Best Practice.

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Overall, the reviews of the training were mostly positive, although some officers stated that the training was “hard to do” because of all the other duties they need to handle. It is clearly reasonable that some days it will be difficult to complete the required training as various time demands throughout the duty day, including increasing emergency responses, compete with each other. Yet in many fire departments less than efficient time management, and even past practice, can hinder attempts to provide training for on-duty personnel. Although there may be some percentage of these factors in play in Westborough, it is our opinion that this is more of a situation of the increasing workload, both emergency and routine. In order to account for emergency responses and the other tasks and duties that must completed on a daily basis, one possible solution might be to provide the training utilizing split sessions where half the personnel on duty complete the training, then the remainder also complete it while the first group provides coverage. The Westborough Fire Department also has a strong technical rescue specialty, as well as, water rescue and dive team operations. The personnel who staff these teams require additional specialty training on a regular basis to keep their skills sharp. Because of the nature of these operations and the necessary training, much of this needs to be conducted while the personnel are out of service. There are several ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the fire department’s training program. One increasingly common way is using annual skills proficiency evaluations where all members of the department are required to successfully perform certain skills, and/or complete standardized evolutions, either individually, or as part of a team. Post-course evaluations, post-incident critiques, and evaluation of incident operations and statistics can also provide important feedback regarding the training program. All training sessions and the corresponding attendance of personnel are currently documented in the department’s records management system (RMS). Based on questions that the study team asked, it appears each member has a comprehensive training record that is contained within the department’s records management system. Each member’s file does have copies of outside agency certificates of attendance for training, but only if members voluntarily provide these to the department. There is no procedure that mandates they be provided. It is important that all training, no matter how minor or inconsequential, continue to be documented. Failure to do so can expose the department and town to increased liability. Professional development for fire department personnel, especially officers, is also an important part of overall training. There are numerous excellent opportunities for firefighters and officers to attend training on a wide range of topics outside of Westborough, including those offered at various state firefighting academies, and at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Beyond the practical benefits to be gained from personnel participating in outside training, encouraging personnel to earn and/or maintain various specialized certifications such as Fire Instructor or Fire Officer, increases the positive professional

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perception of the organization and can help to demonstrate a commitment to continued excellence. Although not mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the town and the firefighter’s union, lieutenants are required to be certified by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (ProBoard) to the Fire Instructor I and Fire Officer I levels. Captains are required to obtain Fire Officer II certification. MRI considers these requirements to be a Best Practice. Numerous excellent training opportunities, such as the annual Firehouse Expo previously held in Baltimore and now in Nashville, and the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis also exist. The MRI study team was informed that the Westborough Fire Department does support personnel going to training outside the department, and, will send them whenever possible. This department should be commended for this commitment and encouraged to continue it. However, the team was also informed that there has been limited attendance at the conferences in Baltimore/Nashville and Indianapolis, as well as, the National Fire Academy. These are excellent opportunities to enhance the department’s training and knowledge, skills, and abilities even further. Despite its highly educated officer corps, no one from the Westborough Fire Department has ever been enrolled in the Nation Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program. Through an intensive program over four years, the EFO provides senior fire officers with a broad perspective on various facets of fire and emergency services administration. The courses and accompanying research examine how to exercise leadership when dealing with difficult or unique problems within communities. The fire chief as well as the deputy chief graduated from the Chief Fire Officer School at The Collins Institute at the University of Massachusetts - Boston and the Massachusetts Fire Academy. They also have earned Fire Chief accreditation through the Massachusetts Fire Service Commission. They should be commended for these accomplishments. A final important component of an effective personnel and officer development program is that these members continue to cultivate their skills through ongoing training and education. This training and education should be in addition to the normal training requirements for all firefighters. Officers unequivocally have more responsibilities, and as a result, should have higher standards for their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Management and leadership skills are important for officers to develop. The department’s training resources, such as reference and textbooks, and DVDs, are more limited than we expected to find. The department does not have any type of online training programs or platform that would allow certain training to be conducted by personnel at their convenience. There are multiple vendors available to provide this type of platform including Target Solutions whose inventory is comprised of more than 1,000 online courses. Access to general fire service and training websites and any type of internet-based training, safety, and other online resources should be enhanced.

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Long term, particularly if the department’s staffing incrementally increases based upon recommendations contained in this report, consideration should be given to creating a full-time training officer in the Westborough Fire Department who would focus solely on training and safety. One of the primary duties of the training officer would be to develop, coordinate, and supervise the department’s overall training program. These duties could include, but not necessarily be limited to, development of lesson plans, standardized evolutions and skills proficiency evaluations; direct delivery of major and/or important training bringing consistency to the delivery across four platoons; administering annual proficiency evaluations; ensuring that required certifications are maintained; coordinating and assisting other officers with training that they are going to deliver; and ensuring that all training related records and reports are completed and maintained. They could also manage the department’s safety functions. If the recommendations contained within this report are enacted, there should be reason for considerable optimism that the training program will be given an even greater level of prominence in the department’s operations. The department’s current training program certainly appears reasonable. Additional daily opportunities for training can be found during related activities such as daily/weekly apparatus and equipment inspections and building pre-planning activities The Westborough Fire Department should seek to maximize, support, and encourage these opportunities. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation X.1 The Westborough Fire Department should consider developing a formal training of some type, lasting a minimum of one hour, that should be mandated to take place on every duty day on every platoon. Training should occur even on weekends and holidays and can also be conducted during evening hours. Personnel can swap off response assignments for training purposes to ensure, as much as possible, that all personnel get to complete the training. Recommendation X.2 The Westborough Fire Department should look for additional daily opportunities for training that can be found during related activities such as daily/weekly apparatus and equipment inspections, building pre-planning activities, and short duration (10-15 minute) shift change and/or coffee break drills.

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Recommendation X.3 The Westborough Fire Department should be fully supported in, and strongly encouraged to continue, its current program to have personnel training monthly out of service at a training academy including for live fire training. With the number of actual fires decreasing, periodic live fire training exercises at a dedicated training facility need to be conducted in order for personnel to maintain their skills proficiency (Figure X-1). Recommendation X.4 The Westborough Fire Department should continue their training regimen enhance training documentation to provide ISO with the specific information that they require. ISO should be contacted and questioned relative to the low credit granted for training. Recommendation X.5 The Westborough Fire Department should make a concerted effort to send as many officers as possible to the National Fire Academy (NFA). Any officers who meet the admissions criteria should be encouraged to enroll in the Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Training reports should be completed for any NFA training and copies of certificates placed in the personnel and training files. Recommendation X.6 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to strongly encourage personnel to seek additional training on their own, and to the financial and practical extent possible, send personnel to outside training opportunities such as the Firehouse Expo in Nashville and the FDIC in Indianapolis. Information gained at this training can then be brought back and delivered to other members of the department. Training reports should be completed for all this training, and copies of any certificates earned should be placed in the member’s personnel and training files. Recommendation X.7 A training bulletin board should be placed in the station where upcoming training opportunities can be posted for all personnel to review. Training notices can also be sent electronically to all personnel and be posted in a member’s only area of the department’s website. Recommendation X.8 The Westborough Fire Department should implement periodic skills proficiency evaluations for all department personnel. These proficiency evaluations, consisting of standardized evolutions, can be based upon recognized standards and benchmarks, in conjunction with

Figure X-1: Live fire training at a fire academy.

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performance criterion and benchmarks, established through evaluation of, and based upon, Westborough Fire Department operations and procedures. Recommendation X.9 The Westborough Fire Department should seek funding to expand the training resources and training library to include current editions of commonly utilized media. The department should fully utilize the internet and all the various training resources available online. Recommendation X.10 The Westborough Fire Department should explore options for providing certain training programs utilizing an online platform to allow personnel to complete the training at their convenience. Recommendation X.11 The Westborough Fire Department should, as part of its written communications system, develop Training Bulletins which would be issued to serve as a reference with regard to tested and approved methods of performing various tasks, and Safety Bulletins which should be issued to serve as references with regard to general and specific safety and health issues. Recommendation X.12 Long term, particularly if department staffing increases incrementally as recommended in this report, the Town of Westborough should consider creating a full-time training officer position who will oversee all department training, certifications, and safety.

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CHAPTER XI

BENCHMARKING AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

OVERVIEW

The process of benchmarking, also known as comparative analysis, is an effective way of making general comparisons between similar communities and identifying trends and patterns, but there are limitations as to how the data should be used. The data gathered through this process provides a perspective on organizational norms and best practices. Ideally, a community would utilize this information to identify needed change and through paced action, work incrementally toward implementation. After consultation with Chief Purcell the MRI team developed appropriate points of comparison for the benchmarking and comparative analysis. The benchmark communities that were chosen were selected by the fire chief based on the size of the community, the fire department, and the services provided. The communities selected were drawn from a list of peer communities that the Town of Westborough utilizes frequently for the purpose of comparative analysis. The communities are Belmont, Franklin, Lexington, Needham, Northampton, Reading and Westwood. As the study progressed, the team worked with the fire chief to interpret and confirm the data collected from the peer communities. It should be recognized that the peer communities selected mirror aspects of the Town of Westborough. However, the study team and the Chief concur that Westborough is unique and that no one Massachusetts community adequately reflects all of the attributes that combine in Westborough. Therefore, the information contained in this chapter should not be considered definitive. The information presented provides the Town of Westborough and the Westborough Fire Department with a perspective and the ability to identify and consider industry best practice. In an effort to extract the maximum amount of data, Chief Purcell was asked to contact the fire chief in each community and request cooperation and response. The MRI team requested that the chief also make a follow-up phone call to each department in order to fully complete, or in some cases clarify, the data in each survey after an initial review by the MRI team. The Westborough data utilized in this comparative analysis was provided by the Westborough Fire Department. The methodology for calculating various data categories may vary from community to community, so this can have an impact on the comparison. For example, a fire department budget in one community might not include personnel benefits costs, which would skew the comparison. In the past, MRI has encountered departments that have used different formats to assign incident numbers to emergency calls, or that also assign these numbers to routine

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activities such as public education programs, inspections, and training. As such, when reading and trying to interpret the information in the tables and graphs in this section of the report it is important to consider that the specific details for the data used could only be extracted with a more detailed and in-depth study of those communities. All six of the seven departments actively responded and provided the data that is displayed in the tables below and included in this study. It should also be noted that while some responses were complete, others either did not supply or lacked the ability to provide, the full data set requested. Not every department maintains or collects the entire set of data requested.

There are similarities between each of these departments, but it should be noted that there are also differences in how each community delivers fire and EMS services. Each municipality and its fire department provide emergency and other public services based on the expressed desires of that community and its citizens. What may be effective in one community may not be in a neighboring town. The ability of the fire department to provide the services desired by the community it serves is based on its available funding and resources. WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: DEMOGRAPHICS AND BUDGET

FIGURE XI-1: COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS

The following information can be drawn from these data points:

a. Of the seven towns compared, Westborough has the second largest area to protect at

21.6 square miles. Northampton the largest at 35 square miles

b. Of the seven towns compared Westborough has the second lowest population (18,400).

Westwood has the lowest at 15,199. Though the Town of Westborough has one of the

COMMUNITYPROTECTED

POPULATIONSQUARE MILES

POPULATION

DENSITY/

SQUARE MILE

BELMONT 24,700 4.6 5370

FRANKLIN 34,000 26 1308

LEXINGTON 32,232 16.4 1965

NEEDHAM 31,000 13 2385

NORTHAMPTON 30,000 35 857

READING 26,741 9.9 2701

WESTWOOD 15,199 11.1 1369

AVERAGE 27,696 16.6 2279

WESTBOROUGH 18,400 21.6 852

DEVIATION 0.66 1.30 0.37

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lowest populations by census it should be noted that the daily population increases due

to the number of corporate facilities, commercial properties, highways and hotels.

FIGURE XI-2: COMMUNITY BUDGETS, TAX RATES and PER CAPITA


a. The overall per capita budget for the Town of Westborough is the greater than four of

the other communities that were surveyed.

b. As compared to the peer communities the residential tax rate is about the same as the

average residential tax rate in the other communities.

c. As compared to the peer communities the commercial tax is substantially less (33%)

than the commercial tax rate in the other communities.

COMMUNITY

Community

Budget

FY 2016

Tax Rate

Residential

Tax Rate

CommercialPer Capita

BELMONT $116,000,000 $13.35 $13.35 $4,696

FRANKLIN $116,417,305 $14.58 $14.58 $3,424

LEXINGTON $198,562,732 $14.30 $27.69 $6,160

NEEDHAM $164,653,767 $11.88 $23.46 $5,311

NORTHAMPTON $89,946,013 $16.69 $16.69 $2,998

READING $104,551,681 $14.03 $14.03 $3,910

WESTWOOD $89,300,000 $14.03 $29.30 $5,875

$98.86 $139.10 $26,500

AVERAGE $125,633,071 $16.48 $23.18 $4,416.70

WESTBOROUGH $94,599,048 $17.80 $17.80 $5,141.25

DEVIATION 0.75 1.08 0.77 1.16

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FIGURE XI-3: MUNICIPAL BUDGET COMPARISON

FIGURE XI-4: MUNICIPAL PER CAPITA BUDGET

The fire department budget in each community may not be easily compared in that each community may determine what items may or may not be included in a specific department’s budget. For example, some municipalities may include capital costs, bonding expenses, full personnel costs (such as benefits and pension payments), while others may assign them to other areas of the budget. As stated earlier, this report did not conduct an in-depth review of each community’s specific budget and relied on the bottom line amount in the survey document.

$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

Municipal Budget FY 2016

$0.00

$1,000.00

$2,000.00

$3,000.00

$4,000.00

$5,000.00

$6,000.00

$7,000.00

Belmon

t

Frank

lin

Lexin

gton

Needha

m

Northam

pton

Readin

g

Wes

twood

Wes

tbor

ough

Per Capita Municipal Budget

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FIGURE XI-5: FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET and PER CAPITA BUDGET

COMMUNITY FIRE BUDGET

FY 16 Per Capita

BELMONT $6,061,497 $245.40

FRANKLIN $5,181,660 $152.40

LEXINGTON $6,409,755 $198.86

NEEDHAM $7,935,850 $256.00

NORTHAMPTON $5,671,068 $189.04

READING $4,712,100 $176.21

WESTWOOD $3,900,157 $256.61

AVERAGE $5,696,012 $202.99

WESTBOROUGH $4,099,701 $180.11

DEVIATION 0.72 0.89


a. The Westborough Fire Department budget is the second lowest budget (Westwood is

the lowest) as compared to the peer organizations.

b. The fire department budget is 28% less than the average of the seven peer communities

that were surveyed.

c. The fire department per capita budget for the Town of Westborough is the less than five

of the other communities that were surveyed.

d. The fire department per capita budget for the Town of Westborough is 11% less than

the average per capita fire budget.

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FIGURE XI-6: FIRE DEPARTMENT PER CAPITA BUDGET COMPARISON

One item that should be noted is that typically a fire department’s budget is 90% personnel related (wages, benefits pension etc.). Fire department budgets may vary based on the number of full-time permanent employees and the benefits package for each employee.

FIGURE XI-7: FIRE SALARY as % of FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET

$0.00

$50.00

$100.00

$150.00

$200.00

$250.00

$300.00

Belmon

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Frank

lin

Lexin

gton

Needha

m

Northam

pton

Readin

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Wes

twood

Wes

tbor

ough

Per Capita Fire Budget

COMMUNITYFire Budget

FY 16

Fire Salary

FY 16% of Budget

BELMONT $6,061,497 $5,295,018 87.4%

FRANKLIN $5,181,660 $4,772,760 92.1%

LEXINGTON $6,409,755 $5,012,505 78.2%

NEEDHAM $7,935,850 $7,552,956 95.2%

NORTHAMPTON $5,671,068 $3,987,001 70.3%

READING $4,712,100 $4,521,100 95.9%

WESTWOOD $3,900,157 $3,675,845 94.2%

AVERAGE $5,696,012 $4,973,884 87.3%

WESTBOROUGH $4,099,701 $3,313,950 80.8%

DEVIATION 0.72 0.67 0.93

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FIGURE XI-8: SALARY BUDGET COMPARED TO ENTIRE BUDGET


a. The salary portion Westborough Fire budget is about 81% of the entire budget.

b. A closer examination of the Westborough budget shows that the fire budget includes

costs that may not and typically are not found in most fire department budgets such as

dispatch personnel and associated costs for information technology and

communications.

Overtime costs that are budgeted and expended by a fire department are created by a number of different reasons including but not limited to permanent vacancies that are not filled, long term absences due to injury, illness or personal reasons, shift vacancies do to leaves that are contractually granted, training, and recalls. Typically, a fire department’s budget for overtime is planned based on the department’s overtime history as well as potential future absences.

$0$1,000,000$2,000,000$3,000,000$4,000,000$5,000,000$6,000,000$7,000,000$8,000,000$9,000,000

Belmon

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Frank

lin

Lexin

gton

Needha

m

Northam

pton

Readin

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Wes

twood

Wes

tbor

ough

Salary as Compared to Total FD Budget

FD Salary as to FD Budget Fire Budget FY 16

FD Salary as to FD Budget Fire Salary FY 16

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FIGURE XI-9: FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME COSTS

FIGURE XI-10 OVERTIME COSTS FY 17


a. Of the seven towns compared, Westborough was one of only two fire departments that

stayed within their approved overtime budget. Northampton spent less than their

approved allocation.

b. Most of the other departments significantly overspent their overtime budget in fiscal

year 2017.

COMMUNITYOVERTIME

BUDGET FY17

OVERTIME

EXPENDITURE

FY 17

OVER/UNDER

BELMONT $547,250 $648,410 -18.49%

FRANKLIN $393,800 $607,044 -54.15%

LEXINGTON $855,000 $1,050,349 -22.85%

NEEDHAM $445,000 $932,880 -109.64%

NORTHAMPTON $415,000 $388,572 6.37%

READING $390,000 $625,387 -60.36%

WESTWOOD $396,762 $425,437 -7.23%

AVERAGE $491,830 $668,297 -38.05%

WESTBOROUGH $431,896 $431,896 0.00%

DEVIATION 0.88 0.65 NA

$0$200,000

$400,000$600,000$800,000

$1,000,000$1,200,000

Belmon

t

Frank

lin

Lexin

gton

Needha

m

Northam

pton

Readin

g

Wes

twood

Wes

tbor

ough

FD Overtime Budget/Expenditure

Overtime Budgets and Expenditure FY 17 Budget

Overtime Budgets and Expenditure FY 17 Expended

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As a community makes the determination relative to hiring personnel to offset overtime, a breakeven point should be established based on the cost of an additional staff member including benefits, compared to the amount of overtime that he/she could absorb. As the level of overtime is significantly less and the career staff within the fire department is smaller than the average, consideration should be given to hiring additional personnel to reduce the overtime cost incurred. Recommendations relative to incrementally increasing the number of career personnel in the Westborough Fire Department is discussed in detail in previous chapters of this report. Many fire departments have taken advantage of federal and state grants that have become available over the past few years to supplement personnel, equipment and programs that those departments would be unable to provide during difficult budgetary times. The table below is an example of what some the peer fire departments have applied for and granted during the past two fiscal years.

FIGURE XI-11 FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANTS FY 16 and FY 17

COMMUNITY GRANTS FY

2016 GRANTS FY 2017

BELMONT $0 $7,338

FRANKLIN $0 $0

LEXINGTON $0 $0

NEEDHAM $160,000 $10,000

NORTHAMPTON $0 $0

READING $0 $0

WESTWOOD $0 $0

WESTBOROUGH $41,000 $7,000


a. Both Westborough and Needham have been successful with the grant process during

the past two years.

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: STAFFING The level and types of service that a community provides can often be determined by the level of staffing that a community provides. On-duty staffing is typically based on the number and types of emergency incidents that historically have occurred, as well as the potential increase or decrease for future incidents.

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FIGURE XI-12: FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFFING PER CAPITA and PER SQUARE MILE


a. The average number of full-time certified and trained firefighters in each department is nearly fifty-five (55.2) firefighters.

b. Westborough has thirty-seven (37) full-time, career firefighters, 33% below the average career staffing that exists within peer communities. Even with Westwood having the next least with 38 firefighters which skews the deviation from average.

c. Westborough has slightly more full-time personnel per population than the average (2.01 firefighters per 1,000 population vs. the average of 1.93 firefighters per 1,000 population)

d. Westborough has the second greatest response territory to protect after Northampton.

e. Westborough has 1.7 firefighters per square mile while the average of the peer towns is

3.3 firefighters per square mile.

COMMUNITY

PR

OTE

CTED

PO

PULA

TIO

N

SQU

AR

E M

ILES

FU

LL-T

IME

CAR

EER

FIR

EFIG

HTE

RS

CA

REE

R F

IREF

IGH

TER

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PER

1,0

00 P

OPU

LATI

ON

CA

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R F

IREF

IGH

TER

S

PER

SQU

AR

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ILE

BELMONT 24,700 4.6 54 2.19 11.7

FRANKLIN 34,000 26 NR

LEXINGTON 32,232 16.4 62 1.93 3.8

NEEDHAM 31,000 13 63 2.03 4.8

NORTHAMPTON 30,000 35 67 2.23 1.9

READING 26,741 9.9 47 1.76 4.7

WESTWOOD 15,199 11.1 38 1.42 3.4

AVERAGE 27,696 16.6 55.2 1.93 3.3

WESTBOROUGH 18,400 21.6 37 2.01 1.7

DEVIATION 0.66 1.30 0.67 1.04 0.5

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FIGURE XI-13: FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFFING, VOLUNTEER FFs, SHIFTS & WORK SCHEDULES


a. Westborough Fire Department has the least amount of sworn personnel (37).

b. Westborough Fire Department has 33% less sworn personnel than the average of

the peer organizations.

c. Westborough and Westwood fire departments have the least minimum daily

staffing at 6 personnel on duty. This 50% less than the average peer organization

that responded to this question.

d. Westborough has the least number of staff on duty even when the maximum staff is

on-duty.

e. Lexington Fire Department has the greatest amount of minimum daily staffing with

14 personnel per shift as well as the maximum daily staffing with 15 personnel.

f. Westborough is the only department that has any volunteer or on-call firefighters,

five (5). The MRI team is aware through our interviews that only one of these is on-

call firefighters is trained and certified to perform all the required firefighting and

EMS duties. The lone trained person does not live in Westborough.

COMMUNITY

Nu

mb

er

of

act

ua

l Sw

orn

Pers

on

nel

as

of

7/1/

17

CALL

AN

D/O

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OLU

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ER

FIR

EFIG

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PER

DIE

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IREF

IGH

TER

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HIF

T S

CH

ED

ULE

MA

XIM

UM

SH

IFT

SC

HE

DU

LE

WO

RK

SCH

ED

ULE

BELMONT 54 0 0 11 13 1 on; 3 off

FRANKLIN NR 0 0 NR NR 1 on; 1 off; 1 on; 5 off

LEXINGTON 62 0 0 14 15 1 on; 1 off; 1 on; 5 off

NEEDHAM 63 0 0 11 11 1 on 3 off

NORTHAMPTON 67 0 0 13 13 1 on; 1 off; 1 on; 5 off

READING 47 0 0 10 11 1 on; 1 off; 1 on; 5 off

WESTWOOD 38 0 0 6 10 1on 1 off 1 on 5 off

AVERAGE 55.2 0 0 12 12.4

WESTBOROUGH 37 5 0 6 8 1on 2 off 1 on 4 off

DEVIATION 0.67 0.50 0.65

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g. None of the departments utilizes per diem staff. Typically, these are firefighters that

are certified and trained, and are used as part-time firefighters to fill in for vacant

positions or during peak hours.

All of the peer organization work an average 42-hour work week but do so with varying work schedules. The organizational structure for the peer organizations is different for each. The officer/supervisor structure and the duties and responsibilities that each position requires was not a part of this study. All of the departments surveyed operate with different staffing models for response as well as staff positions and civilian personnel. It is typical that the Captains, Lieutenants and Firefighters are the shift personnel that respond to emergency incidents. This table should only be used to show a glimpse of what the fire department staffing and assignments within their organizations look like.

FIGURE XI-14: FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL


a. Westborough has the least number of firefighters, twenty-seven (27), nearly 60% less than each of the other departments. Not including the Westwood fire department.

b. Westborough and four other peer organizations only have one Chief officer other than the Fire Chief.

c. Westborough and Westwood have only eight (8) officers. That is approximately 23% of the line staff.

COMMUNITY

AS

SIS

TA

NT

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IEF

DE

PU

TY

CH

IEF

CA

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AIN

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LIE

UT

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IGH

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RE

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RA

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DIS

PA

TC

HE

RS

BELMONT 1 0 5 13 34 1.5 1 1.5 2 0

FRANKLIN 0 1 5 5 40 1 0 NR 1 Admin Asst. 4 FT 4 PT

LEXINGTON 2 0 4 12 42 1 0 1.5 0 0

NEEDHAM 0 5 2 6 50 2 0 7 FTE 3PTE 2 5

NORTHAMPTON 1 5 10 0 51 1(Capt.) 1(Capt.) 2 NR 0

READING 1 0 5 4 36 1 4 1 Admin Asst, 3 PT FA Techs 0

WESTWOOD 0 1 4 4 28 1 (DC) , 3 PT 0 1.5

AVERAGE 0.7 1.7 5.0 6.3 40.1 1.3 2.1 1.3

WESTBOROUGH 0 1 4 4 27 2 0 15 1 Admin Asst. 9FT/5PD

DEVIATION 0 0.58 0.80 0.64 0.67 1.54

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d. Westborough has two full time staff assigned to fire prevention. But as noted elsewhere in this report those personnel when on duty may be and often are required to respond to emergency calls. Most of the peer organizations surveyed had some staffing dedicated to fire prevention, fire investigation and code enforcement activities.

e. Only two of the peer organizations have full time personnel as training officers, Northampton and Belmont.

f. Westborough has the most civilian employees. This is based on the fact that the dispatchers (combined fire/police dispatch) are fire department employees.

g. All the full-time career staff work 24 hours shifts and work a four-platoon schedule that averages 42 hours per week. Westborough personnel work one 24-hour tour followed by one day off followed by one 24-hour tour followed by 4 days off, Belmont personnel work one 24-hour shift followed by three days off (24/72). Franklin, Lexington, and Northampton personnel work one 24-hour shift followed by one day off then work one 24-hour day followed by 5 days off.

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: FACILITIES

The number of fire stations that a community may have, and their location is typically determined by historical needs of that community. In most New England cities and towns as the types and locations of industries and businesses evolved many of the current fire station locations have become less than optimal to meet today’s needs. Further, as a community’s infrastructure evolved including major roadways, highways, and water and wastewater systems allowed them to expand farther, the need for stations in other parts of the city or town were considered. Also, as fire and building codes are upgraded, and the size and types of equipment needed to provide fire and EMS services has increased, the components, size, complexity, and cost of a modern-day fire station has increased substantially. The survey did not physically evaluate the fire stations in the benchmark communities. Figure XI-15 provides a basic comparison:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


FIGURE XI-15: FIRE DEPARTMENT FACILITIES

NR = NOT REPORTED


a. Westborough is the only peer organization that operates from a single fire station. All of the other communities have two fire stations.

b. The Westborough Headquarters station was the newest, second largest (Needham), had

the most bays to respond from and most advanced facility of those responding to the survey.

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: APPARATUS

The types of fire apparatus and equipment that a fire department has is based on the department's operational needs, while the department operations dictate some of the apparatus design features to meet the needs. Further, fire departments will purchase and staff apparatus in order to comply with current NFPA standards and Insurance Service Organization (ISO) recommendations and their own established standards of cover.

COMMUNITY

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIR

E

ST

AT

ION

S

ST

AT

ION

NA

ME

OR

NU

MB

ER

YE

AR

OF

CO

NST

RU

CT

ION

SQ

UA

RE

FO

OT

AG

E

NU

MB

ER

OF

BA

YS

DE

CO

N A

RE

A

FA

CIL

ITY

SE

CU

RIT

Y

SY

ST

EM

S

OT

HE

R F

AC

ILIT

IES

IN S

TA

TIO

N

BELMONT 2 HQ 2006 26,000 6 yes yes yes Training & EOC

Station 2 2006 15,000 3 yes yes yes Community Room

FRANKLIN 2 Headquarters 2008 22,000 5 yes yes yesTraining/EOC, Prevention;

Dispatch

Station 2 2000 12,000 4 yes yes yes

LEXINGTON 2 HQ 1947 11,000 3 no no no

East Station 1948 6,000 2 no no no

NEEDHAM 2 Station 1 1931 31,673 3 no Door Locks no

Station 2 1949 9670 2 no Door Locks no

NORTHAMTON 2 HQ 1998 NR 4 yes yes yes NR

Florence Station 1972 NR 3 no no no

READING 2 Station 1 1990 NR 3 NR NR NR

Station 2 1956 NR 3 NR NR NR

WESTWOOD 2 HQ 1957 &1975 7 no Limited yes DC Office, Fire Prevention

Washinton St. 2017 12000 3 double yes

Access

Control;

Cameras yes

WESTBOROUGH 1 HQ / Central 2014 30,000 8 yes yes yes

Fire Prevention/Dispatch Center,

Training Room/EOC/Community

Room

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


For a community that has rural areas with no hydrants, some specialized apparatus will usually include a large water carrying vehicle to meet the operational needs; whereas another department in a more urban setting with adequate fire hydrants to supply water, but high EMS response activity, the community may select the smallest compliant water tank possible to provide room for additional medical equipment. Not every department operates specialty equipment such as boats or off-road vehicles. The need for such equipment is typically based on potential use and frequency. Many fire departments utilize a regional approach or mutual aid to have these types of equipment and the trained staff that they would bring into their community. This part of the benchmarking survey was used to determine the number and types of apparatus and ambulances that the comparable departments currently operate. The information in the table below indicates that the apparatus set present within the Westborough Fire department is sufficient. However, should the department consider constructing an additional facility sometime in the future an additional engine should be considered as four engines would provide a mechanical backup that could maintain deployment when one of the primary units requires maintenance or repair. A new facility should also have an ambulance deployed from it and the total number of ambulances should be increased to four, providing two primary units and a backup ambulance at each station. FIGURE XI-16: FIRE DEPARTMENT APPARATUS

APPARATUS AE

RIA

LS

PU

MP

ER

S

TA

NK

ER

S

RE

SC

UE

S

BR

US

H U

NIT

S

AM

BU

LA

NC

ES

LIG

HT

ING

UN

IT

MO

BIL

E

CA

SC

AD

E/S

CB

A

SP

EC

IALT

Y U

NIT

S

CO

MM

AN

D

VE

HIC

LE

S

ST

AFF V

EH

ICLE

S

UT

ILIT

Y V

EH

ICLE

S

OT

HE

R

BO

AT

S

BELMONT 2 (1 in service) 4 (2 in service) 0 0 1 2 ( 1 in service) 1 0Tactical

Rescue Trailer1 4 1

1 (pulled on

trailer by

Engine

company)

0

FRANKLIN 1 4 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 ATV 0 4 1 1 Rehab Bus 0

LEXINGTON 1 4 2 3 1 4 1 1 1

NEEDHAM 2 3 0 0 1 3 0 0

County Foam

Trailer & Mass

Decon Unit

1 5 1 Polaris UTV

NORTHAMPTON 1 4 1 1 5 1 5 1 1

READING 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 0

WESTWOOD 2 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 2 1 Spare SUV

WESTBOROUGH 1 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 1-Foam Trailer 1 4 1 2

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



a. Westborough operates three engine companies; the average number of engines

operated by peer communities is closer to four. This would be appropriate based on the

fact that Westborough responds from a single station.

b. Those peer communities that operate with four engines typically respond from two fire

stations

The survey was also used to determine how these fire departments are maintaining their fleet (fire department, DPW, private vendor, and/or dealerships), as well as if they are using a software program to record and maintain those service records. Finally, the survey was used to ask which fire departments are utilizing laptops or tablets on their emergency response vehicles.

FIGURE XI-17: VEHICLE MAINTENANCE PRACTICES & MOBIL DATA USE in APPARATUS

FD – Fire Department Mechanic DPW – Public Works PV – Private Vendor D- Authorized Dealership

VEHI

CLE

AND

APPA

RATU

S RE

PAIR

S

PERF

ORM

ED B

Y

COM

PUTE

R PR

OGRA

M U

TILI

ZED

FOR

APPA

RATU

S AN

D EQ

UIPM

ENT

MAI

NTEN

ANCE

AND

REP

AIR

MAN

AGEM

ENT

APPA

RATU

S AN

D CO

MM

AND

VEHI

CLES

EQU

IPPE

D W

ITH

MOB

ILE

DATA

TER

MIN

ALS/

LAPT

OPS/

TABL

ETS

CONN

ECTE

D TO

RM

S AN

D IN

TERN

ET

BELMONTDPW, PV, D Yes - Zoll RMS Yes -Patrol PC

FRANKLINDPW - Routine ;

PV - EVT Support

Yes Yes

LEXINGTONFD & PV & D No New

Software soon

Yes

NEEDHAMFD Yes Yes

NORTHAMPTONFD Yes Yes

READING

FD & PV & DPW Yes & No

Partial

Incident View

connected to

internet (Not to

FD records)

WESTWOOD

FD & PV No In Process of

deploying iPads

in Apparatus for

IMC Data

WESTBOROUGH FD & PV & D Yes

Yes - Not in

Command

Vehicle yet

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



a. Only Belmont and Franklin do not use fire department staff to repair or maintain

apparatus or vehicles.

b. All of the peer organizations currently use or in the process of implementing mobile

data systems in their apparatus, command vehicles and ambulances.

c. Only Westwood does not use software to track vehicle repair and maintenance data.

WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: OPERATIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSES Fire departments record and maintain information on every emergency response they make through the use of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) which will be part of their records management system. This is a system established by the National Fire Data Center of the United States Fire Administration (USFA), which authorizes the USFA to gather and analyze information on the nation's fire experience, as well as, its detailed characteristics and trends. These records also allow a fire department to more accurately assess and subsequently plan for the fire problem in their community. The MRI team worked with Chief Purcell to ensure that the survey was able to make comparisons based similar upon definitions and records within the NFIRS reporting system. However, as with many other things regarding any type of data, this is not an exact science and can involve a significant degree of subjective judgment. For example, whether a fire is defined as a structure fire, or classified in some other way is often determined by the subjective judgment of the personnel responding and completing that report. The EMS response data is typically based on the information that is sent to EMS billing and The Commonwealth from each department. However, this data too can have a subjective element to it. The following tables and graphs provide a comparison between the various types of incidents and numbers, between Westborough and its comparable communities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Fire_Administration

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


FIGURE XI-18: EMERGENCY INCIDENT COMPARISON 2015


COMMUNITY FIRE EMS TOTAL MEDICAL TRANSPORTS

BELMONT 2,872 1,544 4,416 963

FRANKLIN 1,341 2,449 3,790 2128

LEXINGTON 1,365 2,301 3,666 1718

NEEDHAM 1,399 2,515 3,914 1663

NORTHAMPTON 2,338 4,877 7,215 NR

READING NR 2,166 2,166 NR

WESTWOOD 1,237 1,700 2,937 NR

10,552 17,552 28,104 6472

AVERAGE 1,759 2,507 4,015 1,618

WESTBOROUGH 1,466 1,933 3,399 1,758

DEVIATION 0.83 0.77 0.85 1.09


BELMONT 2,814 1,596 4,410 1,170

FRANKLIN 1,322 2,459 3,781 2,084

LEXINGTON 1,297 2,331 3,628 1,826

NEEDHAM 1,320 2,563 3,883 1,719


READING NR 2,039 NR NR

WESTWOOD 1,322 1,854 3,176 NR

9,863 18,087 25,911 6,799

AVERAGE 1,644 2,584 4,319 1,700

WESTBOROUGH 1,404 2,133 3,537 1,827

DEVIATION 0.85 0.83 0.82 1.07

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




a. Westborough responds to about 20% less calls per capita than its peer communities.

b. Though Westborough responds to less EMS calls on average than the peer communities, they transport more patients than most communities. In 2017 the Westborough Fire Department transported 16% more patients than the average of the other peer communities.

c. Westborough responded to the second fewest total fire related incidents of all the comparable communities, 23% below average.

d. Westborough responded to the second fewest overall incidents, well below the average of the comparable communities, 18% below the average.

e. Other than Northampton, Westborough was about the same as the other peer communities regarding EMS incidents. Though it has one of the least populated communities, this would lead the MRI team to believe that the transient population, commuters, persons that may be receiving treatment or rehabilitation at the facilities located in Westborough.


BELMONT 2,804 1,650 4,454 1,107

FRANKLIN 1,268 2,910 4,178 2,395

LEXINGTON NR NR NR 1,809

NEEDHAM 1,422 2,544 3,966 1,570


READING NR 2,275 NR NR

WESTWOOD 1,017 2,081 3,098 NR

8,383 16,565 22,673 6,881

AVERAGE 1,677 2,761 4,535 1,720

WESTBOROUGH 1,455 2,263 3,718 1,997

DEVIATION 0.87 0.82 0.82 1.16

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


FIGURE XI-21: EMERGENCY INCIDENTS – 2015


0

10002000

300040005000

60007000

8000

2015 Emergency Responses

FIRE EMS TOTAL MEDICAL TRANSPORTS

0

10002000

300040005000

600070008000



_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



One of the ways a fire department can measure the level of service that they provide is in the amount of time it takes to respond to a reported structure fire. Fire departments are being held increasingly accountable for their response times and the consequences of extended or inadequate responses. The performance and effectiveness of fire department operations can be significantly impacted by the time it takes for them to arrive on the scene of an emergency incident. The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) report, Structure Fire Response Times, has a useful framework for total emergency incident response time, including definitions and components. Because of how a department and its software measure and report response times it can be difficult to compare one department's response time to another.

FIGURE XI-24: RESPONSE TIMES

COMMUNITY

BELMONT

FRANKLIN

LEXINGTON

NEEDHAM

NORTHAMPTON

READING

WESTWOOD

AVERAGE

WESTBOROUGH

3.59 Minutes

5.50 Minutes

NR

NR

4.15 (1 yr. of data all types of calls - 2017)

5.03

Average response time to actual structure fires:

Three year average

Less than 5 Minutes

6.02 Minutes

NR

010002000300040005000600070008000



_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



a. Westborough Fire Department’s response times are comparable to the other

departments other than Franklin and Northampton.

The way in which fire departments define and record mutual aid reflects an agreement among communities to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be requested only when such an emergency occurs, or it may also be a formal standing agreement for cooperative emergency management on a continuing basis, such as ensuring that resources are dispatched from the nearest fire station, regardless of which side of the jurisdictional boundary the incident is on. Agreements that send closest resources, or that dispatch mutual aid resources simultaneously with the initial dispatch are regularly referred to as "automatic aid agreements". Automatic aid is assistance dispatched automatically, by agreement, between two communities or fire districts. It must be prearranged for first-alarm response according to a definite plan. It is preferable to have a written agreement. Westborough and its neighboring fire departments regularly practice automatic aid with each other for any reported structure fire. Automatic aid is a practice that has been well established in the Westborough area and is the primary reason why individual fire departments are able to function with limited resources, particularly staffing. Westborough run cards/dispatch criteria became more formalized towards automatic aid in 2017.

FIGURE XI-25: AUTOMATIC and MUTUAL AID

Note: Westborough did not enter into Automatic Aid Agreements until 2017

COMMUNITY 2015 Auto Aid

Given

2015 Auto Aid

Received

2015 Mutual Aid

Given

2016 Mutual Aid

Received

2016 Auto Aid

Given

2016 Auto Aid

Received

2016 Mutual Aid

Given

2016 Mutual Aid

Received

2017 Auto Aid

Given

2017 Auto Aid

Received

2017 Mutual Aid

Given

2017 Mutual Aid

Received

BELMONT NR NR 35 154 NR NR 35 183 NR NR 24 176

FRANKLIN 21 4 99 54 18 4 133 72 13 6 200 96

LEXINGTON NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

NEEDHAM 4 13 22 40 4 22 49 54 1 15 24 76

NORTHAMPTON NR NR 8 44 NR NR 13 54 NR NR 12 59

READING NR NR 158 123 NR NR 191 135 NR NR 281 281

WESTWOOD 70 86 64 257 47 87 64 319 56 72 54 370

95 103 386 672 69 113 485 817 70 93 595 1,058

AVERAGE 32 34 64 112 23 38 81 136 23 31 99 176

WESTBOROUGH 0 0 83 91 0 0 84 109 22 20 78 126

DEVIATION 0.00 0.00 1.29 0.81 0.00 0.00 1.04 0.80 0.94 0.65 0.79 0.71

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_responders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisdiction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple-alarm_fire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatch_(logistics)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_station

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


FIGURE XI-26 AUTOMATIC and MUTUAL AID 3-YEAR AVERAGE


a. Not all departments utilize or document automatic aid. Some that may use mutual aid

on a regular basis for a specific area of town, facility or type of incident.

b. Westborough Fire Department did not begin to use automatic aid (or at least document

it) until 2017.

c. The average annual use of mutual aid received for the peer departments that reported

the data over a three year was about 113 incidents per year.

d. Westborough requested on average 109 incidents per year during that same three-year

time period.

Because most fire departments cannot respond alone to specialized incidents, such as technical rescues due to the fact that they may not have adequately trained firefighters and the proper equipment that they may need, most fire departments employ a regional response plan for these incidents.

FIGURE XI-27: REGIONAL SERVICES

COMMUNITY Auto Aid Given Auto Aid Received Mutual Aid Given MutualAid Received

BELMONT NR NR 31 171

FRANKLIN 17 5 144 74

LEXINGTON NR NR NR NR

NEEDHAM 3 17 32 57

NORTHAMPTON NR NR 11 52

READING NR NR 210 180

WESTWOOD 58 82 61 315

78 103 457 678

AVERAGE 26 34 76 113

WESTBOROUGH 7 7 82 109

DEVIATION 0.27 0.19 1.07 0.96

COMMUNITY

BELMONT

FRANKLIN

LEXINGTON

NEEDHAM

NORTHAMPTON

READING

WESTWOOD

WESTBOROUGH

Yes District 13

No

No

NR

Yes Metro and Norfolk County mutual aid,

No

Fire Dept is engaged in Regional or Shared Services:

Yes MetroFire

Yes Regional dispatch to open 1/1/19

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: DISPATCH

Public safety communications stands as the foundation of the ability to provide effective and efficient community-wide emergency services. Dispatchers must have the ability to receive critical information, process the information quickly and properly, and disseminate the information to appropriate first responders. Public safety telecommunication personnel must also maintain all data records required for the specific nature of an emergency incident. The systems utilized to dispatch, and coordinate fire and EMS communications vary as widely as the communities that utilize them. With the advent of the widespread availability of 911 several decades ago, each city and town have what is known as the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) which serves as the entry point into the emergency response and communications system. Call takers or dispatchers answer the incoming 911 calls. In some places, wireless 911 calls are only answered at a few designated PSAPs in a state and are transferred to the appropriate emergency services in the community where the emergency is. Fire departments often utilize a combined dispatch center for the all of the community’s emergency services. These centers can be staffed by either civilian or uniformed personnel. In some cases, the police and fire departments may maintain separate dispatch facilities, again, staffed by either civilian or uniformed personnel. In some cases, when EMS is handled by a private entity, medical emergencies may need to be routed to that dispatcher also, in addition to the fire and/or police departments. There is a growing trend toward communities regionalizing dispatch operations.

FIGURE XI-28: FIRE AND EMS DISPATCHING

Westborough is dispatched through a public safety dispatch center operated as a combined Fire and Police dispatch center located at the Westborough Central Fire Station. This is somewhat unique in that most public safety dispatch centers that are located within a community are typically located at the Police station and managed by the police department.

BELMONT FRANKLIN LEXINGTON NEEDHAM NORTHAMPTON READING WESTWOOD WESTBOROUGH

DISPATCH

Fire Department self dispatches No Yes No Yes No No Yes

Another agency dispatches for the Dept.: No No No No No No Yes

If Yes - Annual Expenditure

Community has combined dispatch for both PD and FD Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT BENCHMARK DATA: ACCREDITATIONS AND ISO RATINGS As noted previously in this report, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) lists a large number of items (facilities and practices) that a community should have to fight fires effectively. The schedule is performance-based and assigns credit points for each item. Using the credit points and various formulas, ISO calculates a total score on a scale 0 – 105.5. A zero rating makes the community a class 10 while a rating over 90 will rate a community a Class 1.

The ISO rating considers three main areas of a community’s fire suppression system: emergency communications, fire department (including operational considerations), and water supply. In addition, it includes a Community Risk Reduction section that recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation. When a community has both a public water supply (hydrants) and an area of town using only private wells the ISO will rate both areas separately.

The concept of accreditation in emergency services is a relatively new idea to many fire departments. However, it has been a common practice for many years in a variety of professions, including hospitals and schools. Fire Departments across the country are attempting to achieving accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI); Accreditation can immediately improve a department, and be used to plan for the future, show the public and elected officials what the fire department is doing and make the department a safer place to work. Some fire departments that provide EMS transport services become Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) accredited. CAAS accreditation signifies that the fire department has met the “gold standard” determined by the ambulance industry to be essential in a modern emergency medical services provider. These standards often exceed those established by state or local regulation. The CAAS standards are designed to increase operational efficiency and clinical quality, while decreasing risk and liability to the organization.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


FIGURE XI-29: ACCREDITATION AND ISO


a. The Town of Westborough is rated a 4/4X by ISO.

b. When compared to the average ISO Rating, the ISO rating in Westborough is higher than

the average. This means that over time, Westborough should strive to reduce their ISO

rating and become a Class 3 Department.

c. None of the surveyed fire departments are accredited or pursuing accreditation.

d. Only Westborough is considering pursuing Fire or Ambulance Accreditation. During

discussions with Chief Purcell he understood the importance and benefits of working

toward accreditation but also understood the extreme amount of efforts and the time

that it would take

COMMUNITYDEPARTMENT

ISO RATING

DEPARTMENT IS

NATIONALLY

ACCREDITED

DEPARTMENT IS

PURSUING

ACCREDITATION

BELMONT 3a No No

FRANKLIN 4 No No

LEXINGTON 3 No No

NEEDHAM 3 No No

NORTHAMPTON 3 No No

READING 3 No No

WESTWOOD NR No No

WESTBOROUGH 4/4X No Considering

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


CHAPTER XII

CONCLUSION AND STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

During the course of this study, we observed a highly functional fire and EMS organization that strives to provide an exceptional level of service to the community and the region. The Westborough Fire Department is confronted by many of the challenges that are facing fire service organizations across America. These challenges include:

• An increasing all-hazards focus

• Decreased frequency of serious structure fires

• Increased pressure to reduce resource consumption

• Increasing technical expectations

• An increasing focus on documentation, training, and certification of personnel

• A growing expectation to provide advanced level patient care

• Decreased availability of on-call personnel

• Increased call volumes and simultaneous incidents Specific to the Westborough Fire Department, it is clear that service demand is increasing and that the ability to match resources against service demand is straining the organization. As the fire services has entered into an all hazards environment and providing emergency medical services and transport services, the public has come to expect increased knowledge, skill and ability from their firefighters. In Westborough, this trend has increased both training and certification requirements and contributed to the end of the on-call force. The Westborough Fire Department is an excellent organization that provides a high-level of service to the Town. However, due to increasing requests for service, a diminishing on-call force, and limited on-duty staffing that has not been increased to keep pace with the growth in the community, it is struggling to keep up with meeting the growing needs of Westborough. The department is led by Chief Patrick Purcell who is a passionate advocate and energetic leader that works closely with Deputy Chief Jason Ferschke. They work as a team to provide critical, and it appears effective, leadership to the department.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Members of the department work as a team to produce a high quality, effective, and efficient response that serves the town well. As noted in this report the Department is effective in providing the community fire, rescue and EMS services. It should also be noted that the department has implemented several best practices prior to this study being implemented. These proactive concepts include the following:

➢ Extensive system of automatic aid with surrounding communities for the purpose of “mutual survival” and operational effectiveness;

➢ Monthly training program that allows on duty personnel to have uninterrupted training time by having off duty personnel come back to duty for response purposes;

➢ Including the department’s Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Guiding Principles as part of their Standard Operating Guidelines;

➢ Daily communication with members through the pre-shift meetings and

➢ A state of the art fire station that is maintained by on-duty staff.

However, the numerous positive aspects of the department and its operations notwithstanding, MRI’s evaluation has identified four areas of risk that we believe the Town of Westborough should address. These include:

1. The potential for a diminished level of service based on a deficit of available resources regularly during the course of the day.

2. Increasing response times based on a growing number of overlapping calls coupled

with a single deployment point.

3. Absence of a dedicated mechanics that have attained ASE certification and Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification.

4. Minimal staff to support the firefighters/EMT-P. All staff functions must be done by either the Chief or Deputy Chief. Other than them, the Department relies on individual members of the department that have been trained to provide specific duties such as:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


• An on-duty firefighter performing apparatus maintenance along with a retired firefighter who works one day a week. They perform maintenance and repairs at the fire station.

• An officer/paramedic who is the ALS Coordinator

• A firefighter/paramedic doing EMS Quality Control

• A firefighter/paramedic ordering EMS supplies THE TOP EIGHT CHALLENGES FACING THE WESTBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT 1. Providing sufficient immediately available resources, both personnel and equipment, to

match increasing requests for service and do so within recognized benchmarks for response times.

2. Providing an adequate complement of fully trained and certified personnel, especially

firefighter/paramedics on a daily basis.

3. Utilizing the Captain as a dedicated Shift Commander and available to be the Incident Commander.

4. Developing a plan to fund, locate, design and develop plans for a second fire station.

5. Fully utilizing the department’s records management system (RMS) and incorporating

mobile and GIS data connectivity.

6. Providing a comprehensive training program that maintains perishable skills for all department members.

7. Expanding pre-fire planning efforts and providing immediate access to that information.

8. Working to improve its ISO Rating to a Class 3. Working with the Town and the Water Department to make the recommended improvements in the most recent ISO Report

THE TOP TEN RECOMMENDATIONS (Not Prioritized)

Recommendations VII.2, IV.1 and V.3 The Westborough Fire Department should review NFPA 1710 and utilize these standards along with the recommendations in this report as a basis to develop an operational strategic plan that identifies actions to enhance compliance over the next five years. The Westborough Fire Department should strive to have a minimum of 14 to 16 firefighting personnel on the scene of every structure fire within 8 minutes of the time that units are responding. Until

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


permanent staffing can be added to the department the current use of automatic aid and mutual aid must continue and potentially be enhanced as other local departments are seeing the same increases in call demand. The Westborough Fire Department should continue to try to reduce the number of incidents with a response time over six minutes to 10% or fewer, as recommended by NFPA 1710.

Recommendations VII.5 and VII.10 In April 2018 apply for SAFER Grant to be used to hire up to 8 firefighters. If successful in receiving a SAFER GRANT, in July 2019 hire four to eight additional firefighter/paramedic based on SAFER Grant Award. This will raise the department’s minimum staffing level to seven or eight personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation IV.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a response plan that would have the Shift Commander respond to all incidents in the Command Vehicle with all the tools and data needed for that response. There is a need for an Incident Commander as well as a dedicated shift commander who is responsible for managing the Town’s on-duty fire and EMS personnel, especially during the hours that the Fire or Deputy Chief are off duty. Recommendation IV.5 The Westborough Fire Department should enhance its existing pre-fire planning program into a comprehensive program that can be utilized by mutual/auto aid companies that often are responding into town. Appropriate pre-planning software should be obtained and installed in apparatus, with mobile data terminals (MDTs) in all apparatus and command/staff vehicles. Recommendation IV.9 The Westborough Fire Department should work to improve its ISO rating to a Class 3 with recommendations noted in the last ISO survey report. Recommendations V.1, V.2, IX.4 and IX.5 The Westborough Fire Department needs to collect pertinent data and monitor this data for all emergency incidents. Using their current dispatch and reporting software they should collect this data and report it monthly in order to track potential issues that may impact service levels:

➢ Type of Call ➢ Day of the week ➢ Time of Day ➢ Simultaneous and multi-simultaneous incidents ➢ EMS response times-based type of incident (Using EMD protocols) ➢ EMS turnaround time at hospitals/rehabilitation centers ➢ Location of incidents – Using GIS density mapping

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The Westborough Fire Department should carefully track incident response numbers and response times for 2017 through 2021, and, utilizing GPS plot these data points on maps to determine the need for a second fire station in the northeast quadrant of the town. If the five-year data analysis supports the need for a second fire station, the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department should initiate the design and development of a new substation in the Northeast quadrant of the town in 2022. This entire process of building a new facility can take anywhere from 5- 10 years. As such, the site location is the first step in that process and can best be determined through this data. During this time potential station locations should also be identified. Recommendation VI.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a public relations program that “tells their story” regarding services that they provide other than fire and EMS response. Finding a method to incorporate informing the citizens about those services such as CPR training, home wellness checks, how home inspections are scheduled and conducted are examples. Recommendation VIII.2 The Westborough Fire Department should consider having the dispatch center supervisor split his/her time between administrative duties on two days and serving as a first shift dispatcher the other two day. If the workload eventually justifies it, consideration should be given to having the supervisor primarily function in an administrative capacity. Recommendation VII.7 The Town of Westborough should consider hiring an additional mechanic for DPW that would be shared by the fire and police departments. This mechanic should be ASE certified, as well as, possessing Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification appropriate to the level of work they are asked to perform. Recommendation IX.6 The Westborough Fire Department in conjunction with the Town of Westborough should develop a Capital Replacement Plan for all apparatus, ambulances and vehicles. This plan should have at a minimum a 15-year cycle.

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STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Recommendations VII.2, IV.1 and V.3

➢ Review NFPA 1710 and utilize these standards along

with the recommendations in this report as a basis

to develop an operational strategic plan that

identifies actions to enhance compliance.

➢ Develop Plan to have a minimum of 14 to 16

firefighting personnel on the scene of every

structure fire within 8 minutes of the time that

units are responding. Until permanent staffing can

be added to the department the current use of

automatic aid and mutual aid must continue and

potentially be enhanced as other local departments

are seeing the same increases in call demand.

➢ Try to reduce the number of incidents with a

response time over six minutes to 10% or fewer, as

recommended by NFPA 1710.

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Command Staff, IT personnel

Timeline ➢ Ongoing process

➢ Present until 2024

Potential Barriers to Implementation ➢ Increased call volume

➢ Limited staffing

➢ Budget limitations

➢ Grant Acceptance

Recommendations VII.5 and VII.10

➢ Apply for SAFER Grant.

➢ If successful in receiving a SAFER GRANT, hire four

to eight additional firefighter/paramedic based on

SAFER Grant Award.

➢ Training of new firefighters

Timeline ➢ April 2018 – Completed

➢ July 2019 – Hiring Process

➢ July- October- Training

Task Group ➢ Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Town Administration,

Dept. Training Officer,

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➢ Command Staff

Potential Barriers to Implementation ➢ Grant Acceptance

➢ Budget Constraints

➢ Availability of potential new hires

Recommendation IV.2

➢ Develop a response plan that would have the Shift

Commander respond to all incidents in the

Command Vehicle with all the tools and data

needed for that response. There is a need for an

Incident Commander as well as a dedicated shift

commander who is responsible for managing the

Town’s on-duty fire and EMS personnel, especially

during the hours that the Fire or Deputy Chief are

off duty.

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief

Timeline January 2019– July 2019

Potential Barriers to Implementation ➢ Budget limitations

Staffing Constraints

Recommendation IV.5 ➢ Enhance its existing pre-fire planning program into a

comprehensive program that can be utilized by

mutual/auto aid companies that often are responding

into town.

➢ Appropriate pre-planning software should be obtained

and installed in apparatus, with mobile data terminals

(MDTs) in all apparatus and command/staff vehicles

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, IT Personnel

Timeline July 2018 – January 2019 (In Process)


➢ Staffing Constraints

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Recommendation IV.9

Improve ISO rating to a Class 3 with

recommendations noted in the last ISO survey

report.

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, IT Personnel, Water

Department

Timeline July 2018 – June 2022 (In Process)



Reliance on Water Department

Recommendations V.1, V.2, IX.4 and IX.5 1

➢ Collect pertinent data, monitor this data for all

emergency incidents.

➢ Monthly reporting in order to track potential

issues that may impact service levels:

➢ Utilizing GPS plot these data points on maps to

determine the need for a second fire station in

the northeast quadrant of the town.

➢ If the five-year data analysis supports the need for

a second fire station, initiate the design and

development of a new substation in the

Northeast quadrant of the Town

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, IT Personnel,

Timeline ➢ (In Process)

➢ July 2018 – June 2022

Facility Plan 5-10 years

Potential Barriers to Implementation ➢ Software limitations

➢ Training of personnel in data input



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Recommendation VI.2

Develop a public relations program regarding

services that they provide other than fire and EMS

response.

Task Group Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, as assigned by Fire Chief

Timeline July 2018 – ongoing

Potential Barriers to Implementation ➢ Training of personnel

➢ Building relationships with local media


Staffing understanding its importance

Recommendation VIII.2 ➢ Assigning the dispatch center supervisor so that

she may split her time between administrative

duties on two days and serving as a first shift

dispatcher the other two day.

If the workload eventually justifies it,

consideration should be given to having the

supervisor primarily function in an administrative

capacity.

Task Group Fire Chief, Dispatch Center Supervisor

Timeline July 2019


➢ Need for additional dispatch personnel

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CHAPTER XIII

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation III.1 The Town of Westborough should include the Westborough Fire Chief as a de facto member of the Westborough Economic Development Committee. Though the Chief would have no voting or legal authority as an ED Committee member he could assist in developing future business development in the community through his knowledge of building requirements, technical and safety aspects that a future business might require Recommendation IV.1 The Westborough Fire Department should strive to have a minimum of 14 to 16 firefighting personnel on the scene of every structure fire within 8 minutes of the time that units are responding. Until permanent staffing can be added to the department the current use of automatic aid and mutual aid must continue and potentially be enhanced as other local departments are seeing the same increases in call demand. Recommendation IV.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a response plan that would have the Shift Commander respond to all incidents in the Command Vehicle with all the tools and data needed for that response. There is a need for an Incident Commander as well as a dedicated shift commander who is responsible for managing the Town’s on-duty fire and EMS personnel, especially during the hours that the Fire or Deputy Chief are off duty. Recommendation IV.3 The Westborough Fire Department should work with other fire departments in the region to develop a Regional Rapid Response Team (RIT) to respond to all structure fire calls in the region. A fire department that sends a company to another town to assist should be dedicated as the RIT and not be assigned other duties on scene that would prohibit them from performing firefighter rescue duties. Recommendation IV.4 The Westborough Fire Department should consider designating a full-time EMS Coordinator. This position should be an officer and be assigned as a staff position working a typical Monday through Friday schedule. Due to the fact that EMS incidents constitute the largest percentage of department incidents, along with the mission-critical importance of the position, the EMS coordinator should be given proper authority. These functions should start as administrative duties assigned to shift personnel and progress to staff positions concurrent with the staffing plan contained in this report.

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Recommendation IV.5 The Westborough Fire Department should enhance its existing pre-fire planning program into a comprehensive program that can be utilized by mutual/auto aid companies that often are responding into town. Appropriate pre-planning software should be obtained and installed in apparatus, with mobile data terminals (MDTs) in all apparatus and command/staff vehicles. Recommendation IV.6 The Westborough Fire Department should complete the acquisition and installation of mobile data terminals (MDT’s) in all frontline apparatus and supply each unit with mobile connectivity. (MRI Team was aware that this was in process during our site visit). Recommendation IV.7 The Westborough Fire Department should work with Water Department to develop plans to extend the water system where possible into all new developments in town and continue to expand the water supply system to areas of the town where it currently is not.

Recommendation IV.8 The Westborough Fire Department should develop standard operating procedures that would include the use of emergency medical dispatch priorities for all EMS calls. This would allow ambulances to respond “with traffic” to some medical calls that are non-life threatening and non-critical. Recommendation IV.9 The Westborough Fire Department should work to improve its ISO rating to a Class 3 with recommendations noted in the last ISO survey report. Recommendation IV.10 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to work with the Westborough Water Department to develop plans to test and inspect all fire hydrants in the town on an annual basis. This effort should be expanded to marking hydrants by fire flow as outlined in NFPA standards and the testing and inspection of yard hydrants.

Recommendation IV.11 Over two years, The Water Department should color code hydrant caps to the NFPA standard for fire flow. Fire flow information should also be available to first responders through the IMC CAD system. Recommendation IV.12 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a public education program that includes discussing the benefits of installing residential fire sprinklers in all new one and two-story homes, particularly those located at least outside of the four-minute response time from

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Central Station and especially in the extremely large size single family homes (over 4000 square feet) with difficult access to them. Recommendation IV.13 The Westborough Fire Department should address the lack of credit issued for public safety telecommunicators and the number or configuration of dispatch circuits. Documentation of any improvements should be shared with ISO. Recommendation IV.14 The Town of Westborough and the Westborough Fire Department should begin to explore the feasibility of implementing some type of community-based mobile integrated health care in an attempt to provide better service to the community, and to the extent possible, attempt to minimize the recurring demand on the service from continual and repeated use of critical resources for non-emergency responses. Recommendation V.1 The Westborough Fire Department needs to collect pertinent data, monitor this data for all emergency incidents. Using their current dispatch and reporting software they should collect this data and report it monthly in order to track potential issues that may impact service levels:

➢ Type of Call

➢ Day of the week

➢ Time of Day

➢ Simultaneous and multi-simultaneous incidents

➢ EMS response times-based type of incident (Using EMD protocols)

➢ EMS turnaround time at hospitals/rehabilitation centers

➢ Location of incidents – Using GIS density mapping

Recommendation V.2 Based on GIS call density mapping and response times to those incidents begin the process of determining the potential location for a future facility. This entire process of building a new facility can take anywhere from 5- 10 years. As such, the site location is the first step in that process and can best be determined through this data. Recommendation V.3 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to try to reduce the number of incidents with a response time over six minutes to 10% or less, as recommended by NFPA 1710.

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Recommendation VI.1 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to stress the importance of the OSHA Two-in/Two-Out Rule and continue to provide personnel with clear guidance on operations when less than four personnel have been assembled on the incident scene.

Recommendation VI.2 The Westborough Fire Department should develop a public relations program that “tells their story” regarding services that they provide other than fire and EMS response. Finding a method to incorporate informing the citizens about those services such as CPR training, home wellness checks, how home inspections are scheduled and conducted are examples. Recommendation VI.3 The Westborough Fire Department Training Officer along with the Deputy Chief should assign a member selected at random to review one SOG and one policy at each shift change briefing and training session. Ultimately, there should be one document that shows all SOGs and policies have been reviewed and signed off by all personnel, stating they understand the document. Recommendation VI.4 All SOGs should be posted in a password protected portion of the department’s website to serve as a resource to personnel.

Recommendation VI.5 The Westborough Fire Department should establish a committee to provide guidance to the fire chief as to updates, revisions, and new SOGs and/or policies that need to be developed or addressed. Recommendation VI.6 Once developed, SOPs should be reviewed every two years, and revised/updated as necessary. Recommendation VII.1 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of assigning personnel to the ambulance for partial shifts by rotating personnel off the ambulance after 12 -14 hours Recommendation VII.2 The Westborough Fire Department should review NFPA 1710 and utilize these standards along with the recommendations in this report as a basis to develop an operational strategic plan that identifies actions to enhance compliance over the next five years.

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Recommendation VII.3 The Westborough Fire Department Training Officer along with the Deputy Chief should assign a member selected at random to review one SOP and one policy at each shift change briefing and training session. Ultimately, there should be one document that shows all SOPs and policies have been reviewed and signed off by all personnel, stating they understand the document. Recommendation VII.4 Once implemented, the Westborough Fire Department’s SOPs should be utilized as the basis for all operations. Any deviation should be documented in the National Fire Incident Report completed for the emergency, providing a full narrative on the reasons why. Recommendation VII.5 In April 2018 apply for SAFER Grant. To be used to hire up to 8 firefighters. Recommendation VII.6 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing by 1 firefighter/paramedic per shift during peak response times and allow the Shift Commander to staff the Command Car at a minimum whenever the Chief or Deputy Chief are not on-duty. Recommendation VII.7 The Town of Westborough should consider hiring an additional mechanic for DPW that would be shared by the fire and police departments. This mechanic should be ASE certified, as well as, possessing Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification appropriate to the level of work they are asked to perform. Recommendation VII.8 In July 2023 hire or promote an additional officer as a full-time EMS Director/Coordinator. The department is currently using on-duty staff to complete these crucial functions. We would recommend that those personnel continue to work with the EMS Director as a backup. Recommendation VII.9 In July 2025 hire or promote an additional officer as a full-time Training Officer. The department is currently using the Shift Commanders and the Deputy Chief to complete the training requirements for the department’s crucial functions. We would recommend that those personnel continue to work with the Training Officer as a backup.

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If successful in receiving a SAFER GRANT: Recommendation VII.10 In July 2019 hire four to eight additional firefighter/paramedic based on SAFER Grant Award. This will raise the department’s minimum staffing level to seven or eight personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation VII.11 In July 2020 hire the remaining SAFER firefighters if not hired in 2019 based on SAFER Grant Award. This will raise the department’s minimum staffing level to eight personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation VII.12 In 2024 increase minimum daily staffing to 9 personnel. Overtime funding may need to be increased. Recommendation VII.13 In July 2025 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic. This will maintain the department’s minimum staffing level to 9 personnel and increase the staffing level to 10 personnel on-duty at all times. Recommendation VII.14 In July 2028 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic. This will maintain the department’s minimum staffing level to 10 personnel and increase the staffing level to 12 personnel on-duty at all times. If not fully successful in being awarded a SAFER grant in 2018/19 we recommend that the Town continue to apply for this grant in future years that it remains available. If not successful in procuring a SAFER grant: Recommendation VII.15 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing by 1 firefighter/paramedic per shift during peak response times and allow the Shift Commander to staff the Command Car at a minimum whenever the Chief or Deputy Chief are not on-duty. Recommendation VII.16 In July 2019 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to provide an eighth person on two shifts. These firefighters would be assigned to cover long term absences.

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Recommendation VII.17 In Fiscal year 2019 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing to 8 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.18 In July 2020 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily minimum/maximum staffing to eight personnel per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.19 In July 2021 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to provide a ninth person on two shifts. These firefighters would be assigned to cover long term absences. Recommendation VII.20 In July 2022 hire two additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily minimum/maximum staffing to nine personnel per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.21 In Fiscal year 2023 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum staffing to 9 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.22 In July 2024 hire four additional firefighter/paramedics to increase the daily maximum staffing to ten personnel per shift. These employees will absorb additional overtime and provide the four workgroups the ability to cover short and long-term absences of two members before overtime is necessary. Recommendation VII.23 In Fiscal year 2026 increase the overtime line item in order to increase the minimum/maximum staffing to 10 firefighter/paramedic per shift including officers. Recommendation VII.24 In July 2028 hire four additional firefighter/paramedic.

Recommendation VIII.1 The Westborough Fire Department should work with the town’s phone system vendor to implement a unique and distinctive sound or ring to distinguish incoming emergency or 9-1-1 calls from other phone calls. Recommendation VIII.2 The Westborough Fire Department should consider having the dispatch center supervisor split his/her time between administrative duties on two days and serving as a first shift dispatcher

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the other two day. If the workload eventually justifies it, consideration should be given to having the supervisor primarily function in an administrative capacity. Recommendation VIII.3 In addition to completion of the minimum, basic training required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to maximize the level of proficiency and professionalism, ALL dispatch personnel should be required to complete the following advanced training/certification classes. Recommendation VIII.4 The dispatch supervisor should be required to complete appropriate supervisory, management, and leadership training courses, and/or certification programs.

Recommendation VIII.5 The Westborough Fire and Police Departments are encouraged to continue the beneficial ride along program for dispatchers. Both departments should also work with the dispatch center supervisor to identify other potential areas where dispatcher training could be incorporated as part of fire or police training. Recommendation VIII.6 The Westborough dispatch center should adopt an EMD incident priority matrix utilizing recognized classifications (A = minor to E = most severe) to denote call severity and resources/level of response to be initially dispatched. Recommendation VIII.7 The Town of Westborough should consider the installation of a traffic signal in front of the fire station that is activated by responding units to facilitate a more rapid response of units from the station. Recommendation IX.1 The Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department should take steps to address and mitigate the station issues identified particularly the apparatus bay acoustical concerns. Since the station is just three years old, the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department, in conjunction with their legal counsel should determine if correction of any of the stations concerns identified would still be covered under the initial construction warranty of the facility. Recommendation XI.2 The Westborough Fire Department should periodically conduct third party air quality testing of its fire station.

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Recommendation IX.3 The Westborough Fire Department should carefully track incident response numbers and response times for 2017 through 2021, and, utilizing GPS plot these data points on maps to determine the need for a second fire station in the northeast quadrant of the town. During this time potential station locations should also be identified. Recommendation IX.4 If the five-year data analysis supports the need for a second fire station, the Town of Westborough and Westborough Fire Department should initiate the design and development of a new substation in the Northeast quadrant of the town in 2022. The following timeline should be considered to meet this goal:

➢ 2022: Formation of a building committee. ➢ 2022/2023: Feasibility study conducted on new station. ➢ 2024/2025: Architectural design developed, and funding procured. ➢ 2026: Construction and occupancy of new station.

The new substation should be staffed with a lieutenant and two firefighter/paramedics on a 24/7 basis. Recommendation IX.5 The Westborough Fire Department in conjunction with the Town of Westborough should develop a 10-15-year Capital Replacement Plan for all apparatus, ambulances and vehicles. By utilizing such a plan, the need to replace more than one apparatus during a short period of time will be minimized. By maintaining such a plan the Department will be able to have the newest pieces as front line while maintaining the older apparatus and ambulances as reserves. Recommendation IX.6 The Westborough Fire Department should consider the future acquisition of a “quint” apparatus that has a 95’ aerial ladder and is configured to also fully function as a fire pumper to be assigned to a new station 2. Recommendation IX.7 The Westborough Fire Department should consider having all existing department vehicles retrofitted with reflective safety striping in accordance with NFPA 1901. All future vehicles should also be appropriately striped including command, staff, and utility vehicles5.

5 The Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study (Federal Emergency Management Agency, FA-323, August 2009)

provides valuable information about vehicle marking (see http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_323.pdf).

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Recommendation IX.8 The Westborough Fire Department should give consideration should be given to equipping any new apparatus with lighted traffic arrow devices mounted high enough on the vehicle to permit visibility by approaching vehicles, especially during responses on the interstate highway system and other higher speed roads.

Recommendation IX.9 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual pump testing in accordance with NFPA and ISO standards. Pump tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.10 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual hose testing in accordance with NFPA and ISO standards. Hose tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.11 The Westborough Fire Department should continue its current practice of annual ground ladder and aerial apparatus testing in accordance with NFPA standards. Ladder and aerial tests should be performed at intervals no greater than twelve months apart. All tests, deficiencies, and repairs/corrective actions performed should be fully documented. Recommendation IX.12 When purchasing new apparatus and ambulances, the Westborough Fire Department should adopt a policy of purchasing new NFPA 1901 compliant and updated EMS equipment when a new apparatus or ambulance is purchased. This policy will ensure that equipment is the most technologically up-to-date and that it is safe and functional. It will also make it possible to keep reserve apparatus and ambulances fully equipped for immediate use. Recommendation IX.13 The Westborough Fire Department should review the recommendations contained in NFPA Standard 1911, Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus (National Fire Protection Association, 2016 Edition) and use it as a guide to revise and update the vehicle fleet maintenance program as may be necessary. Recommendation IX.14 The Town of Westborough should consider hiring an additional mechanic for DPW that would be shared by the fire and police departments. This mechanic should be ASE certified, as well

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as, possessing Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification appropriate to the level of work they are asked to perform. Recommendation IX.15 The Westborough Fire Department should consider increasing the frequency of the air quality tests of the breathing air being produced by the air compressor from annually to quarterly to better ensure that it always remains a minimum of Grade “D”. Recommendation IX.16 Working in conjunction with the town’s IT department or provider, the Westborough Fire Department should develop a plan to install mobile data terminals (MDTs) in all apparatus and staff/command vehicles. In developing the MDT plan, consideration should be given to evaluating the latest technologies and software, including the use of tablets rather than laptop computers. Priority should be given to getting necessary building information uploaded into the CAD system. At a minimum, the incident commander at a scene should have access to fire pre-plan data, building permit data (building plans and current data about renovation and construction projects), real-time weather data, and hazardous materials data. Recommendation IX.17 In conjunction with the recommendation for the installation of MDTs or tablets, the Westborough Fire Department should explore possible uses for GIS technology to enhance operations. Recommendation IX.18 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to place an important emphasis on evaluating new technology for use on emergency incidents particularly when it pertains to firefighter safety and/or patient care. Recommendation X.1 The Westborough Fire Department should consider developing a formal training of some type, lasting a minimum of one hour, should be mandated to take place on every duty day on every platoon. Training should occur even on weekends and holidays and can also be conducted during evening hours. Personnel can swap off response assignments for training purposes to ensure, as much as possible, that all personnel get to complete the training. Recommendation X.2 The Westborough Fire Department should look for additional daily opportunities for training that can be found during related activities such as daily/weekly apparatus and equipment inspections, building pre-planning activities, and short duration (10-15 minute) shift change and/or coffee break drills.

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Recommendation X.3 The Westborough Fire Department should be fully supported in, and strongly encouraged to continue, its current program to have personnel training monthly out of service at a training academy including for live fire training. With the number of actual fires decreasing, periodic live fire training exercises at a dedicated training facility need to be conducted in order for personnel to maintain their skills proficiency (Figure IX-1). Recommendation X.4 The Westborough Fire Department should continue their training regimen enhance training documentation to provide ISO with the specific information that they require. ISO should be contacted and questioned relative to the low credit granted for training. Recommendation IX.5 The Westborough Fire Department should make a concerted effort to send as many officers as possible to the National Fire Academy (NFA). Any officers who meet the admissions criteria should be encouraged to enroll in the Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Training reports should be completed for any NFA training and copies of certificates placed in the personnel and training files. Recommendation X.6 The Westborough Fire Department should continue to strongly encourage personnel to seek additional training on their own, and to the financial and practical extent possible, send personnel to outside training opportunities such as the Firehouse Expo in Nashville and the FDIC in Indianapolis. Information gained at this training can then be brought back and delivered to other members of the department. Training reports should be completed for all this training, and copies of any certificates earned should be placed in the member’s personnel and training files. Recommendation X.7 A training bulletin board should be placed in the station where upcoming training opportunities can be posted for all personnel to review. Training notices can also be sent electronically to all personnel and be posted in a member’s only area of the department’s website. Recommendation X.8 The Westborough Fire Department should implement periodic skills proficiency evaluations for all department personnel. These proficiency evaluations, consisting of standardized evolutions, can be based upon recognized standards and benchmarks, in conjunction with performance criterion and benchmarks, established through evaluation of, and based upon, Westborough Fire Department operations and procedures.

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Recommendation X.9 The Westborough Fire Department should seek funding to expand the training resources and training library to include current editions of commonly utilized media. The department should fully utilize the internet and all the various training resources available online. Recommendation X.10 The Westborough Fire Department should explore options for providing certain training programs utilizing an on-line platform to allow personnel to complete the training at their convenience. Recommendation X.11 The Westborough Fire Department should, as part of its written communications system, develop Training Bulletins which would be issued to serve as reference with regard to tested and approved methods of performing various tasks, and Safety Bulletins which should be issued to serve as references with regard to general and specific safety and health issues. Recommendation X.12 Long term, particularly if department staffing increases incrementally as recommended in this report, the Town of Westborough should consider creating a full-time training officer position who will oversee all department training, certifications, and safety.

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CHAPTER XIV

THE PROJECT TEAM PROJECT MANAGER

George Klauber is a Senior Public Safety Consultant with MRI; he graduated from Charter Oaks State College with a BS in Fire Science and Technology and has taken numerous courses at the National Fire Academy. Chief Klauber retired as the Fire Chief in Derry, New Hampshire, where he served since 2003. His retirement capped a career of almost 40 years in the Fire Service. George began his career in the Waterbury, Connecticut, Fire Department where he served with distinction and rose through the ranks to become Chief of the Department, a position he held for 3 years before accepting the position of Chief in Derry, New Hampshire. Chief Klauber is a Certified Fire Officer in accordance with NFPA 1021; a Certified Fire Service Instructor in accordance with NFPA 1501; and a Certified Safety Officer in accordance with NFPA 1521. Chief Klauber is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; the New England Association of Fire Chiefs, the New Hampshire Fire Chiefs Association; the National Fire Protection Association, and the International Association of Emergency Managers. Chief Klauber has served as a subject expert and consulting advisor to MRI clients since 2001.

TEAM MEMBER

Peter J. Finley, Jr. most recently served as Chief of the Winslow Township Fire Department in New Jersey, where he was responsible for the planning, establishment, and initial deployment of the career component of the department. He previously served for 4 ½ years as the Chief of Department for the City of Vineland New Jersey Fire Department where he initiated significant changes within the department including updating and modernizing equipment, providing the department’s first ever formal officer training, and significantly increasing the capabilities of the regional hazardous materials response team. During his tenure, the department received more than one million dollars in various grants. He formerly commanded the Vineland Rescue Squad gaining significant EMS operations and command experience, as well as completing an overhaul of that organization’s operations. Chief Finley serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Fire Science Program at Camden County College. Chief Finley received his Associate of Applied Science degree from Atlantic Community College in New Jersey and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Science/Administration from the University of Maryland. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, earning perfect scores on three of his four Applied Research Projects. He was awarded an Outstanding Research Award for his 2002 paper titled, “Residential Fire Alarm Systems: The Verification and Response Dilemma”. Chief Finley holds nearly two

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dozen state and national certifications and is a member of a number of fire service organizations, including achieving the prestigious Chief Fire Officer designation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. He is a member of a number of fire service organizations and is currently serving as President of the New Jersey Career Fire Chiefs Association where he has been involved in the development and administration of fire service promotional examinations. From 2003–2005 he served on the Training and Education Committee of the Governor’s Fire Service and Safety Task Force. He also previously served on the state committee that developed New Jersey’s first Firefighter I Instructor Manual.

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