Chief's Monthly Report
West
Valley Fire Department
Yakima
County Fire District 12
For
the Meeting February 11, 2025
Agenda Topic: Department
Monthly Progress Report
Prepared By: Chief
Nathan Craig
Date
Prepared: February 5, 2025
The purpose of
this report is to update the Board of Fire Commissioners, Officers Management
Team, and fire personnel on recent department activities and progress on
strategic objectives.
Personnel
- One resignation last month due to the Member moving out of
state.
- Current Staffing: Total personnel stand at 88, with 78
on-call members (60 operations, 13 support, 1 medical, and 4 on leave).
Recruitment/Retention Preparedby DC Johnston
The February Recruit Class attended the Advanced First Aid class in Selah
on Feb. 1,2, and 8, Orientation was held on Feb 3rd. This is a small class, with one Support
Service and two Firefighter. The two firefighters will join the August hires at
the end of February for Wildland training.
Department Training and Safety Preparedby DC Johnston
January
Drills included: Equipment Check / Station Drill, SCBA Confidence & SCBA
Quarterly, Hose Evolutions, and State of the Department.
Developed
the February Drill Schedule: Equipment Check / Station Drill, OTEP Module 1
(Mass Casualty Incident Triaging & Orthopedics), Search, and Extrication
Skills.
On January
6th I participated in the first quarter L&I FIIRE (Firefighter Injury &
Illness Reduction) Zoom meeting. This
quarter’s topic was Firefighter Reproductive Health, with a focus on work
duties when female firefighters become pregnant.
On January
23rd Chief Craig, Lt Pfaff, and myself participated in a Teams meeting for new
Inventory and Maintenance tracking software.
Also on
January 23rd, the SeaWestern Sales Rep sized eight members with new structural
gear, the expected delivery time is about two months.
Operations
In
January there were a total of 69 alarms in the District, 24 were ambulance only
calls, and 1 Auto Aid from Yakima.
Incidents: YTD Incidents by Zone YTD Zone
Station 51 5 5 10 10 (23%)
Station 52 10 10 18 18 (41%)
Station 53 2 2 13 13
(29%)
Station 54 2 2 3 3 (7%)
Station 50 25 (0 Duty) 25 44
Yakima 1 1
Ambulance Only 24 (3 Lift) 24
Total 69
Incident Type: Month Type YTD
Fire 3 3 bldg 3
EMS 42 38 EMS, 1 MVC, 3 AMA 42
Hazardous Condition 0 0
Service Call 7 Lift
7
Good Intent 11 11
cancel 11
False Alarm 6 5
AFA , 1 false alarm 6
Action Taken: Month Type YTD
Canceled enroute 11 2
AFA, 1 AA Bldg, 1 CO, 1 Smoke, 6 EMS (3ambu) 11
Extinguishment 3 building
(1 AA) 3
Provide BLS 38 38
Assist Invalid 7 4
WV, 3ambu 7
Investigate 10 5
AFA, 1 smoke, 1 MVC, 3 AMA
10
Other 2 traffic
13
Automatic Aid Received (both agencies respond) Automatic
Aid Given
From Highland 0 To Highland 1
From Yakima 1 To
Yakima 1
From Gleed 0 To
BIA 0
YTD 1 YTD 2
Mutual Aid Received 0 Mutual
Aid Given 0
YTD 0 YTD 0
Two structure fires caused $1,080,000 in losses, the
largest loss was a house fire with $1mil in loss to the structure and $70k in
contents, the home was valued at $1.6million. Crews were on scene in 9 minutes
and made a good stop on the advancement of the fire from the exterior into the
living space, unfortunately the home suffered heavy smoke damage
throughout. The second fire was a commercial
building with a small electrical fire causing $10k in damages.
Response
Times:(Target= within 1 mile of station 8
minutes or less, add 2 minutes every mile after) Qualifying Alarms: 33mo, 33yr,
Target met: mo. 23 (70%) yr. 33 (70%), Target not met: mo. 10 (30%) yr. 10 (30%).
NFPA
1720 Responses for rural areas (6 FF’s on scene within 14 minutes, 80% of the
time). Incidents: 2mo, 2yr, target met: mo.
2 (100%), yr 2 (100%), target not met: mo. 0 (0%) yr. 0 (0%).
Fire Prevention/Public Education Prepared
by Officer Boisselle
· A scout group of 30 kiddos from WV Nazarene Church
visited us for a station tour.
· Next edition of the District newsletter will go out
mid-February.
Interlocal
Coordination
- WFC/WSRB:Our committee started by
reviewing the five-mile rule for properties. We are working on a proposal for
properties more than five miles but within 7 miles of a fire station
receiving credit for having either a hydrant within 1000 feet, the
department having a mobile water supply or tender credit. This is a big issue, once we can reach an
agreement this change will have to be approved by OIC, our intent is to
move this forward as soon as possible for immediate application.
Logistics Updates
- Equipment
Update:
- Draeger
Gas Meters: This
year we budgeted to replace all our gas meters based on the Capital
Improvement Plan replacement schedule.
New meters have arrived and been placed in service, 3 out of 5 of
our old meters failed in the last quarter of 2024, however the remaining
2 and the test equipment will be surplused and sold to a District that
uses MSA.
- Apparatus
Updates:
- Brush
51: On
January 31, we received and opened two sealed bids for the construction
of a Type 6 Brush Truck, “Brush 51.” After careful review, we have
determined that the lowest bid does not comply with the specifications
outlined in the request for proposals.
Specifically, the lowest bid does not
adhere to the “Penalty Clause” on page 6, which requires a firm delivery date
within 182 days from the order date.
Instead, the lowest bidder requested an extended delivery timeline of
421 days, from February 3, 2025, to March 31, 2026. The penalty clause stipulates a deduction of
$200 per day for delays beyond the specified delivery date, allowing exceptions
only in cases where additional time was justified. However, the District’s intent was to have
the apparatus in service for the upcoming wildland season.
The District has already purchased the
chassis for this project, which arrived in January 2025 as a 2024 model.
Storing the chassis for an extended period is not a viable option, and the
182-day delivery requirement was implemented to ensure the truck is operational
this year. This requirement was also
based on experience, as the last brush truck built by the lowest bidder took
approximately 14 months to complete.
Given that the low bidder’s proposed
timeline extends 241 days beyond the specified period, equating to a financial
impact of $48,200 in penalty costs, the District has determined that awarding
the contract to the second bidder, who has committed to delivering within 180
days, is in the best interest of taxpayers. Ensuring this apparatus is in
service for the 2025 wildland season is a priority, and the District is
committed to making fiscally responsible decisions that align with operational
needs.
- Engine
54: We are
working on developing specifications for a commercial pumper, 3-person
cab that carries 1000 gallons of water and 24’ ladder, both are vast
improvements over our current engine and better suited for the rural area
of Station 54.
·
Emergent:
o
Through
planning we have been looking for a suitable way to track equipment and repairs
since leaving ERS. Several programs were
reviewed with most being ruled out due to cost.
This past month we discovered a program through Emergent that will track
equipment, repairs and allow for our inspections to be uploaded via iPad at the
stations. Included in the program is a
command board for on scene incident command and the potential to write fire
reports on scene like how we are uploading EMS reports in Image Trend. As the company grows there may be other
opportunities for our data collection.
Strategic Plan
- Action
Plan: Report included
in packet.
- Operational
Assessment: We have agreed to a contract for the work to
be completed. Our kickoff meeting
was February 6th to review the data and information Jag will
need as well as the process to upload to the project drop box.
- Wellness: Our
group has been busy this past month with station visits, the development
of a recruit class and work has begun on the wellness manual. We are reviewing available courses
around the state for team development.
Grants
- Community
Wildfire Defense Grant:
Working with OEM, District 2 and 4 we have the framework for our fuel reduction
grant completed with plans to submit the project for consideration by the
end of the month. This would be a
multi-year project with equipment and personnel under the grant funding.
- Local
Community Project State Request: Submitted a request to install
generators at Station 52 and 54 for consideration of the legislature,
project total $285,713.
- BLM: Requesting
funding to install a slip-in tank/pump wildland unit to install in the
Duty truck for the wildland season.
Legislation
·
Bill
Tracker:
o
We
are tracking 11 bills we provided comment on this legislative session as well
as requesting support for volunteer incentives, our local community project,
fuel tax relief, and all-risk mobilization.
o
Due
to scheduling we were unable to attend the WFCA/WFC Legislative Day, however, I
contacted our District Reps to explain why we were unable to attend.
Community Engagement and Events
- Association
Events:
- The
awards banquet is scheduled for March 22nd.
·
Downtown Yakima Rotary:
o Chief Lange, Chief Markham
and I presented at the Rotary meeting last month discussing wildfire
preparedness and the county burn restrictions.
Good of the Order
·
Red Cross Blood Drive:
o
January 6th blood drive netted 31 units.
·
Yakima County Fire Commissioners Association:
o
Next meeting February 20th 18:00 Zillah.
Respectfully,
Nathan Craig
Fire Chief