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Chief's Monthly Report

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