Fire Committee

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA FIRE COMMITTEE Monday, April 30, 2018 Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room, 3rd Floor MINUTES Members Present: Bob Brimmer, Chair; Jim Owens, Tom O’Rourke, Kevin Cunnane Staff Present: Eric DeMoura, Fire Chief Mike Mixon, Amanda Knight Mr. Brimmer called the meeting to order at 2:04 pm. Mr. Brimmer expressed that he would like to take a few minutes before the meeting began to express appreciation to the Mount Pleasant Fire Department (MPFD) on behalf of the citizens and the Fire Committee and commend them for the great job they performed while fighting the fire at Saint Andrews Church on Sunday, April 22. 1. Approval of Minutes from the April 2, 2018 meeting Mr. Owens moved for approval of the minutes; motion seconded by Mr. Cunnane. Motion carried unanimously. 2. Public Comments Mayor Will Haynie, 316 Mallard Court, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 said that he was speaking as the Mayor, a citizen and as a member of the Saint Andrews Church congregation. He thanked the Fire Department (FD) for the job they did at the Saint Andrews Church Fire. Mayor Haynie expressed his appreciation for the emotional support from the firefighters to the citizens and congregation that came to the site of the fire. He said it he was touched by the hugs and the approachable atmosphere that the firefighters had for the people that were there. Mayor Haynie commended the MPFD for the professional way they did their job, while also showing so much emotional support for the community.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 2 of 23 3. Overview regarding Emergency Management Projects, initiatives, and general operations Mr. DeMoura introduced Amanda Knight as the Town of Mount Pleasant’s Emergency Manager. Mr. DeMoura told the Fire Committee that on Ms. Knight’s first day in her new job, Hurricane Irma occurred. Ms. Knight informed the Fire Committee of her background. She stated that she was a weather forecaster in the Air Force for four years, has a graduate degree in Crisis Emergency Management from George Washington University and previously worked for the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in Public Health Preparedness. Ms. Knight stated that her singular area of expertise is Emergency Management. She presented the Fire Committee with an overview of her approach, which is also a part of the National Preparedness Goal. Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 3 of 23 Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 4 of 23  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 5 of 23 Ms. Knight stated this area is a very hazard prone area. She also stated that due to starting to work during an Emergency Event, she was able to  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 6 of 23 see firsthand, the way the Town of Mount Pleasant (TOMP) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was set up and how it was run. The Fire Committee thanked Ms. Knight for her presentation and for performing her job so well. Mr. Cunnane asked who the Emergency Manager reported to and is there a Committee for it. Mr. DeMoura stated that the position reported to Christine Farrell, Assistant Town Administrator, which is part of the Executive Office. He informed them there is no specific Committee for this office, but it could be considered part of the Fire, Police or Public Services Committee. Mr. Cunnane stated he felt that the office of Emergency Management should have a separate Committee. Mr. O’Rourke stated he felt that the Committees should not manage Department Managers. He said that Mr. DeMoura, as Town Administrator was responsible for the Department Managers and in turn Mr. DeMoura was the person accountable to the Council. Mr. Owens asked what steps Ms. Knight has taken to improve things based of past events. Ms. Knight responded that by having a dedicated Emergency Manager, it has provided the opportunity to build the Emergency Manager Program by defining what systematic processes needed to be in place. Ms. Knight stated that during an emergency response everything is amplified. The requirement is to work with every department to make sure that they are prepared to apply whatever required response is necessary and to adhere to overarching principals of the Emergency Operation Management’s strategy. Mr. Brimmer asked, if during an emergency of a large-scale event, whether Ms. Knight would stay at the Town’s EOC or the Charleston EOC. Ms. Knight explained that she would stay here. She informed the Committee that Charleston County EOC operates with an emergency support function that is disciplined defined, so the Town would send experts to perform a discipline such as fire, law enforcement and potentially public services. Ms. Knight stated that the Town will also have a liaison here that Charleston County could work with.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 7 of 23 4. Budget Review FY 2019 a. Consideration of staffing request Mr. Brimmer stated that before this subject was opened for discussion to the Committee, it would be beneficial have some context of the staffing of the Mount Pleasant Fire Department (MPFD). He stated that Chief Mixon would give a presentation on current staffing and how it came about. Chief Mixon stated that years ago the Fire Administration in Mount Pleasant noticed a trend; that while fire calls were staying linear, there was an increase in medical calls. During this time, it was decided that there needed to be a plan that addressed an aging, growing community that continued to go farther of its bounds. Chief Mixon presented a slide reflecting that while medical and other call increased, fire calls, especially structure fire calls decreased. Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 8 of 23  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 9 of 23 Mr. O’Rourke inquired as to the definition of “calls”. Chief Mixon explained that it could be anything the Fire Department is called to for an emergency response such as alarms, accidents, fires, sick and other types of calls. Mr. Cunnane asked Chief Mixon to delineate between fire calls and fire hazard calls. Chief Mixon explained that the way the data was determined was not based upon what the call was for, but for what was found at the scene. He explained that the Fire Department (FD) is called out many times for a structure fire that turns out to be something else. This is the reason the data is based on what is found when the FD responds to the call. Mr. Brimmer asked that questions be held until the end of the presentation. Chief Mixon continued, saying the Fire Administration looked at the call volume trend and how it should be addressed. During the process it was decided that the best approach was to train the firefighters with medical knowledge. Chief Mixon showed the timeline that represented a long-range vision, based on data, that led to the way the Fire Department currently operates. The information presented shows when implementation of paramedics occurred. Chief Mixon explained during the 2010 timeframe, Chief Williams began questioning what more could be done to take the infinitive further, to improve the FD service. MPFD was the first in the area to come up with the squad concept which led to the Quick Response Vehicle (QRV). This would allow the FD to get to the call quicker, reduce wear and tear on the big apparatus and leave them in place if needed for other calls.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 10 of 23 Chief Mixon displayed a heat map that shows how the medical overlay along Bowman Road came to be and why it was important. What it represents is a hot zone for medical calls along Bowman Road and the Anna Knapp corridor because that is the location of several assisted living and nursing homes. For this reason, the QRV started to handle many of the calls in the Medical Overlay district.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 11 of 23 Chief Mixon stated that one way to look at the success of the program, was to look at cardiac arrest survivability. To improve even further, high- performance CRP was taught and implemented. This program was a result of our Medical Division Chief, Charleston County EMS and North Charleston Fire Department endeavoring to find a way to increase cardiac arrest survivability. Within one year, TOMP FD has jumped well above the national standard and continues to improve. Chief Mixon expressed that the medical program the FD rolled out, had really saved lives in the community. Chief Mixon went on to say that the FD is not solely medical, at the core, the FD consists of firefighters.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 12 of 23 Chief Mixon explained the initiatives being taking to help firefighters become better firefighters.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 13 of 23 Chief Mixon addressed the situation of what happens when there is a large call and MPFD needs support. He clarified the difference between automatic aid and mutual aid. Auto aid is automatically dispatched when the call initiates. Mutual aid is when a department is asked to respond, by the department where the call has initiated. Chief Mixon stated the MPFD only has an automatic aid agreement with Sullivan’s Island. The MPFD has mutual aid agreements with thirteen other departments in Charleston County. In 2016, Chief Williams’ wanted to research the automatic aid issue to find out how it would affect the MPFD. Chief Williams instructed all MPFD Battalion Chiefs to ride along with other fire districts’ Battalion Chiefs and to submit a report on their findings. Chief Williams also commissioned his Deputy Chief of Administration to conduct a study based upon calls. The results revealed, that in 2016, if there had been an automatic aid agreement in place, there was only one call where automatic aid from other districts would have responded to the scene in Mount Pleasant. Due to many factors, it was determined that few automatic aid calls would benefit MPFD, but many calls would cause MPFD to be called away from their district, leaving it somewhat uncovered. After a review of the study and input from all MPFD Chiefs, it was decided that Auto Aid Agreements would not benefit the TOMP and we would continue with Mutual Aid Agreements.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 14 of 23 Chief Mixon presented information regarding the FD Strategic Plan. He explained that based on data, the FD was developing a Strategic Plan to address the growth and changes in MP. The Plan would address what the MPFD needed to do, to meet the community’s requirements for the next five to ten years. Chief Mixon stated, he believed that a Strategic Plan would help MPFD to build the Fire Department of the future, that can best serve the needs of our citizens.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 15 of 23 Mr. Cunnane stated that the MPFD did a great job at the Saint Andrews Church Fire and it was done under very challenging circumstances. Challenging because the building had a truss roof and because he felt that MPFD does not send enough firefighters to a call. Mr. Cunnane stated the FD was lucky because there was a Captain on the ladder truck that arrived first on the scene, lucky because the building was unoccupied and lucky because the timing of the fire was when traffic was light. Mr. Cunnane stated he wanted to change lucky to permanent by hiring more firefighters. Mr. Cunnane asked Chief Mixon how many firefighters are on duty per day. Chief Mixon responded that thirty-three firefighters were the average per shift. Mr. Cunnane inquired as to how many firefighters, there are in the FD, that could respond to fires. Chief Mixon answered, there are one hundred and twelve, including Battalion Chiefs. Mr. Cunnane asked how many new firefighters positions had been added recently. Chief Mixon responded that fifteen new positions had occurred since 2005. Mr. Cunnane asked how the personnel were shifted within the department and Chief Mixon replied, there was repositioning on the ladder trucks. Instead of having two firefighters on three ladder trucks, three firefighters  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 16 of 23 were placed on two ladder trucks and the third ladder truck was used as a reserve. Mr. Cunnane stated that at the Saint Andrews Church Fire, all three ladder trucks were needed and MPFD was lucky that all three were available. Mr. Cunnane insisted that the Town was in trouble by relying on luck in a town with a population of eighty-five thousand. He recognized that Chief Mixon was a new Fire Chief and stated that he was facing a difficult job during transitional time in the Town. Mr. Cunnane said that where MPFD traditionally called Charleston for back up; the response had changed considerably, due to the increase in population. He stated that even though the physical distance had not changed, the travel time had slowed drastically. Mr. Cunnane referred to the information regarding medical calls at the assisted living areas and asked if MPFD had evaluated the fire hazards and the fire staff needed in the evacuation of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Chief Mixon stated yearly inspections were performed. Mr. Cunnane stated that was not what he was referring to; he wanted to know if MPFD had evaluated the response patterns for how a building such as The Palms on Bowman Road would be evacuated by firefighters. Mr. Cunnane stated that same population that is causing MPFD to shift toward medical call response, is the same population that is the most vulnerable life hazards during a fire. Mr. Cunnane said that he felt there was no path forward, except to increase the size of the Fire Department. Chief Mixon responded that he was not advocating that the FD is where it needed to be for the next fifteen years, but he would like to plan it strategically so that the blueprint could be built. Mr. Owens stated he wanted to echo the sentiments of the Fire Committee, that TOMP owes the FD a debt of gratitude for the quick response and the way they got the Saint Andrews Church Fire under control quickly. Mr. Owens asked Chief Mixon to explain the difference in hose diameters and the number of gallons per minute that the different diameters provided. Chief Mixon explained that a one and three-quarter inch hose, which is the current configuration on the trucks, could produce about one hundred gallons per minute and a two and one-half inch hose would probably double that amount. Chief Mixon stated that MPFD trucks  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 17 of 23 were equipped with both hoses and it would depend on the fire as to which one is pulled. Mr. Cunnane stated that everyone is quick to thank and praise the MPFD, but questioned, what happens when it comes time to fund it. Mr. Cunnane asked Chief Mixon if it would be easier to move the two and one-half inch hose with more firefighters. Chief Mixon replied that the larger size hose would be easier to move and operate with more people. Mr. Cunnane stated he felt this was the center of the issue. He questioned whether the FD would depend on luck, the next time and hope that a one and three- quarter inch hose works, when it is an occupied, truss roof building where you cannot do an exterior operation. Mr. Cunnane asked whether the FD had the staffing to investigate how many other building had a truss style roof, since the Saint Andrews Church Fire occurred. Chief Mixon replied the FD had not, but that it would be a difficult challenge to look in every attic in town. Mr. Cunnane stated he was told by senior Fire Staff that due to the great building construction in MP, the FD could operate with smaller crews, but he felt this was not the case. Mr. Cunnane questioned how many condos and senior centers had a truss roof. Mr. Cunnane stated that there was a request of $675,000 out of the Budget Committee and that would enable placing an officer on every ladder truck and taking a squad staff and placing them on an apparatus. This would allow an extra apparatus and it would be a judgement call as to whether it was a fire engine or ladder truck. Mr. Cunnane said the funding would allow the FD to increase its staff by ten percent. Mr. Cunnane made a motion that the Fire Committee recommend an additional $675,000 be included in the Mount Pleasant Fire Department’s FY 2019 budget; motion seconded for discussion by Mr. Owens. Mr. Owens asked Mr. DeMoura if $675,000 could be placed in the FY 2019 budget since the extra staffing for the FD was not included in the original budget.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 18 of 23 Mr. DeMoura said if, upon the direction of Town Council, that making improvements to Fire Suppression by adding personnel was the Council’s goal, then he, Ms. Cotov and Chief Mixon would figure out how to add that amount and bring the Council the budget that had that amount included. Mr. DeMoura stated the increase in the Fire Department’s budget would be accomplished by adjusting capital items and delaying or stopping new hires slotted for other departments in the Town. Mr. O’Rourke stated he did not feel that it was the job of the Fire Committee to discuss the size of a fire hose. He said that he looks for the Fire Chief to tell him what is needed, then he would support it. Mr. O’Rourke referred to an e-mail from Chief Mixon, that said 1.8 to 1.9 million dollars would be needed for the Fire Department to meet the National Fire Protection Agency’s (NFPA) standard for minimum staffing recommendations. He stated, he is also on the Budget Committee and question where this money would come from. Mr. O’Rourke stated that if that amount is initially achieved through cutting capital projects and using reserve money; then how would it continue to be funded in the following years. Mr. O’Rourke said that every department could say they needed more staffing. He reiterated what Mr. DeMoura stated about stopping the hiring that had been requested and approved for other departments in the Town and reminded the Committee to consider how it would affect those departments. Mr. Cunnane summitted that it would make it easier to save a human life if the FD had more staffing and not every department in the Town is doing that, so there must be a delineation of what is more important. Chief Mixon addressed the e-mail that Mr. O’Rourke had referenced. He stated, he was asked by Mr. Owens to provide the Fire Committee, the NFPA Standard of minimum staffing recommendations and how much it would cost to achieve it. Chief Mixon stated that he was in no way advocating the FD go after that much money at the current time. He reiterated, he was just providing the information that had been requested. Chief Mixon stated that his goal was to complete a strategic plan to guide the process. He stated that he loved and wanted to protect the FD, but he  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 19 of 23 did not want to hurt the other departments within the Town. Chief Mixon emphasized it was not his intent with the e-mail, to say that this is what the Fire Department needed right now. Mr. Owens informed the Fire Committee that this money was evaluated based on achieving a standard and it was created to bring Mt. Pleasant Fire Department up to the current standards. Mr. Owens stated, he did not interpret the e-mail to mean that the FD was looking for 1.8 to 1.9 million- dollar budget increase now, instead, it was a goal to be arrived at incrementally. Mr. Cunnane directed everyone’s attention to the information on the slide he presented. It was the NAPA 1710 Standard – Changes to Fireground Staffing Levels. In all examples of different types of fires, he stated that the MPFD was well under staffed and not meeting the recommended standard.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 20 of 23 Chief Williams asked if he may address the committee and Mr. Brimmer invited him to speak. Chief Williams stated he believed that the Fire Chief should give the citizens the best results based upon what history shows and what is happening in the community. Chief Williams said that as a leader, you must evaluate what your community needs verses a standard. He asserted that leaders perform their jobs based on legitimate  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 21 of 23 information. Chief Williams emphasized that the FD is not lucky, but rather, it is trained, equipped and has great personnel. He stated it is not luck; it is support from TOMP, the Fire Committee and a talented group of individuals who know what they are doing. Chief Williams said he wanted to go on record that the MPFD made decisions based on information, that can be shown and let the numbers and history speak for itself. He continued, no one can predict every incident that may happen and be prepared for it. Chief Williams stated that protecting the lives of the community is the most important thing that the Fire Department does. Mr. Owens asked Mr. Cunnane if he would amend his motion for S675,000 and give the responsibility to the Chief Mixon and let him make a recommendation for the assistance his department needs to get the tools to get the job done, incrementally. Mr. Cunnane stated that he would like to have a vote on his motion as he made it. Mr. Brimmer closed the discussion with several comments. He stated that he did not want anything that was said in the Fire Committee Meeting, to be interpreted by the community, that they are not safe. In terms of fire safety, Mr. Brimmer said it was his belief the community is well served and well protected by the Fire Department. He stated it was the standard that had been set by previous Councils and the FD has done a great job of living up to that standard; preparing for it based upon the reality of the calls and the projections for growth and needs for the community. Mr. Brimmer stated, if Council decides that it wants the FD to operate at a higher standard, they will accept the expectation, give the expectation to the Town Administrator to be included in the Town’s Strategic Plan. Mr. Brimmer continued, that it allows the Town Administrator to realign resources, to achieve the goal, over a period of time and for TOMP to have time to realign its financial requirements. Mr. Brimmer said that things may be realigned, based on Council priorities and lets the Town Administrator know how he needs to proceed with department heads and budgets, so he can align resources with Council directives. Mr. Brimmer stated that none of this process had been followed with the current  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 22 of 23 request. He said instead of asking for money and then deciding on how to spend it, we need to have a plan and a strategy for how we are going to get there. Mr. Brimmer stated he felt the way things were happening was not good government and the Fire Committee should not proceed in that direction, so he would not support the motion. Mr. Cunnane stated regardless of the plan, it is not going to shrink or stay the same because of the National Standard which is made up of a consensus committee of people from across the country. The consensus committee is made up of engineers, architects, fire service personnel and the sprinkler industry personnel. The national standard is made up by a consensus of the nations fire protection industry and is not agenda driven. Mr. Cunnane said that MPFD was not close to meeting the standard. He said regardless of planning, there had to be an increase in FD staffing. Mr. Owens commented that $675,000 is not going to get the FD where it needed to be and he had rather have the FD staff give the Fire Committee a realistic number that would be possible to achieve in this budget year. He said for this reason he could not support the motion. Mr. Brimmer stated the discussion was closed and called for vote on the motion for $675,000 addition funds to the FD budget, for an increase in fire staffing for the FY 2019 budget year. The result of the vote was Mr. Cunnane voted yes; Mr. Brimmer and Mr. Owens voted no; Mr. O’Rourke did not vote. The motion failed 3 to 1. Mr. Owens made a motion to require fire staff to provide Fire Committee a number for the FY 2019 budget year, for increase staffing to get the department up to that particular standard. Mr. O’Rourke asked that the motion be amended to state not only a number, but what it would fund and how far it would take the FD toward betterment. Mr. Owens amended the motion to request the fire staff provide the Fire Committee with the number of staff needed to put into this budget year and attach a dollar amount to it. Mr. Brimmer seconded the motion.  Fire Committee Minutes April 30, 2018 Page 23 of 23 Mr. DeMoura said that it would be better to have a dollar amount because the staffing plan does not have to be finalized before the second reading of the budget, but there must be funding authority in the budget. Mr. Owens amended his motion for an increase of $250,000 in the MPFD’s FY 2019 budget. Mr. Cunnane seconded the motion. Mr. DeMoura explained this would be a recommendation to the Finance Committee, because the Finance Committee had been empowered to make the final decision before the final reading of the budget. Mr. Brimmer called for a vote on the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:39 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Terri Chadwick 5/4/18