Final 2015 Annual Report - Lacey,...

Lacey Fire District 3Lacey Fire District 3Lacey Fire District 3Lacey Fire District 3 Annual ReportAnnual ReportAnnual ReportAnnual Report

2015201520152015

www.laceyfire.com of 10

Service with Excellence

Lacey FiLacey FiLacey FiLacey Fire Dire Dire Dire District 3 Annual Report 2015strict 3 Annual Report 2015strict 3 Annual Report 2015strict 3 Annual Report 2015

FFFFrom rom rom rom the Fire Chiefthe Fire Chiefthe Fire Chiefthe Fire Chief Thank you for taking a moment to read about what the past year brought to Lacey Fire District Three (LFD3). 2015 was yet another record-setting year on more than one front. First, we saw another year of sustained growth in the requests for our services. Our incident responses were up over 8% above 2014 numbers and approached a new high of almost 13,000, or an average of one response every 40 minutes each day. At the same time, we saw an exciting improvement in another vital statistic we monitor, in partnership with Thurston County Medic One, to

determine the effectiveness of our emergency medical services. Nationally, victims of the most serious types of heart attacks which result in cardiac arrest and subsequent need for CPR have just over a 20% likelihood of meaningful survival. For residents of LFD3, however, that survival percentage reached an all-time high of 60% in 2015. We attribute this success to the strong partnerships among response agencies, rigorous training for our responders, and a growing emphasis on citizen CPR. I strongly encourage you to learn the simple steps of hands-only CPR and share that knowledge with your friends and family! In addition to our focus on continuous improvement in the area of emergency medical care, we continued to expand our training and technical expertise in the areas of fire suppression and technical rescue services. Members of LFD3 serve on the Thurston County Special Operations Rescue Team (SORT) alongside members of 5 other fire agencies and we partner with the Sheriff's Office to perform water rescue services throughout our region. While responding to emergencies is typically what we are best known for, our efforts to educate our citizens and prevent emergencies are actually some of our most important activities. We are happy to offer various resources to help prepare your family and community to respond appropriately in the event of an emergency. None of the services we provide would be possible without the strong support that you, our citizens, provide to our organization. My commitment as your Fire Chief is to make certain that we are good stewards of the resources you entrust to our team and that we stand ready to meet whatever needs arise within our community. Our response and support staff is made up of over 120 dedicated career and volunteer professionals. All of our efforts are guided by the principles outlined in our "LFD3 Way", so I encourage you to take a moment to familiarize yourself with this important guiding document. I always welcome any feedback you have to offer regarding our performance. I also enjoy the opportunities I get to meet and talk with many of you each year.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there are any ways I or our team can be of service to you!




The LFD3 Way …

Mission: Service with Excellence

Vision: To be trusted professionals in our community and experts in our field who specialize in emergency preparedness, prevention, and response

Values: Competence - To effectively handle whatever challenge we face Character - To preserve our integrity and the public's trust Courage - To do what's right, no matter what Compassion - For everyone we encounter without prejudice

Camaraderie - To respect and support every member of our team

Guiding Principles:

• Teamwork is what sustains us. Nothing important is accomplished and no one succeeds in isolation.

• Leadership is a commitment and mindset, not a title or position.

o Our leaders are accessible and accountable, guiding others in a trustworthy and disciplined manner with clearly defined expectations that are predictably consistent and fair

• Decisions we make must stand up under inevitable scrutiny; could you confidently read about it in the newspaper?

o If there is a policy, follow it.

o If there's not a policy but a known past or best practice exists, rely on it.

o If there's no policy or practice to follow and you have discretionary time, then seek the guidance of your peers or leaders; THEN take a lead role in developing the needed policy or guide.

o If there's no policy, practice, or discretionary time, use your training and experience to make the best decision you can; THEN share your experience so the next person will have a guide to follow.

• Life-long learning is what prepares us for our future. Every day MUST BE a Learning Day and should be conducted as if lives depend on its success, because they do.

• Mistakes are inevitable. Without them, we would never learn the wrong way to do something. Just don't waste the experience by hiding or repeating a mistake.




Lacey Fire DistrictLacey Fire DistrictLacey Fire DistrictLacey Fire District OverviewOverviewOverviewOverview

Lacey Fire District 3 began operations in 1948. The current boundaries include the Nisqually River to the East, the City of Olympia to the West, Fire District 8 to the North and Fire District 6 and Joint Base Lewis McCord to the South. Within the District boundaries are the City of Lacey and the Nisqually Indian Reservation. These boundaries encompass about 70 square miles and approximately 88,941 people. Lacey Fire District protects an assessed valuation of more than $8.3 billion dollars, which includes a mix of residential and commercial occupancies as well as agricultural and undeveloped wildland. The District holds a Class 3 rating from the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau throughout most of the District. The District area is shown at the right, with our five stations; Station 32 is the resident volunteer station. Services are provided throughout the District from four 24-hour staffed stations strategically located throughout the community. A 5th station, with volunteer residents, provides additional coverage in the south east area of the District. Each staffed station has an Engine company of three career firefighters, with volunteer firefighters providing a 4th crewmember on at least one engine about 70% of the time. Station 34 on Steilacoom Road also has a staffed Medic Unit. Station 31, the headquarters station on Franz St SE, has a staffed Engine, Ladder Truck and Medic unit, as well as the Battalion Chief operating from that station. The District also operates a 3rd Medic Unit, located in the Yelm area. The District is governed by an elected five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. The District operates as a combination agency, with both career employees and volunteer members. In 2015, the District had 93 career firefighters and officers, and twelve volunteer firefighters. Additional employees and volunteers support the service delivery mission through administrative and support functions.

Pierce County

N




$14,516,137,

84%

$2,617,297,

15%

$118,000, 1%

2015 District Operating Budget

Salary and Benefits Maintenance and Operations Capital Improvements

Overview, contOverview, contOverview, contOverview, cont The 2015 General Operating budget for the District was $17.2 million, with salary and benefits comprising 84% of total expenses.

2015 revenue included nearly $500,000 in revenue from SAFER grant funding and approximately $3.7 million from the Thurston County Medic One contract for paramedic services.

Through thoughtful spending and regular comprehensive financial reporting, the District ended 2015 with General Operating expenses 16% under budget. The District is funded primarily through property taxes and contracts. Paramedic services in Thurston County are coordinated through a central administrative office - Thurston County Medic One (TCMO) - that contracts with fire service agencies for service delivery. Lacey Fire District 3 operates three of the seven Medic Units in Thurston County, and the District’s contract with TCMO covers approximately 80% of the costs of providing those services. Additional ways the District seeks to create financial efficiencies is through intergovernmental agreements. The District currently has agreements for vehicle maintenance, training, water rescue and special operations and rescue (SORT).




9763

1368

1036349

135

42

2015 Response Types

Emergency Medical and

Rescue (77%)

Good Intent and Fire

Alarms (11%)

Service Calls (8%)

Fire (3%)

Hazardous conditions

(1%)

Other (0%)

6:17

10:55

7:336:59

7:33

0:00

1:12

2:24

3:36

4:48

6:00

7:12

8:24

9:36

10:48

12:00

Station 31 Station 32 Station 33 Station 34 Station 35

Min

ute

s:S

eco

nd

s

2015 Average Response Timeby Station Area

RRRResponse Overviewesponse Overviewesponse Overviewesponse Overview

In 2015 the District responded to 12,693 calls for assistance. This represents an increase in call volume of over 8% from 2014. Emergency medical services (EMS) and rescue responses included both basic life support (5,815 calls) and advanced life support (3,789 calls).

Our average response time varies by station area; stations with 24-hour staffing have faster

response times. Response time is the time segment from alarm to arrival on scene. The District’s Response Time Compliance Report provides further performance information required to meet 52.33 RCW Performance Measures, and is available on our website.




84

13

38

64

18

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


Fires Responses, 2015By Station Area

$392,925$423,806

$349,461

$638,142

$192,300

$399,327

$0

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

$700,000

Station 31 Station 32 Station 33 Station 34 Station 35 Average

Fire Losses in District, 2015

By Station Area

Community Fire ReportCommunity Fire ReportCommunity Fire ReportCommunity Fire Report

There were over 276 fire responses in the District area in 2015, about a 30% increase from 2014.

The District also responded as mutual aid to fires in other districts or cities for a total of 349 fire related responses.

This includes house fires, chimney fires, vehicle fires, wildland fires and other types of fires such as dumpster fires or stove top fires that are kept confined to the stove top.

The total fire loss for the District was just under $2 million in 2015. There were no civilian fire-related deaths in 2015.




3064

489

2393

1746

528

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500


Emergency Medical Calls, 2015By Station

288

38

119

199

47

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350


Motor Vehicle Accidents, 2015By Station

Emergency Medical Emergency Medical Emergency Medical Emergency Medical ResponsesResponsesResponsesResponses

Lacey Fire District responded to 9,763 emergency medical calls in 2015; of those calls, 8220 (or 84%) were within the District boundaries.

The remainder of the EMS calls had a District 3 EMS response unit or Medic van, but were outside of District 3.

The District provides both advanced life support (ALS), or paramedic responses, and basic life support (BLS), calls that are managed by emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

In 2015 the emergency medical needs of our callers was divided approximately 60% BLS and 40% ALS.

As a subset of EMS calls, Lacey Fire District also responded to nearly 700 motor vehicle accidents.




393

30

366

186

61

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450


Service Calls, 2015By Station

393

30

366

186

61

279

11

275

102

32

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450


Patient Assists as a Component of All

Service Calls

All Service Calls

Patient Assists

Service CallsService CallsService CallsService Calls

After EMS calls, the second most frequent call type is service calls, accounting for about 8% of all response calls the District receives. Lacey Fire District responded to over 1,000 service calls in 2015. These calls ranged from broken water pipes to outdoor burning complaints to assisting citizens who had fallen but had no medical complaint (patient assists). Patient assists account for nearly 70% of all the service calls, and on a volume basis, accounts for approximately 5.5% of the entire 2015 call volume.




Community Involvement Community Involvement Community Involvement Community Involvement

District members continue to be involved in the community. You will find a District presence at the Lacey Fun Fair, Thurston County Fair, the Thurston County Emergency Preparedness Expo, and numerous City of Lacey, City of Olympia and/or Thurston County events. Our membership leads the area in teaching CPR to the high schoolers and the seventh graders and we use the opportunity provided by Home Owners Associations using our facilities to promote Hands Only CPR. You can also often find us at local businesses promoting “Hands Only” CPR, with demonstration and an opportunity to practice, as well as taking home a reusable shopping bag with a CPR reminder. As noted in the Chief’s message, Lacey Fire District had a 60% save rate in 2015 for the most serious types of heart attacks. The District also hosts a monthly Child Car Seat installation and inspection event; when confronted by a variety of straps and attachment points and a myriad of other complex care seat details, many new parents were very relieved to have their car seat installed and inspected by our professionals. Nearly the entire month of October is taken up with fire safety education in District elementary schools. All 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders in all schools, public and private, received age –appropriate fire safety education delivered by the firefighters in the classroom.

Final 2015 Annual Report - Lacey,...

Documents

Transcript of Final 2015 Annual Report - Lacey,...