2013 Fire Annual Report

M A NY H ATS, ON E JOB.2 0 1 3 E D M O N D F I R E D E P A R T M E N T | A N N U A L R E P O R T

3 from the fire chief

4 fire chief history

6 mission. vision. values.

9 organizational chart

10 list of personnel

13 training division

17 prevention division

21 operations division

24 emergency medical services

26 goals and visions

28 budget

30 city council & ward map

32 fire stations

34 response performance measurements

36 retirements

38 promotions

39 service awards

40 services provided

43 citizens fire academy

44 commission on fire accreditation international

45 honor guard

47 data and graphs

67 maps

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mission. vision. values.

Mission

To faithfully provide trustworthy service necessary to safeguard life, health, property and the welfare of our community through preparedness, emergency response, prevention, education and training.

Vision

The vision of the Edmond Fire Department is that, by the year 2018, the department will be recognized as an agency that reflects best practices in the delivery of services to our customers. In honoring our communitys trust, we are setting the standards of excellence; guided by our values of integrity, professionalism, trustworthiness, dedication and ethical behavior.

We will demonstrate continuous improvement in all duties and responsibilities, as well as by enhancing the services that our community trusts us to provide. Through enhanced communications initiatives, our community will be served with the best, expeditious response. We will do this by maintaining a high level of readiness and by focusing on the professional development and training of all our personnel.

We recognize the importance of and will foster improvement in our external systems relationships to further support our delivery to the community. With a comprehensive workforce planning initiative, we will invest in our greatest organizational assets and ensure that our workforce is appropriately staffed and professionally developed to best accomplish our mission.

Our strengthened systems of internal and external communication will prove our unified intent to meet or exceed the expectations of our community and to hold one another accountable for carrying out our mission, living our values and ensuring that this vision becomes reality.

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Values

The Edmond Fire Department is dedicated to a unified set of values that define who we are and how we operate. We value...

integrityBy upholding a compassionate, ethical service to our community.

professionalismThrough continuous improvement in our level of service by pursuing excellence in emergency response, education, prevention, preparedness and training.

trustworthiness By providing trustworthy service and responsible stewardship of our organization and resources.

dedication Through faithful servants providing an excellent level of service to our community and organization.

ethicsThrough unbiased care, service, leadership, and support while ensuring high moral standards.

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19712013 john werhun

captain

Captain John Werhun was a dedicated Edmond firefighter for 19 years. John was born on January 15, 1971, in Norman, Oklahoma, to Walt and Patricia Werhun and passed away on April 27, 2013, after a heroic, five year battle with advanced colon cancer.

John joined the department in May 1994 and held various positions during his career. In 2000 he was promoted to Driver, a position he held until 2004 when he was promoted to Lieutenant. In 2005 John promoted to his final title of Captain. John volunteered for the Job Description Committee and spent sev-eral months participating in this tedious process. He also was a member of the Thermal Imaging Camera Committee and spent a tremendous amount of time compiling information as well as testing various cam-eras. John had an exceptional mechanical aptitude and utilized his knowledge on the Apparatus Specification Committee as well as being instrumental in the outfitting and placing in service of new apparatus. John was an electrician and donated his time and abilities to the department on a regular basis to fix various problems. He served as Union President and represented the membership honorably; being called upon well after his tenure to provide wisdom and guidance to his successors.

John cared deeply for his brother firefighters and was willing to go the extra mile for them. Everyone who worked with him praised him for the job that he did and his dedication to the department. In remembering John, Chief Jake Rhoades said, John was the epitome of the word courage. Firefighters are known for their actions and willingness to put themselves in harms way at a moments notice to save the life of another. In Johns case he displayed more courage than any other individual I have ever met because of the way he not only battled cancer but the way he conducted himself through his battle. His actions provide a lesson in perspective for us all not only in the Edmond Fire Department but in our lives as well.

John was a man who was a hundred percent dedicated to the department that he loved, but even so, this came second in his life. First and foremost John was a loving husband and father. No other role in his life could hold a flame to that. John married Joyce (Newkirk) Werhun on August 12, 1995 and they have two daughters; Jessica and Jamie. He was the kind of husband that didnt let a holiday or anniversary go by with-out a handmade card or letter. He didnt go out with the boys, instead he had family night with his girls, this made him happier than anything. His greatest blessing and proudest moment was becoming a dad. He was the dad who played dress up and Barbies, took his girls on date nights, and reminded them every chance he got that they couldnt date boys till they were 30! He never missed a single first day of school, a play, or volleyball game until he was diagnosed with cancer and then he would force a smile and make every event that he was able. During his battle with cancer his main concern was making every single moment with his girls count, making good memories, showing them how God was present in their lives and never giving up. He did this for them, not himself. He wanted his girls to remember that he gave everything he had for them. He spent his last week of life having date night with each of them from the living room telling them what he loved about them. His family was the center of his universe and he was the center of theirs.

John was committed to his family and for five years fought a heroic fight with cancer, all the while main-taining a great attitude and outlook on life. He continued to work while going through treatments and multiple surgeries and showed a great determination to keep life normal for those around him. He was a role model in dealing with adversity and demonstrated life lessons that we all should learn from in his outlook and passion despite the battle that he was facing. John was also thoughtful of the needs of others in the community. John organized the union and departments participation in the Cattle Barons Ball. This is a fund raising event that raises money for cancer research and the American Cancer Society.

Although Captain John Werhun eventually succumbed to his extensive battle with cancer, throughout his illness he displayed numerous characteristics including fortitude, determination, discipline, persever-ance, and commitment to the department and more importantly our members. In an effort to memorialize Captain Werhun and recognize individuals who display the character that he personified, the department has developed the John Werhun Award.

This award will be granted to a firefighter or citizen who demonstrates fortitude, determination, discipline, and commitment to others during a time of adversity or for a specific cause. It will be issued in the form of a medal, ribbon bar, and certificate.

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organizational chart

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training division

The Training Division is led by Chief of Training Jon Neely. The Training Division is responsible for the development, implementation and delivery of a variety of training that meets national, state and local regulations,as well as ensures that the department is meeting best industry practices. The Training Division is responsible for ensuring members of the Operations Division are prepared for the mitigation of emergency incidents not only within the City of Edmond but the state of Oklahoma.

The Edmond Fire Department is an all hazards response agency. The spectrum of potential hazards continues to expand annually. Along with fire and ems response, the department must remain prepared to respond to multiple disciplines of technical rescue and hazmat. These include natural and manmade disasters and potential acts of terrorism. Assisting the Operations Division in maintaining a high level of preparedness through continual education to hone the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities requires daily de-votion by the Training Division. Along with training personnel, members of this division must keep abreast of the latest, most innovative technologies and skills to ensure they are adequately equipping personnel to abate the emergency situations they encounter.

The Training Division has a multitude of additional responsibilities including the ad-ministration of the hiring process. Additionally, planning, coordinating and participating in interagency drills and training, as well as response to emergency scenes for operational and technical support. The expertise provided during emergency response ensures fire-fighters are operating safely during the performance of their assigned functions.

The Edmond Fire Department is blessed to have the facilities and staff to serve the de-partment, City of Edmond employees, and other partner agencies. In addition to the Chief of Training, there are two (2) assistant training officers in the division. The Training Division personnel are responsible for research and development of advanced skills and techniques to assist in improving the services we deliver to the citizens of our community. New skills, as well as repetition for mastery of base skills, must be provided in an innova-tive manner to continually challenge Department personnel. Due to the excellent facilities owned by the department most of these skills and techniques are presented in an innova-tive scenario based format that mirrors real life situations personnel can and will face in the performance of their duties.

The training facilities for the Edmond Fire Department are second to none in Oklahoma. In addition to a multitude of classrooms, the department boasts a five story drill tower, two story search and rescue building, two story class a burn building, flashover simulator, (5) interior propane props, (10) exterior propane props, hazmat trailer trainer and a SCBA/technical rescue trailer/trainer. In summary, the training grounds are equipped with a variety of props to simulate emergencies.

One of the highest priorities for the Training Division in the next year will be the expansion of the prop system at the training facility. The intent is to complete numerous hazmat and technical rescue props. Once the props are completed we look forward to host-ing the National Hazmat Challenge at our facility as partners with the National Laboratory from Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The department is also very fortunate to have an emergency vehicle driving pad and course specifically designed for training fire department personnel in the safe and efficient emergency response to incidents. The department also uses a SkidTruck skid avoidance

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trainer designed to better prepare personnel in early recognition and avoidance of appara-tus skid situations and advanced training on recoverability in the event of a skid in a fire apparatus. We maintain the only one in the nation on a custom cab fire apparatus. We continue to be the only department in the state who has nationally certified trainers for emergency vehicle response operations. This certification is through the Department of Transportation and training is provided on an annual basis to department personnel.

In 2013, the department utilized these resources in conjunction with collaborative ef-forts from Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training (OSUFST) and University of Kansas Firefighter Training to train personnel on the newly developed Driver/Operator program for the State of Oklahoma. The train-the-trainer program was hosted at our facility. Eight of the twelve participants trained and certified as instructors where from the Edmond Fire Department. Since that time the first delivery of this program has been delivered at our facility and taught by our personnel. Our personnel are still heavily in-volved in the accreditation process for the program in conjunction with OSUFST.

Another endeavor accomplished this year through relationships with both OSUFST and the Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security was the first Technical Rescue Technician Academy ever hosted in the state. This program was three weeks in length and was hosted at our facility. Fire service personnel from all over the state participated in the program. There are plans to host this program annually at our facility.

The department continues to make a concerted effort to ensure that other departments and agencies are afforded the occasion to utilize the training facilities as it is an opportu-nity to not only showcase the Edmond Fie Department but also the City of Edmond. The department currently allows for training to be conducted by and for other departments in emergency vehicle operations, emergency medical services training, flashover, and various other disciplines. Organizations who make use of our facility through partnerships include EMSA, Oklahoma and Canadian County Sheriff offices, Oklahoma City fire and police departments, OHP, OSBI, FBI, ATF, and OG&E.

2013 was another busy year of training for the department. There were a total of 23,849 hours of training recorded for department personnel which calculates to an average of 227 hours per individual. Hours were accumulated through sessions taught by the Training Division, impromptu sessions conducted by individual companies, training deliveries brought into the organization from external entities, and training personnel attended outside the organization.

At the end of 2013 the department undertook Rapid Intervention Team training for suppression personnel. This was the largest shift wide training program the department had conducted in several years and by far the most intense training the vast majority had experienced since their recruit academy.

Examples of training conducted at the department by outside agencies included Hazmat IQ, Swiftwater Awareness and two courses that focused on leadership. In addition, personnel participated in strategic planning sessions for department evaluation and improvement.

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Training courses personnel attended outside the department primarily focused on res-cue, hazmat, and leadership skills. Four personnel obtained their RIT Train-the-Trainer in order to deliver the class to department personnel in late 2013. Over a dozen person-nel attended a swiftwater technician course in College Station Texas. Combined with the awareness level class conducted at the department our personnel received a significant amount of instruction in dealing with potential flood rescue incidents. Personnel also attended two of the premier leadership seminars in the nation, Fire Rescue International and Fire Department Instructors Conference.

One of the highlights for our organization in 2013 was the participation of our hazmat team in the National Hazmat Challenge hosted in Los Alamos, New Mexico. This was the third year our team participated and we proudly brought home overall championship trophy as well as the second place trophy for technical skill.

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prevention division

The serious losses in life and property resulting annually from fires cause me deep concern. I am sure that such unneces-sary waste can be reduced. The substantial progress made in the science of fire prevention and fire protection in this country during the past forty years convinces me that the means are available for limiting this unnecessary destruction.

Harry S. Truman, 1947 Fire Prevention Conference

The mission of the Fire Prevention Division is to protect the public and the fire service in a coordinated and comprehensive approach in applying the three principles of preven-tion, education, engineering and enforcement to prevent fires and other emergencies before they occur. This approach will keep Edmond a FireSafe City.

The Prevention Division is led by Chief of Prevention Mike Barnes. Chief of Prevention Barnes leads a stellar team that consists of two (2) Majors that conduct public education, building inspections, fire investigations and fire code assistance. The fire code Major is assigned as a working liaison with the building department and works with two (2) civilian Fire Protection Specialists that are also members of the Fire Department. These members review and conduct fire inspections on all new construction job sites and also assist with existing Life Safety inspections.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) documented cities of similar size, demographics, and population in comparison to the city of Edmond and the average number of structure fires communities was 86 structure fires per year in 2013. Utilizing a comprehensive, multi faceted approach, the citizens and business owners did a great job keeping fires within the city below these national averages. In 2013, there was an increase in structure fires from 54 in 2012 to 67 structure fires in 2013. Even with this slight in-crease, Edmond is a FireSafe City and our citizens and business owners are a big part of that success.

The Fire Prevention Division is founded on ensuring that prevention efforts are provid-ed in all aspects to the city of Edmond and to its increasing population, as well as the new and existing businesses. The challenges of growth and development are being met with new priorities, processes and the development of new programs to enhance the services provided by the Edmond Fire Department. An example of these efforts is a collaborative partnership with the University of Central Oklahoma and the Edmond Public School sys-tem in a cooperative effort that will help the redesign of the educational programs taught at the Childrens Safety Village and in the classroom in the spring of 2014. This partnership will serve the city for many years to come and focus on our most prize assets, the children of our community.

In 2013, the Fire Prevention Division accomplished a number of objectives for the de-partment, as well as the city. These could not be accomplished without the dedication and efforts of the members of this division, but could not be completed without the support it receives from all of the members of the Fire Department, business owners, as well as the citizens and the City of Edmond.

The Fire Prevention staff was busy with professional boards and committees

representing both the department and the city on a number of efforts. Three members of the Division were elected or served on professional organization boards or national com-mittees. These organizations include the International Association of Arson Investigators in which Major Gary Dill serves as an elected board member, Fire Protection Specialist Chad Nash is an elected Board member for the Fire Marshals Association of Oklahoma. In addition, Chief of Prevention Mike Barnes was selected by the Southwest Fire Chiefs to serve on the Southern Region Fire Code Committee. These organizations train fire pro-fessionals and create fire codes used throughout the State of Oklahoma and the Nation and to have members of the Edmond represented is a responsibility and honor to truly make a difference in the field of fire prevention. Working together these organizations make our City the State and the Nation safer from the effects of fire.

fire code assistance

The Edmond Fire Prevention Division reviews building plans for all new and existing structures as its mission is to keep Edmond a FireSafe community. The division provides code assistance services to our business owners, builders, architects, developers and engi-neers. A comprehensive plan review is provided on all construction projects within the city to ensure that all elements of the adopted International Code Council, Fire Codes and the City of Edmond Title 17 adopted amendments are met to reduce the risk numbers of injuries, deaths, and loss of property due to fires.

In 2013, the Prevention Division began tracking inspection numbers using the building department Trakit permitting system. This system will provide a more defined account-ability of inspection records as the number of building constructed as well as develop- ments within the City of Edmond continues to grow.

The Fire Prevention Division saw a tremendous increase in building/fire plan reviews, site plans, and new construction inspections. The Fire Prevention Division works closely with other city departments on the site review team to ensure that projects move smoothly through the permit, review, and inspection process.

In 2013, there were 535 plan reviews that included building, site plans, fire protection, special hazard protection and fire alarm. The total square footage of buildings reviewed was 1,507,754 square feet at an estimated permitted building cost of $141,513,419.88. These new projects and fire protection systems received 2239 construction site inspections to assure compliance to all fire codes in our city. There were also 91 site and plat plans reviewed for future project considerations or construction.

The efforts of the Prevention Division and fire code assistance are critical in the future development of the community. Ensuring code compliance and timely customer service ensures that all stakeholders needs are met to ensure a safe and prosperous community.

fire inspections

Another important element of Fire Prevention is code assistance through existing build-ing and occupancy inspections, which focus on assuring buildings, are FireSafe. In 2013, a total of 1062 existing building inspections were conducted which is an increase of nearly 1000 inspections in 2012. These inspections included educational facilities, nursing and assisted living facilities, childcare facilities, complaints, businesses and other commer-cial facilities. The inspections also focused on apartment complexes throughout Edmond. These multifamily residential occupancies have the potential for life loss and these life safety inspections will make a immediate difference in the safety of our citizens.

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New and existing inspections are provided to identify and correct hazardous conditions before they cause an incident. This effort contributes greatly to the cities below national average structure fire responses.

The Prevention Division has been challenged with the development of a comprehensive inspection program that will net all commercial occupancies within the city of Edmond on an annual or periodic basis. This program will also help in decreasing the cities cur-rent Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating. In addition, the Prevention Division has been assigned the task of the revision of criteria and identification of target hazards within the city. These occupancies that are identified carry significantly higher risk both in the form of life and property loss. The identification of target hazards will ensure that the correct apparatus and resources are assigned upon dispatch in the event of an emergency at these locations.

As a result of this foresight, prevention and suppression personnel will combine to conduct inspections and pre-planning activities to better protect the city of Edmond and be more effective in daily operations.

public education

Public education is a primary focus of the division. The emphasis of the education program is children, but will continue to become more diverse with the older population including education to independent living residents, nursing and assisted living staff. The department utilizes the Childrens Safety Village (CSV) to educate children of all ages in home fire safety, bicycle safety, water safety, poisoning, and a variety of safety messages in an ongoing mission to stop needless injuries to children. The Edmond Fire Department is fortunate to have a facility such as the CSV. Less than a dozen departments across the nation have such a unique resource.

In 2013, the Fire Prevention Division collaborated with the University of Central Oklahoma to create a new and active educational partnership program. The concept will bring elementary education students to the CSV for interactive teaching, lesson planning, and evaluations. As a result, numerous programs are being developed and refined to fully utilize this resource, the CSV, and further the educational efforts to the children through-out the city. These efforts will be enhanced with a planned and systematic partnership with the Edmond Public Schools. Using these resources and partnerships will help ensure that the target groups are identified and being taught in effective fun formats that ensure lifelong education.

The future of public education is critical for the safety and health of the city of Edmond. Establishing additional programs for identified risk groups will allow for a more compre-hensive diverse approach to preventing deaths, injuries and loss of property due to fire and unnecessary injuries to our children. In addition, public education programs will also focus on national, as well as local, causes of injuries, which include fire, drowning, poisoning, bike safety and motor vehicle safety.

Public education reached an amazing 19,486 citizens through fire station tours, safety presentations, apparatus demonstrations, fire drills, childrens safety village, car seat in-spections, and installations. In addition, Fire Prevention Month allowed the department to reach 2222 children in eight different schools. These amazing numbers of citizens were reached in a team effort by the Fire Suppression Division and the Fire Prevention Division working together.

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A new event was added to the yearly public education events. A Winter Night At The Safety Village. The Fire Department in a team effort added thousands of holiday lights at the Children Safety Village. The three hour event hosted 400 children and parents to a night of Santa, Sparky, hot chocolate and Santas workshop while learning various safety messages in a festive atmosphere. In Santas work shop, over 150 bird houses, fire trucks projects donated by Lowes Home Improvements Store were put together and taken home by the children.

The division also devoted resources towards ensuring residences have working smoke alarms. In 2013, ninety eight (98) smoke alarms and or batteries were installed. One of the challenges with the smoke alarm program is funding. However, the Wal-Mart Corporation at the end of 2012 awarded the Edmond Fire Department a $1,000.00 grant towards the program. The money was used to purchase 10 year lithium battery smoke alarms. Sams Club held its grand opening in 2013 and donated 1200 nine volt batteries and a 2000 dollar grant for the departments smoke alarm program. Plans are being made to purchase more smoke alarms and have a smoke alarm event in targeted areas of the Edmond in 2014 focusing on high risk neighborhoods as well as those areas and organizations that simply want to ensure they are doing all they can for their safety. This event will be part of the Silent Heros educational campaign focusing on smoke alarm and fire sprinkler education and action.

Another program that has also had a tremendous impact within the city of Edmond is the car seat installation assistance and inspections. This program is in partnership with the Oklahoma Safekids Coalition. The program allows department personnel that are certified in Child Passenger Safety (CPS) to conduct CPS check events. Citizens also have the opportunity to come to a fire station and meet with certified technicians to receive as-sistance in proper installation of child passenger restraints. In 2013, the departments CPS Technicians assisted with the installation of 223 child passenger restraints and educated 253 parents, grandparents and other child care providers in the proper installation and use of their child safety restraints. This program had been fully adopted by the fire depart-ment and has been integrated into the curriculum of the new recruit firefighter training academy. Every new firefighter will receive this skill set to further enhance the capabilities of the department in helping our citizens be safe.

fire investigations

The decline in the number of fires experienced annually on a national basis continues to decline however it is critical that investigators determine the origin and cause to en-sure that future fires do not occur. The citizens and business owners do a tremendous job within their homes and businesses of ensuring fires do not occur however, if a pattern or careless behavior is found, the information is forwarded to the public education officers where the information is developed into a public education message for lectures, media releases or web site information.

During 2013, Fire Investigators from the Fire Prevention Division were called to deter-mine the origin and cause of 41 fire related incidents. After detailed fire scene examina-tions of these incidents, Juvenile fire play was involved in five incidents. Incendiary fires caused approximately $60,000 in damages. Approximately 85% of the fire scenes exam-ined, the areas of origin were determined and the causes were cleared at the scenes. Five incidents throughout the year were found to be of incendiary nature. Arson charges have been filed in one of the incendiary fires and two were related to juveniles. Because of the fire investigation efforts, fire origins can be determined and prevented in the future.

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fire prevention activities

SUBJECT NUMBER ATTENDANCE

Station Tours* 93 2,070Calls for Service/Information 1 3,000Safety Presentations* 16 2,530Apparatus Demos* 86 7,715Childrens Safety Challenge 3 158Childrens Safety Village 7 931Fire Drills 16 5,683Juveniles 39 41Smoke Alarms/Batteries 48 105Carbon Monoxide Alarms 3 4Car Seat Installation* 223 253

TOTAL CITIZENS CONTACTED 581 19,486

* Fire Suppression personnel performed and/or assisted in these activities.

In the year 2012, there were ten (5) civilians treated for fire related injuries.

19: Single-Family ResidentsGrass /LeavesBrush/Rubbish: 16

Commercial Business Properties: 3

2013 types of

investigations

operations division

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer

The Operations Division of the Edmond Fire Department consists of three battalions. The battalions are named utilizing the colors Red, Blue and Green. The battalion on duty works a 24 hour work period beginning at 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. the following day, referred to as a shift. This schedule is continuous to ensure service 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays.

Each battalion is managed by a Battalion Chief who is responsible for ensuring the prop-er delivery of emergency medical services, fire suppression, hazardous materials response, technical rescue response as well as any other services requested for the City on any given day. The Operations Division of the Edmond Fire Department is led by Battalion Chief Shawn Horn, Battalion Chief Doug Hall and Battalion Chief Keith Randolph.

The Battalion Chiefs are responsible for managing the daily staffing of the various fire stations and apparatus to ensure that properly trained and assigned personnel as well as staffing minimums are maintained daily. The Edmond Fire Department utilizes NFPA 1710 to establish its manning minimums and as such, a minimum of four personnel including a paramedic are assigned on all front line apparatus. Edmond Fire Department strives to provide this minimum manning in order to provide the best possible service to our citizens as well as ensure our firefighters remain safe during the emergency response regardless of nature.

The Edmond Fire Department currently operates out of five (5) fire stations throughout the city. Every day, the Operations Division has up to thirty five (35) personnel assigned to suppression and emergency response. Staffing numbers are as shown below.

Fire Captain 15Fire Lieutenant 9Fire Apparatus Driver 24Firefighter / Relief Driver 9Firefighter 42

These personnel are responsible for responding to both emergency and non-emergency incidents throughout the city of Edmond. Primarily, the Suppression Division maintains readiness and response capabilities in a variety of front line apparatus to meet the needs of the community:

Three (3) EnginesTwo (2) QuintsOne (1) AerialOne (1) RescueThree (3) Brush TrucksThree (3) Tankers

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The department also maintains additional equipment to ensure it has adequate resources to not only deliver exceptional services, but also ensure the safety of its personnel and the citizens of Edmond. These resources include:

Hazardous Materials Regional Response UnitTechnical Rescue Regional Response UnitMass Casualty UnitOpen Water Rescue CraftSwift Water Rescue Craft

In addition to the apparatus listed above personnel are assigned based on the creden-tialed training they have received to specific stations in order to provide our citizens with the best service possible in the quickest manner. The Operations Division also provides support through mutual aid to surrounding areas when requested.

The members of the Operations Division never know what the next call will be and what they will be asked to do and in what conditions they will be exposed. This is what makes this division of the fire service the most coveted and honorable due to their response and duty in their response regardless of the dangerous conditions they may face.

Providing the best service possible to the Citizens of Edmond and surrounding com-munities is still the Operations Division number one priority. The department continues to improve the service it provides to the citizens. Overall, the Edmond Fire Department Operations Division is very fortunate to be able to work in a community that is comprised of caring and thoughtful citizens who are quick to offer a simple thank you for the jobs provided by the members of our department. This type of support is appreciated and does not go unnoticed.

significant events

In 2013, the Edmond Fire Department responded to 6810 calls for service. Like many other departments across the United States, emergency medical calls account for the largest percentage of calls requested. This statistic held true to fashion in 2013 as 4874 of total calls were for emergency medical services. These calls were accomplished by the Operations Division at all times of day and in a variety of conditions.

In every department, every year can be remembered for significant events that impacted the community. The past year proved to be no different. But instead of numerous or large fire related incidents, weather related calls turned out to be the major contributor to significant events for 2013.

With an inordinate amount of rainfall and heavy storms, Edmond and our surrounding communities experienced a large amount of flash flooding resulting in the response of department personnel to numerous water related incidents both in the city and in the form of mutual aid.

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The department responded to 69 working structure fires and 133 other fires including grass and vehicle. The biggest fire loss the community experienced was at the Pizza Hut located on East Danforth. The damage sustained in the fire totaled nearly 750,000 but personnel made a tremendous fire stop to stop this from a total loss and allow this business to reopen their doors once repairs were accomplished.

technical rescue team

The Edmond Fire Departments Technical Rescue Team proudly serves the community by providing rescue capabilities for many specialized rescue disciplines. These areas cover vehicle accidents, high angle rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, swift water and flood water rescue, structural collapse rescue, and dive rescue. By nature these rescue dis-ciplines are each unique and have special considerations which must be addressed for safe operations and positive outcomes. The Edmond Fire Department is dedicated to personnel safety and professional response in all rescue situations.

The Technical Rescue Team is comprised of members throughout the department encompassing all shifts and divisions with specific training and equipment to deal with the unique environment of Technical Rescue. The departments rapid response for rescue is managed through a consolidation of specialized equipment and personnel which are strategically located at Fire Station 4 for technical rescue and fire station 5 for hazardous Materials. These stations are the first to deploy in any special rescue situation. In the event of a major incident requiring additional resources of personnel or equipment, other units within the city or region are utilized to mitigate the emergency.

Both of the Edmond Fire Departments special operations teams participate in the Regional and State Response teams which are directed by the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security. This provides service to not only the Edmond community but to neighboring communities throughout the region and state.

This tiered response system for specialized rescue established within the state as well as the city was utilized several times throughout the year saving many lives and protecting hundreds from harm.

In all Edmond Fire Department responded to eight technical rescue and water related rescues in 2013. The most significant event in the state was the Moore tornado that struck in May. The Edmond Fire department was well aware of the weather situation and as the event was bearing down on the city of Moore, Edmond Fire Department was prepar-ing its response to assist. The moments after the tornado hit, Edmond Fire Department was responding to provide specialized rescue and any other assistance in the wake of this disaster. In all, 39 members responded and were assigned to the Plaza Elementary School where they assumed operations including the search for any survivors. This proved to be a very emotional task as one of our Firefighters, Lindy Simpson, wife is the principle at Plaza towers. With Lindy part of the efforts, the members of our team had to face the harsh real-ity that seven (7) beautiful children lost their lives in that school on that terrible day.

Although not as publicized, tornados also devastated other communities in 2013 and members of the technical rescue team were there to provide structural collapse, search and rescue, confined space and any other assistance necessary in the response efforts. Both Little Axe and the town of Carney saw responses from the Edmond Fire Department and many members who also serve on Oklahoma Task Force 1 were deployed to these areas as well.

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Although considered a separate discipline, the Edmond Fire Department has a very robust and capable water and dive rescue contingent that saw action on numerous fronts throughout the year. The dive rescue team responded on several occasions both in and out of the city including Guthrie, Kingfisher, and Luther not to mention events occur-ring at Arcadia Lake.

Due to the amount of rainfall, swiftwater rescue occurred at a variety of locations as well throughout the state including Kingfigher, Luther, Logan County, Oklahoma City, as well as numerous events within the corporate city limits. One of the most significant events occurred at Midwest City when members performed swiftwater rescue operations to nearly 150 residents stranded in the vehicles and other locations as well as the evacuation of a mobile home park that was threatened due to the high waters.

These efforts go to show the importance of mutual aid in Oklahoma. These partnerships extend beyond assistance in fire situations and demonstrates Edmonds role as a leader in technical rescue within the state of Oklahoma not only because of their knowledge and capabilities but also their willingness to respond in the event of an emergency.

hazardous materials

Edmond Fire Department is responsible for hazardous materials incidents within the city and all personnel are trained to a minimum of the Operations Level. The departments Haz Mat Team consists of members trained to operate at the technician level and many are classified as specialists due to their training and knowledge in specialized subjects within the field of hazardous materials transport and storage. Beginning with the recruit class of 2013, all new members of the department will be trained to the technician level in both hazardous materials and technical rescue.

The Haz Mat Team is also an integral part of the State Response teams which are directed by the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security and assists other agencies through mutual aid if and when requested.

The department standard for response time is first unit arrival within 4 minutes 90% of the time within the urban zone, 8 minutes within the suburban zone, 14 minutes with-in the rural zone and the Effective Response Force (ERF) arrival within 14 minutes 90% of the time. Edmond has not historically tracked response performance based on the established service delivery zones. Edmond Fire Department Hazmat Team standard operating procedures are mandated by federal regulations, which are treated as law.

The Edmond Fire Department Standard Operating Procedures identify Hazardous materials incidents as level I, II, or III. Level I incidents generally a single engine company response and the Company officer decides if additional resources are required. Level II incidents require that the Hazmat Response Unit consisting of a minimum of 4 person-nel trained at the technician level, a Rescue unit, Battalion Chief and one Edmond Police Department unit. For a Level III incident, the department has mutual aid agreements in place with other agencies. The department can request the activation of the State Regional Response Team.

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The Edmond Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team has adequate staffing, apparatus and equipment to handle Type I and Type II incidents. There is also a plan in place for the mitigation of Type III incidents through mutual aid and the State Regional Response Teams.

Definitions of response levels:

level 1An incident involving any response, public or private, to an incident involving hazardous materials that can be contained, extinguished, and/or abated using resources immediately available to the responders having jurisdiction. A weapons of mass destruction threat or suspicion that requires local response to determine whether or not it is life threatening. A Level 1 incident presents little risk to the environment and/or public health with containment and clean up.

level 2 An incident involving hazardous materials that is beyond the capabilities of the first responders on the scene, and may be beyond the capabilities of the public sector response agency having jurisdiction. Level 2 incidents may require the services of a State Regional Response Team, or other state/federal assistance. A weapons of mass destruction threat or incident that involves explosives, release of toxic material, release of radioactive material or release of organisms that can be analyzed and stabilized using resources that exist with-in the State. This level may pose immediate and/or long-term risk to the environment and/or public health and could result in a local declaration of disaster.

level 3An incident involving weapons of mass destruction/hazardous materials that will require multiple Regional Response Teams and other resources that do not exist within the State. These incidents may require resources from state and federal agencies and/or private industry. Level 3 incidents generally pose extreme, immediate and/or long-term risk to the environment and/or public health.

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emergency medical services division

EMS is an essential component of the services provided by the fire service in the United States. The American fire service is strategically and geographically well positioned to deliver time critical response and effective patient care rapidly. As such, the fire service has become the first-line medical responder for critical illnesses and injuries in almost every community in the United States.-International Association of Fire Chiefs 2009.

The Edmond Fire Departments Emergency Medical System (EMS) is a fluid program that is constantly evolving in its approach to service delivery, deployment, and cost effectiveness. Emergency Response has evolved from its original purpose of solely fighting fires to a much broader level of service delivery as reflected by the departments EMS call volume accounting for over 70% of the overall request for service. Chief Brian Davis leads the Emergency Medical Services Division for the Edmond Fire Department. Chief Davis serves as the EMS Coordinator and plays a critical role in the department, as well as a liaison with the Office of the Medical Director and surrounding agencies to ensure that the department is meeting the expectations established by the community as well as department members.

The department currently consists of 109 certified emergency medical personnel, 31 of which are certified at the paramedic level, who provide basic and advanced level of care. One of the many goals for our department is maintaining a consistency in level of service,by providing ALS first response apparatus we were able to accomplish that mission.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) continues to be the leading cause of death among adults over the age of 40. The American Heart Association reports, nearly 383,000 out-of hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually, and 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home. In many instances, nine out of ten victims die and chances of survival fall by 7 10 percent for every minute between collapse and defibrillation. The benchmark for any EMS system and the international consensus method for EMS systems is report-ing survival from sudden out of hospital cardiac arrest due to heart related conditions. Nationwide, less than 10% of victims who suffer a SCA outside of a hospital setting sur-vive, while our system reports a survival rate of 45.2%. This is an all-time high for the EMS system, metropolitan Oklahoma City, and Tulsa rivaled only by Seattle/King County Washington. This benchmark is a testament to the level of service the department provides as well as a challenge to constantly improve this survival rate well into the future. Measures are currently being taken to not only improve the level of service the department takes in the event of a SCA but to also increase the availability of by stander CPR prior to arrival which is clinically proven to increase survival rates.

Through quality assurance and continuous improvement, a strategic plan was established to specifically address the issue of sudden cardiac arrest and to improve our survival rate to 50% overall. A three prong approach was determined by first utilizing a metronome to increase chest compressions to 110/minute. Second, train and implement an enhanced pit-crew model of resuscitation team dynamics. Third, was to provided annotated analysis of a cardiac arrest event and to provide feedback within an established period of time.

The Edmond Fire Department remains vigilant at assessing the needs of our citizens and evaluating better ways to meet those needs. Continued educational requirements, training,and medical skill proficiency of personnel are maintained through an extensive quality assurance program and evaluation process monthly. As in past years, there

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continue to be numerous advancements in treatment modalities, protocols, and evidence based medicine. In compliance with these advancements, the department found itself to be first in the state/nation to provide such services.

In the spring of 2013, the Edmond Fire Department became the first fire department in the nation to carry a medication to slow bleeding. While Tranexamic Acid (TXA) is not a new medication, it is new to pre-hospital EMS. The medication is utilized in trauma patients to significantly reduce the risk of fatal bleeding; it is expected to potentially saving many lives. Being the first fire department in the nation to utilize this drug demonstrates the competency of our personnel, the progressive nature of the department, and the trust that the Office of the Medical Director has on our organization.

In 2013, the department adopted a Standard of Care change for Basic Life Support(BLS) providers expanding their ability to treat patients suffering from dysnpea, asthma,and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As a result of this change, EMTs can now provide many treatments prior to the arrival of advanced personnel.

The treatment protocols utilized by the department are continuously updated by the Office of the Medical Director (OMD) and our Medical Control Board (MCB). The Medical Control Boards mission is to continuously improve the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsas EMS system, and to educate and train system providers to ensure excellence in out-of-hospital emergency medical care. Treatment protocols are evidence based driven and are some of the most progressive in the nation.

Although most people envision a successful EMS program by the level of ALS care provided, the Edmond Fire Department demonstrates that a successful program utilizes all personnel to their fullest capability and also builds depth by providing all personnel the skills and knowledge to support all levels of adopted service delivery.

goals and visions

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail! Benjamin Franklin

The Edmond Fire Department has demonstrated its commitment to the future, as well as the highest level of professionalism and efficiency, on behalf of those it serves by utiliz-ing the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) to facilitate a Community-Driven Strategic Plan. Furthermore, in an effort to work toward self-improvement and to ensure totality of the departments self recognized plan, the department utilized Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) to conduct an analysis of the department to provide an organizational master plan evaluating current conditions, project future growth, development and service demand, and provides recommendations to enhance current services for the city of Edmond.

CPSE utilized the CommunityDriven Strategic Planning process to go beyond just the development of a five (5) year strategic plan for the department but rather challenge the membership of the department to critically examine paradigms, values, philosophies, beliefs and desires, as well as challenge members to work in the best interest of the team. It also provided the membership with an opportunity to participate in the development of the organizations long-term direction and focus, a first for the organization. This strategic plan, with its foundation based in community and membership input, revisits the departments mission, values, and vision and sets forth a continuous improvement plan that defines a road map for a justifiable and sustainable future

The goals and objectives established during this process will be updated on an on-going

basis to identify what has been accomplished and note changes within the organization and the community to ensure the plan stays current and focused on continuous improve-ment. The attainment of a performance target will be recognized and celebrated to provide a sense of organizational accomplishment.

The following goals and objectives have now become the focus of the efforts of the department.

To ensure the quality and consistency of standardized training within the agency and as applicable to external agencies. To identify and enhance the external systems and relationships in order to better meet the departments mission.

To improve our emergency communications to better serve the community.

To expand and enhance communications systems with both internal and external stakeholders.

Manage highly qualified personnel to effectively maximize and maintain productivity, strengths and overall services to our community.

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To enhance and standardize departmental operations to ensure efficiency, direction, safety, and welfare of the Edmond Fire Department personnel.

To improve technolog y in order to meet the demands of the department and community.

Prepare for, pursue, achieve and maintain international accreditation.

Through its strategic planning process, the department has stated the specific goals and objectives meet the established vision. These goals and objectives provide guidance in decision-making and focus the agencys efforts on the most critical issues that will impact its success in the future.

The members of the department should be acknowledged for its proactive efforts as they continue to maintain the Strategic Plan as a living, up-to-date document through revision and planning in combination to other resources and recommendations such as those pro-vided within the organizational analysis conducted by ESCI in 2013. The mission of ESCI is to improve public safety by facilitating the best, most advanced policy decisions and their experience as confirmed by their ongoing relationship with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the United States Department of Defense, the Western Fire Chiefs Association, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and the National Volunteer Fire Council.

The organizational analysis and review of the department yielded an enormous amount of technical data to establish a clear understanding of the services provided by the depart-ment as well as an indication of how well those services are being provided. The intent the analysis was to provide a critical evaluation of the organization as well as provide fire department personnel and city policymakers information from which to make informed decisions about the future of the department. ESCI began collecting data and information for this project in July 2013 and comprised months of data review and evaluation including one-on-one interviews with department and city personnel, evaluation of internal docu-ments, policies, rules and regulations, assessment of current service delivery and the creation of projected service demand and alternative service delivery models.

ESCI identified short and mid-term recommendations intended to provide the Department with the tools necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness in all areas. These recommendations are segregated into five categories:

priority 1 Immediate Internal Safety

The recommendation deals with an improvement or initiative that solves an issue affecting the safety of firefighters and/or other personnel. These are not matters that simply make it easier to do a particular function but in fact make a currently unsafe situation safe. No Recommendations

priority 2 Legal or Financial Exposure The recommendation resolves a situation that is creating or is likely to create the opportunity for legal action against the entity or its officials. It also may be a situation that could subject the entity to a significant expense. 10 Recommendations

priority 3 Corrects a Service Delivery Issue The recommendation addresses a service delivery situation that, while it does not create an immediate safety risk to personnel or the public, does affect the departments ability to deliver service in accordance with its standards of performance. For example, adding a response unit to compensate for a growing response workload or delivering training needed to allow personnel to deal effectively with emergency responses already being encountered. 21 Recommendations

priority 4 Enhances the Delivery of a Service The recommendation improves the delivery of a particular service. For example, relocating a fire station to improve response times to a particular part of town or adding a piece of equipment that will improve the delivery of a service. 17 Recommendations

priority 5 A Good Thing to Do The recommendation does not fit within any of the above priorities but is still worth doing and can enhance the departments morale or efficiency. 13 Recommendations

A complete list of these recommendations as well as the departments five year strategic plan can be found on the organizations website: edmondfp.com

Based on information obtained throughout this process, ESCI determined that the department is functioning at a level commensurate with community expectations and are providing services to the city in line with adopted objectives. Response performance analysis indicates that the department could improve its response to emergencies.

As the department continues an ongoing process of improvement in effectiveness and efficiency, both CPSE and ESCI demonstrated their accolades for the department and their proactive approach to the future through planning and commitment to these processes which will ensure future successes.

It will be critical for the department to stay focused as the workload projections within the Standard of Cover for the city indicate growth as can be reflected in the amount of emergency responses. The SOC predicts a substantial increase in the amount of calls required by the department in the next twenty years. By following these documents care-fully, the Edmond Fire Department can be directed into its desired future while having reduced the obstacles and distractions along the way.

Implied within the planning process is the ability to measure effectiveness of the actions taken in the conduct of the organizations business. It is our pleasure to have an established strategic plan that has been developed by the City of Edmond and for the city of Edmond to ensure that the department

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budget | FY 201314

During 2013, the City of Edmond continued to experience increased revenues. The December sales tax collections alone were 11% greater than the budgeted projection. The Edmond Fire Department FY 2013-2014 budget was $19,268,735 of which 73.62% was dedicated to personnel services. The budget is comprised of the following:

Personal Services $13,722,913 Materials & Supplies $1,118,828 Services & Charges $821,934 Capital Outlay $1,230,658 Transfers $2,374,402

The Public Safety Sales Tax has continued to provide an essential foundation for finan-cial stability. Specifically, the Fire Department receives a dedicated 1/4 cent tax for the pur-pose of providing additional firefighting personnel and equipment, competitive compen-sation and benefits for existing and retired personnel. In addition, the Fire Department receives 30% of the Citys General Fund.

The department is dedicated to the efficient and effective use of these funds and con-tinues to explore funding opportunities as demonstrated by the submittal of Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application. As of this publication we are awaiting notification of the award status to replace Self Contained Breathing Apparatus at a cost of over 500,000. Additionally, the departments ongoing development of the Fire Training Grounds infra-structure and props continues to provide the mechanism for additional revenue sources through training opportunities offered to external entities.

During 2013, the department also received $3000 in grants from Wal-Mart which was utilized to purchase smoke alarms to be distributed to the community as well as a $2500 donation from Centurion Pipeline to aid in our operations. In addition, $7000 in rev-enue was gained through the sale of portable radios to Oklahoma County Emergency Management.

Most noteworthy during was the hiring of nine (9) recruits in May. After participating in a five month training academy they were released for duty at the end of September. The department also acquired an additional civilian position to serve as the department quar-termaster. This addition has already made a significant impact on the organization and will continue to offset costs through less travel and maintaining of supplies. This brought the total number of budgeted positions to 123 for the department.

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The Edmond Fire Department was fortunate to plan for and purchase capital outlay items in 2013

One Fire Engine which will be delivered in 2014.

Organizational Analysis of the department was conducted by Emergency Services Consulting Inc (ESCI). This included a master plan and Standards of Cover Document as well as recommendations for improved services to the city of Edmond. The Station Alerting System is utilized for notifications for emergency response. The current systems reliabil-ity was becoming increasingly unstable as well as availability of technicians capable of servicing the system configuration. The new systems compatibility with the police and fire departments records management systems as well as the new CAD system was a determining factor in proceeding with this project in 2013.

The current Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) System was implemented in 1999. Although still functional, it offers challenges with seamless integration to other applications such as the newly initiated change of software for records management systems and the station alerting system.

The department also made provisions in 2013 to purchase replacement apparatus for its staff fleet. This includes the replacement of the current two staff vehicles. These vehicles are Chevrolet 1500 Pickups as the department looks to standardize its fleet for more consistency in order to reduce maintenance and repair costs.

The technology of our existing radios was antiquated and replacement parts were unavailable so the department purchased ninety (90) new portable radios. This ensures operability in the ever changing world of technology.

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Nick MaseyCouncil Member Ward 4May [email protected]

Darrell Davis Council Member Ward 3 May [email protected]

Victoria CaldwellCouncil Member Ward 1 May [email protected]

Elizabeth WanerCouncil Member Ward 2May [email protected]

Charles LambMayorMay [email protected]

2013 city of edmondcity council

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Pennsylvania

Memorial

33rd

15th

Edmond

Danforth

Coffee Creek

Sorghum Mill

Waterloo

Western

Kelly

Boulevard

Bryant

Coltrane

Sooner

Air Depot

Midw

est

Douglas

Post

Westm

inister

Anderson

Hiwassee

Henney

Choctaw

Broadway Extension I-35

WARD 4 WARD 2

Santa Fe

WARD 3

WARD 1

Covell

2013 city of edmond

ward map

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2013 city of edmondfire stations

2 station #21315 S. Broadway Edmond, OK 73034(405) 216-7320

1 fire station #1925 E. Second St. Edmond, OK 73034(405) 216-7310

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4 5fire station #41701 W. I-35 Frontage Rd.Edmond, OK 73013(405) 216-7340

3 fire station #31540 W. Danforth Rd.Edmond, OK 73003(405) 216-7330

fire station #55300 E. Covell Rd. Edmond, OK 73034

(405) 216-7350

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response performance measurements

The department utilizes performance measurements based upon the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations as well as the criteria established by the Commission on Public Safety Excellence to ensure that response times are consistent with industry practic-es as well as within the expectations of the city of Edmond. Response performance analy-sis evaluates how quickly an organization responds to an incident and is more commonly known as response time. The response time continuum, the time between when the caller dials 9-1-1 and when assistance arrives, is comprised of several different components:

dispatch time

This time segment is defined as the time between when the call is received at the Edmond Communications Center and time units are dispatched. The benchmark for this response time segment is ninety (90) seconds, ninety (90) percent of the time.

turnout time

This time segment is defined as the time between when a unit or apparatus is dispatched and the time they indicate response. The responding signal is controlled by firefighters using their Mobile Data Computers (MDC). The benchmark or this response time segment is sixty (60) seconds, ninety (90) percent of the time.

travel time | 1st arrival

This time segment is defined as the time between the first arriving unit or apparatus in-dicating response and when they indicate they have arrived at the incident scene. Simply stated, this is the amount of time the responding unit actually spends on the road to the incident. The benchmark for this response time segment is four (4) minutes, ninety (90) percent of the time.

travel time | effective response force

The Effective Response Force (ERF) varies depending on the incident type. For a first alarm fire, the ERF includes three engines, one ladder, one Rescue and the Battalion Chief. The time segment for measuring ERF arrival includes the time of first unit re-sponding to the time of the last units arrival. Once again, this is measured as travel time and does not include turnout time however considers all units all assigned to a particular call type. The benchmark for this response time segment is eight (8) minutes, ninety (90) percent of the time.

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response time

The response time for any incident is measured as a combination of turnout time and travel time and generally accepted as the most measurable element.

The department ensures response times are properly analyzed. A critical step in the analysis process is ensuring the information is communicated to personnel for areas of improvement as well as analyzed to ensure resources are properly distributed and concen-trated throughout the city in order to provide a timely and effective response. In June of 2013, the department implemented the Monthly Performance Report which is distributed to all personnel and city leaders to ensure transparency. This ensures that all personnel are aware of performance and identified areas of improvement.

Other advances to not only improve emergency response but to also provide consistency in information necessary for all elements of public safety includes the purchase of auto-vehicle locator (AVL) dispatching to ensure the nearest available unit responds to an emergency.

Improvements in station alerting, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management Systems (RMS) all provide for enhanced response capabilities for the city of Edmond and will be on-line in 2014.

The department is committed to a continual process of analyzing and evaluating actual performance against the adopted standards of cover and has adopted policies to enhance the data collection procedures of field operations personnel. The improvement of the re-sponse capabilities provided by the Edmond Fire Department begins with the analysis of data provided during response to both emergency and nonemergency incidents.

Future strategies to improve response times not only include the relocation of compa-nies but a decrease in physical travel time by the addition or relocation of fire stations. Improving or increasing the distribution of fire stations in a community often has the effect of reducing travel time to calls, since fire stations are typically added or relocated to areas of strong service demand. An additional strategy for reducing travel time to emergency incidents is through the use of automated traffic signal preemption. Signal preemption systems are in use throughout the United States and allow emergency vehicles to preempt the standard signal operation and request a green signal while still several hundred feet away from an intersection, allowing traffic to clear in advance of the emergency vehicles arrival.

The Edmond Fire Department is providing the necessary analysis and recommendations to guide the decision-making process toward the citys desired improvements in the provi-sion of fire and emergency services to the citizens of Edmond. Ongoing performance mea-surement, as contained in this Standard of Cover document, will allow both the depart-ment and the city to track the progress toward these goals. This process will ensure that the Edmond Fire Department is meeting the expectations of city leadership, as well as each of the citizens of Edmond.

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2013 service awards

steven begley awardMajor Gary Dill

The Steven Begley award is given to individuals who are recognized by their peers as having demonstrated outstanding service, unselfish dedication and personal sacrifice in the performance of their duties.

kiwanis firefighter of the yearCaptain Kevin Woodard

The Firefighter of the year is awarded by the Edmond Kiwanis to the Steven Begley award winner fromthe previous year. As such, Captain John Werhun was the 2011 Steven Begley Award recipient.

meritorious awardCaptain Brian Rowell

The Meritorious award is awarded for conduct involving courage, risk and danger to personal safety.It is awarded for meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility: such duty reflecting excellence in such performance that distinguishes both himself/herself and the Department.

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customer service awardFirefighter Lance Bloyd, Driver Brock Terrell, Firefighter / Relief Driver Justin Mann, Lieutenant Ben Young

This award is to recognize an employee who continuously provides courteous, trustworthy, and thorough customer service to the internal employees and other departments of the city of Edmond and external customers and citizens. Someone who is never inconvenienced by your request, is reliable, consistent, and humble.

continuous improvement award nomineeJosh Hillis

This award recognizes an employee or group of employ-ees who have demonstrated continuous improvement, someone who has put their ingenuity to work to make our organization better, faster and save us money. The employee is passionate about customer service, develops our organization to provide quality public service while balancing cost effectiveness and responsiveness, and is cognizant of our economic engine-sales tax.

mission impossible award nomineeChad Nash

This award is meant to recognize an employee, team or department of the City of Edmond who has risen to the challenge to complete a difficult project or task that has enhanced the organization or service to our customers.

hazmat challenge

The Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Challenge is an annual competition event held at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Fourteen team slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with registration limited to one team per organization. The Hazardous Materials Team from Edmond was victorious and emerged as the overall champion in 2013.

Team members included:

Chase OlsonJosh HillisJesse BenneLance Breeden

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2013 city of edmond

awards

2013 service awards

20 years

Mike FitzgeraldBarry GarrettJeremy Harwell

25 years

Mike SmithAnthony WilsonJeff Zelnicek

2013

15 years

Ollie HicksJohn WalkerChad WeaverKevin Woodard

30 years

Jon NeelyVince Pfeiffer

1998 2003 2008199319881983

services provided

The Edmond Fire Department currently operates out of five (5) fire stations throughout the city. Every day, the Edmond Fire Department has up to thirty five (35) personnel assigned to the Suppression Division. Under the direction of the Fire Chief, the Edmond Fire Department has an authorized strength of 124 personnel as shown below.

Deputy Fire Chief 1Chief of Training 1Chief of Prevention 1Chief of EMS 1Fire Battalion Chief 3Prevention Division Majors 4Training Division Majors 2ESM Division Major 1Fire Captain 15Fire Lieutenant 9Fire Apparatus Driver 24Firefighter / Relief Driver 9Firefighter 42Fire Protection Specialist 2 Administrative Support 5

These personnel are responsible for responding to both emergency and non-emergency incidents throughout the city of Edmond. Primarily, the Suppression Division maintains readiness and response capabilities in a variety of front line apparatus to meet the needs of the community:

Three (3) EnginesTwo (2) QuintsOne (1) Aerial One (1) RescueThree (3) Brush TrucksThree (3) Tankers

In addition to these apparatus, the department maintains additional resources to ensure it has adequate resources to not only deliver exceptional services, but also ensure the safety of its personnel and the citizens of Edmond. These resources include:

Hazardous Materials Regional Response UnitTechnical Rescue Regional Response UnitMass Casualty UnitOpen Water Rescue Craft Swift Water Rescue Craft

In 2012, the Edmond Fire Department responded to 5,984 calls for service. Like many

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other departments across the United States, emergency medical calls account for the largest percentage of calls requested. This statistic held true to fashion in 2012 as 70.62 of total calls for service were emergency medical services; 4,226 total.

Despite a transition in the leadership, the Edmond Fire Department worked on a num-ber of projects to increase the level of service to the city of Edmond. The establishment of daily staffing requirements for special services such as hazardous materials and technical rescue, including dive rescue, as well as maintaining Advanced Life Support capabilities in order to provide consistent levels of service to the community. In addition, the department began the hiring process for new recruits for a recruit academy to begin in the spring of 2013. Finally, analysis of run data and dispatch information was established in order to re-vise and implement processes for better overall response time. These processes are coming to realization through technology improvements in station alerting, dispatch processes and the implementation of silent status changes by department personnel during emergency responses. These changes will continue into the future in the departments effort to pro-vide continuous improvement in the delivery of emergency services to the city of Edmond.

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citizens fire academy

The Edmond Fire Department conducted two (2) Citizens Fire Academy in 2013. The academy featured 17 community members in the spring and 15 members in the fall. These 32 members received a behind the scenes look at the department and its operations. The classes were held in Fire Administration classrooms, as well as the training grounds and various fire stations. The Prevention Division, as well as members of the Suppression Division partnered to provide participants with the familiarity of firefighting equipment and tactics, as well as an in depth look at the history of the department, its personnel and its divisions.

The Citizens Fire Academy is a 12-week program that allows participants the opportu-nity to work side by side with current firefighters as they learn the basics with hands-on demonstrations of firefighting operations. The program enhances participants knowledge of the Edmond Fire Departments capabilities, as well as builds relationships between the Edmond Fire Department and the citizens we strive to protect.

Participants in the academy have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities and are equipped withappropriate protective equipment during activities so they are not only protected, but gain the true experience as they complete skills and activities just as fire department personnel experience it. Topics for the academy include:

History of the fire service and Edmond Fire Department

Fire behavior, water supplies and fire hose

Fire investigations/Apparatus

Public education/fire/building codes

First aid and CPR

Forcible entry, extrication and ventilation

Hazardous materials

Personal protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)

Search and rescue, thermal imaging cameras (TIC)

Live Burn Props

Technical rescue

This successful program will continue in 2014 and in the future, due to the impact that it has on the participants, as well as the community. Members of the Citizens Fire Academy have formed an alumni program in which graduates may join to support the Edmond Fire Department and participate in future academies, as well as other department events.

On behalf of the Edmond Fire Department, congratulations to those community members that attended and graduated from the Citizens Fire Academy in 2013, we look forward to working with you in the future!

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commission on fire accreditation international

In 2013, the Edmond Fire Department continued the process to obtain international accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). The department named Lieutenant Chris Denton as the Accreditation Manager for this undertaking. The accreditation process reflects a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables fire and emergency service organizations to examine their service levels and performance in a way that allows them to compare to industry best practices. The process promotes continuous improvement of quality service delivered to the local community and the world at large.

The goal of the accreditation process for the Edmond Fire Department is that this process will make us a more professional, efficient and effective organization that dem-onstrates we are meeting the expectations of the city of Edmond. This process will vali-date continuous improvement and ensure that we are constantly evaluating ourselves and maintaining best industry practices based on national standards and regulations. Using objective and subjective analysis, the department will possess the tools to justify actions and measure outcomes.

The CFAI process simply defined means accredited members are continuously improv-ing on the areas identified in the Self-Assessment and Standard of Cover documents. Once departments reach the goals outlined in these documents, new goals are established to continually move departments forward in efficiency, professionalism and service delivery.

The Edmond Fire Department is currently in the applicant phase of the accreditation process. In 2014, the Edmond Fire Department will move from Applicant to candidate sta-tus and host a site visit from a CPSE Accreditation Team and defend our Self Assessment and Standard of Cover documents.

Upon completion and approval by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, the Edmond Fire Department will be the only accredited fire department in the state of Oklahoma. In short, the Edmond Fire Department will validate its status as a top notch fire department worthy of the city of Edmond. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) comprehensive self-assessment process promotes excellence and encourages quality improvement by enabling fire and EMS agencies to:

Assure colleagues and the public that they have definite missions and objectives that are appropriate for the jurisdictions they serve

Provide a detailed evaluation of the services they provide to the community

Identify areas of strength and weakness within the department

Create methods or systems for addressing deficiencies while building organizational success

Encourage professional growth for both the department and its personnel

Provide a forum for the communication of organizational priorities

Foster national recognition by colleagues and the public

Create a mechanism for developing strategic and program action plans

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honor guard

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

The fire service is very rich in tradition, honor, and integrity. The primary mission of the Honor Guard is to honor our fallen as well as represent the organization in a wide variety of formal ceremonies and activities. The Edmond Fire Department Honor Guard has many functions and responsibilities but first and foremost is being ready to respond if we suffer the loss of one of our brothers or sisters.

In the past year, the Honor Guard was unfortunately called to duty with the loss of fellow firefighter and brother, Captain John Werhun. In conjunction with numerous agencies and individuals inside and outside the city of Edmond, the Honor Guard planned and implemented a traditional funeral service for Captain Werhun that every member of the department was proud of and that provides an example of what respect and pride mean to the fire service when honoring one of their own. Although ceremonies like this are what honor guards train and prepare for, these ceremonial honors are truly something that members hope they never have to do, especially for one of their own.

In 2013, the Edmond Fire Department Honor Guard participated in numerous ceremo-nies and represented the department professionally every time they donned their Class A uniforms. From flag ceremonies to providing Color Guard at Edmond Police Officer Matt Terrys funeral, the Honor Guard is prepared to provide a distinguished service to those being honoring during these events and it showed in each of their performances. This group represents the department as well as the city on an entirely different level when they operate or are called to service as the Edmond Fire Department Honor Guard.

The Honor Guard is composed solely of volunteers who are extremely motivated, with high standards in their appearance and conduct. Because the Honor Guards serve as am-bassadors to the public, they are required to present a progressive and optimistic image of duty and service. Although the team did lose a member, Lieutenant Ryan Dubord, to other commitments in 2013, the team is looking to grow in its membership, experience, and ex-posure in the upcoming year. The Edmond Fire Department will increase its membership in the future in an effort to provide even better service to the Edmond Fire Department, the city of Edmond, and the state of Oklahoma.

Currently the team is comprised of the following members of the Edmond Fire Department. Those members are:

Battalion Chief Doug Hall

Captain Michael Smith

Captain Jeff Zelnicek

Driver Courtney Powell

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Driver Stephen Raney

Firefighter Lance Bloyd

Firefighter Ryan Gleghorn

oklahoma city memorial stairclimbThey did, So we will In September, 20 members of the department participated in the OKC memorial stair-climb in order to pay tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives in the World Trade Center in 2001. Wearing their full PPE and SCBA, the group was among 300 firefighters as well as hundreds of volunteers to complete 110 flights of stairs.

The first 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb event occurred on September 11, 2003, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Parwan Province, Afghanistan. Albuquerque Fire Department Lieutenant Charles Cogburn scaled a two story building 55 times wear-ing body armor, a helmet and an M-4. Lt Cogburn returned home and the following September 11th (2004) the climb was brought back to Albuquerque and given the tit

Documents

2013 Fire Annual Report